Inset: (Dona Ana County Detention Center). Background: The neighborhood where Lopez allegedly attempted suicide in Las Cruces, New Mexico. (Google Maps).
In New Mexico, a tragic incident led to the death of a mother and resulted in her son being incarcerated, as reported by local authorities from the Land of Enchantment.
Las Cruces Police Department has charged 32-year-old Lawrence Lopez with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the demise of his 58-year-old mother, Tina Lucero.
The incident unfolded on the evening of July 1 at the family residence along Los Ranchitos Road in Las Cruces, a city nestled between White Sands National Park and El Paso, Texas.
On that evening, Lopez had dinner with his mother, according to police records acquired by El Paso’s Fox affiliate KFOX.
Other family members were also in attendance at the meal, according to law enforcement. The defendant allegedly relayed a series of paranoid beliefs, such as that he was being followed by vehicles and drones and that his phone had been hacked, law enforcement said.
After dinner and home by themselves, Lopez allegedly doubled down on his beliefs — with added concern that he felt his mother was not taking him seriously, according to the charging document.
Eventually, Lopez said he felt like dying, pulled out a gun, aimed it at his head and taunted his mother with the prospect of having to live with the image and knowledge of his would-be suicide, according to investigators who later spoke with the defendant, police said.
“I’m gonna make you remember this for the rest of your life,” the son allegedly told his mother. “You gotta see me shoot myself.”
After those comments, the mother leaped into action and went for the gun to disarm her son, the defendant allegedly told investigators. During the ensuing struggle, the gun went off, police said.
The bullet went through Lopez’s left hand and into his mother’s chest, according to law enforcement. The defendant himself then called 911 and his brother. The defendant’s sibling rushed over to the residence to perform CPR on their mother, but Lucero was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Lopez was taken to a nearby hospital where he was treated for his gunshot wound and then released before being arrested.
The defendant is being detained in the Dona Ana County Detention Center with no bond, jail records show.