EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Las Cruces Police Department’s (LCPD) Chief of police, Jeremy Story, is asking the community to weigh in on a case about a man he believes is a threat to the community and his officers that the New Mexico courts have deemed him not dangerous despite his long criminal history.
Story took to social media on Tuesday, Oct. 28, to address the case of Neil Garcia, whose multiple cases have been dismissed by judges because he was found to be “incompetent.”
“That means the cases were dismissed without any consequences, without treatment or resources.” Story explained in the nearly 3-minute video.
Although Garcia was found not to be dangerous by the courts, Story pointed out alleged instances proving why he is concerned for the community and police officers:
- In December 2022, he was found shoplifting at a Walgreens, and he threatened the security guard that he had a gun and then punched him.
- In April of 2023, he had two incidents where he was caught shoplifting at a Dollar General and assaulting an employee, and the other at Lowe’s Fiesta Foods, where he threatened several employees and punched the manager.
- In March 2024, he swung a golf club at two separate people while shoplifting at Harbor Freight.
- In April 2025, he punched a Walmart employee after he was caught shoplifting.
“I would argue that he poses a clear danger to the public and the community. And the people he is victimizing are people who are just working and trying to live their lives in the community that we all share,” Story said.
“The District Attorney’s Office has petitioned for involuntary commitment and assisted outpatient treatment, but neither was granted by the court. I wish this was an outliner, but it’s not. This is not an exception. This is the rule,” Story added.
He also brought up a recent incident that happened in April after a town hall meeting where officials discussed crime in Las Cruces. Officials were in the parking lot, heard glass breaking, and found Garcia breaking several windows at City Hall. He was then charged with felony vandalism.
Court jail records show that two months later, on June 14, Garcia was charged with criminal property damage. A month later, Judge Douglas Driggers dismissed the case “without prejudice,” noting the defendant was “incompetent and not dangerous.”
On Oct. 4, Garcia was once again charged with criminal trespass. Days later, Judge Kent Wingenroth ruled that Garcia can be released on a personal recognizance bond and ordered that he follow conditions of release. He is expected to be in court for that case at a pretrial hearing on Nov. 21.
According to Story, Garcia has been arrested at least 108 times, with at least 15 of those being felonies. He also has felonies in 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2018. All five of those felony convictions, he was deemed a habitual offender.
The chief’s public comments drew strong reaction from residents online.
Facebook user Drew Kern responded to Story’s post, “I applaud you for calling out the judges who keep allowing these things to happen. It brings clarity to moments when the community thinks the police aren’t doing their job… people want to complain that ‘the police don’t do anything’ but a lot of times it seems that they just already know the judges won’t do anything about it so they let things slide.”
Another commentor, Lor Vega, expressed her gratitude for the chief’s leadership.
“Thank you for all you’re doing to make actual change. We now have so many resources to deal with incompetent defendants. This is wrong on the Judge’s part. You are 100% right. It isn’t an outlier, it is a rule. The repeat offenders are negatively impacting local businesses, schools, our entire community. Many people have worked hard to put in place programs all over Dona Ana County to seriously address the problems we have with mental health and addiction. Judges need to do their part or else they are the break in the chain. Thank you to the LCPD and the Chief. We are fortunate to have you working in our community.”
Story said his department is committed to public safety as he called for changes in how the legal system handles defendants deemed incompetent but persistently violent.
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