Man arrested with $16k after robbing Las Cruces credit union

LAS CRUCES – A man was arrested Wednesday morning after police say he robbed a credit union in Las Cruces. 

Hector Gonzalez, 31, is charged with one count of robbery. As of Thursday morning, Gonzalez was being held on a $5,000 secured bond at the Doña Ana County Detention Center.

Police said he robbed FirstLight Federal Credit Union on the 300 block of Foster just before 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Kenneth Davis, a Las Cruces Police Department detective, said in an affidavit that Gonzalez was arrested near Las Cruces High School not long after the robbery occurred. 

Employees at the credit union told Davis that Gonzalez walked into the building and began yelling, Davis said. 

“I’m a Christian man. and you have robbed me, so now I’m gonna rob you,” Gonzalez said, according to the credit union employees. 

The employees turned over about $16,000 in cash to Gonzalez before he left the credit union, Davis said. When Gonzalez was detained by LCPD officers at the intersection of Boutz Road and El Paseo Road, Davis said he matched the description given by credit union employees and the credit union’s security cameras. Davis said that police discovered the $16,000 on Gonzalez when they arrested him. 

Gonzalez is awaiting trial on two other cases currently with charges including the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. 

During a first appearance hearing on the bank robbery charge, in front of Magistrate Judge Rebecca Duffin on Thursday, Gonzalez was granted a $5,000 secured bond, meaning that he’d have to post the bond to get out of jail. 

Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.

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