The Chaves County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) has identified the victim of a murder that occurred Sunday afternoon near Hagerman.
CCSO deputies, along with Hagerman and Dexter police, were dispatched around 3:15 p.m. Sunday to a ranch on Wiggins Road northwest of Hagerman in reference to a shooting. As law enforcement was responding, they spotted a vehicle matching a description provided of the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop just south of Darby Road on U.S. 285.
The only occupant, Jose L. Dominguez, 39, of Roswell, was identified as the suspect gunman and taken into custody without incident.
Other deputies and police arriving at the crime scene discovered one male subject down, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
First responders detained everyone present at the property as they conducted their investigation, made more difficult by high winds and blowing dust in the area.
Upon speaking with witnesses, investigators determined the victim may have been shot following an argument with a coworker at the ranch. A firearm reported to have been thrown out of the vehicle by Dominguez as he fled was located and recovered along Chickasaw Road and is believed to be the murder weapon.
Dominguez was arrested Sunday evening on charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. He was transported to the Chaves County Adult Detention Center and assigned a $500,000 bond upon arraignment.
On Monday, the CCSO was contacted by a Roswell man who believed the murder victim to be his brother. Following positive identification, the sheriff’s office has identified the victim as Luciano De Anda Sifuentes, 46.
Authorities say Sifuentes had been living and working in the area for several years and has a wife and adult child still living in Mexico.
