Officers used nonlethal force 38 times on suspect in Mesilla Valley Mall security officer stabbing
LAS CRUCES, NM April 7 2019 During a press conference Friday, Las Cruces police Chief Patrick Gallagher detailed the events of the stabbing incident at Mesilla Valley Mall and what it took for officers to bring the suspect into custody.
Joshua James LeNoir is accused of attempting to shoplift from the Dillard’s store when he was confronted by a security guard and employees.
Police said LeNoir punched the security guard in the face and torso, before running through the store where employees tried to stop him. Employees had him on the floor when LeNoir allegedly pulled out a knife and slashed an employee’s arm.
LeNoir left Dillard’s and several employees followed him to warn others he had a knife, according to Gallagher. Gallagher said these calls drew out a Verizon Wireless employee who was also stabbed by LeNoir.
Police said LeNoir exited the mall and entered the driver’s side of a Dodge Journey as a woman was buckling her 1-year-old daughter in the backseat. The woman’s husband and their 3-year-old son, on the driver’s side of the SUV, moved out of harm’s way and the woman was able to safely remove their daughter. The keys were not in the SUV, so LeNoir was unable to start it.
Investigators said several people assisted in barricading LeNoir inside the SUV for a brief time. LeNoir tried to escape by kicking the windows. He then used the knife to break a window and make an escape into the parking lot.
When Las Cruces police officers arrived, they found LeNoir in the parking lot.
According to Gallagher, throughout the incident, officers issued more than 124 commands to drop the weapon and several times told LeNoir that they did not want to hurt him.
Las Cruces Police Department release video of the suspect in the Mesilla Valley stabbing{p}{/p}
Nine officers at the scene had tasers, eight of which were used on LeNoir, according to Gallagher. Gallagher said, in total, 12 shots were fired from tasers and 23 cycles of the battery were used on LeNoir in attempts to bring him into custody.
Gallagher said two officers had bean bag shotguns at the scene, with ten rounds each, and in total, 15 rounds of those bean bags were fired.
Gallagher said after several attempts to stop LeNoir with verbal commands and nonlethal force, LeNoir began to head back toward the mall when he was struck in the face with a bean bag and officers used a taser while approaching to get the knife away from LeNoir and take him into custody.
“As a result of that final deployment of the bean bag, Mr. Lenoir did sustain serious injuries to his face and his arm,” Gallagher said. “Unofficial understanding is that he may have lost his eyesight as a result.”
Gallagher said at this time, they are unsure if the bean bag round was the cause of this injury or if it was caused when LeNoir’s face struck the concrete when he fell, as shown in body camera footage shown during the press conference.
Gallagher said an officer at the scene did have a lethal weapon prepared, but the officer never fired it.
Las Cruces police Chief Patrick Gallagher details the events of the stabbing incident at Mesilla Valley Mall and what it took for officers to bring the suspect into custody.
Gallagher said 12 to 15 officers were at the scene responding to the incident. He said a sobriety checkpoint was nearby and several officers left that checkpoint in order to respond.
Gallagher said at the hospital, it was found that LeNoir was hiding narcotics in one of his body cavities. The narcotics were removed at the hospital and sent to a lab for testing.
Gallagher said LeNoir has 18 prior arrests over the past 12 years related to narcotics usage, DUI, reckless driving, burglary and shoplifting, among others.
Police said once LeNoir is released from the hospital, he will be taken to Doña Ana County Jail and will be held without bond.
LeNoir is charged with two third-degree felony counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony count of aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon and a fourth-degree felony count of attempted theft of a vehicle. He’s also charged with misdemeanor counts of battery, criminal damage to property and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.
KFOX14
