Suspect in quinceañera shooting ‘beaten to submission’ by partiers By T.S. Hopkins A weekend quinceañera was spoiled when a Las Cruces man armed with a .380-caliber handgun shot the celebrant in the back, then shot a man who came to the family’s aid. Gregorio Cardenas, 37, has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery with the intent to commit a violent felony and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Cardenas allegedly shot a 15-year-old girl in the back and shot Raul Ramirez, 21, when he tried to protect the girl’s mother early Sunday morning, according to Doña Ana County Sheriff’s investigators. The teenager had been celebrating at her 15th birthday party and returned to the family home in the 6000 block of Ermita Road on the East Mesa when the shootings occurred. Cardenas had previously served two years in prison for assault and was deported to Mexico. He later slipped back into the U.S. and returned to Las Cruces, according to police records. “Cardenas knew the family, but was not invited to the party. However, the victim of Cardenas’s previous assault was in attendance,” Sgt. Mark Perea said. It is not clear whether that victim was Sunday’s intended target. Perea said immediately after the shooting, party-goers and family disarmed Cardenas. He was, “beaten to submission” and held until police arrived, detectives said. “The young lady and Mr. Ramirez are in good condition and have been released from the hospital,” Perea said. Perea said his office is working with U.S. Customs and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on possible federal charges against Cardenas. “The charges he faces now amount to nine years per count in prison if convicted,” Perea said. “The federal charges are 20 years per count. Cardenas would serve all the time before being deported again.” Cardenas is in the Doña Ana County Detention Center on $150,000 bond. T.S. Hopkins can be reached at thopkins@lcsun-news.com
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