LAS CRUCES NM April 26 2018 – A private security guard fended off a suspect who brandished a knife at a Las Cruces bar early Sunday morning, police said.

The suspect, Rene A. McPherson II, 33, of the 300 block of North Roadrunner Parkway, was later arrested and charged aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a fourth-degree felony, and assault, a misdemeanor, according to the Las Cruces Police Department.

Around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, Las Cruces police were dispatched to the report of a disturbance involving security guards and an intoxicated man at Pecan Grill and Brewery, 500 S. Telshor Blvd. Officers arrived to find that two security guards had detained McPherson in the parking lot.

According to police, McPherson had consumed several drinks at Hotel Encanto before driving himself to Pecan Grill. Witnesses described McPherson as stumbling as he walked toward the front door of Pecan Grill.

Investigators determined that a private security guard, working for Security Concepts, was manning the front door and noticed McPherson appeared highly intoxicated, police said. The security guard asked McPherson if he had already been consuming alcohol to which the suspect acknowledged he had. When McPherson was denied entry into Pecan Grill, he apparently became aggressive and challenged the security guard, police said.

Police said McPherson then retrieved a large folding knife from his front pocket and held it to his side. That prompted the security guard to draw his firearm while giving commands for McPherson to drop the knife. As McPherson put the knife back into his pocket and began walking away, he was pepper-sprayed by one of the two security guards who then took him into custody before officers arrived on scene.

Officers found a large folding knife, about 9.5 inches long, from McPherson’s right-front pant pocket, police said.

McPherson was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center, where he was initially held without bond.

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