Former Las Cruces police officer Felipe Hernandez was sentenced to 11 years, with two years suspended, following his conviction for voluntary manslaughter

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - Former Las Cruces Police Department officer Felipe Hernandez was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison, with two years suspended, for the October 2023 shooting death of 45-year-old Teresa Gomez.

The sentence was imposed during a Jan. 28 sentencing hearing before Third Judicial District Judge Richard Jacquez, according to courtroom reporting by KFOX-TV and KTSM-TV.

The sentence includes six years for voluntary manslaughter and a five-year firearm enhancement for discharging a firearm during the commission of a felony. The court suspended two years of the total sentence.

Following his incarceration, Hernandez will be required to serve two years of parole followed by two years of probation. The court also ordered Hernandez to pay a $5,000 fine and barred him from having any contact with members of the Gomez family.

A jury convicted Hernandez in October 2025 of voluntary manslaughter but acquitted him of a more serious charge of second-degree murder.

The shooting was captured extensively on Hernandez’s body-worn camera and became a central focus of the criminal case. Hernandez, an eight-year LCPD veteran, was conducting a bicycle patrol at the Burley Court public housing complex on Oct. 3, 2023, when he approached Gomez as she sat in her vehicle with a male passenger.

Hernandez claimed the pair were trespassing, though state investigators later testified that no housing regulations restricted visitors at that hour.

Body-camera footage shown at trial depicted Hernandez using profanity and aggressive language during the encounter and threatening to deploy his stun gun if Gomez did not comply with his commands. After several minutes, Hernandez allowed Gomez to return to the driver’s seat of her vehicle.

As Gomez began to drive away, Hernandez fired at least three shots into the vehicle, striking her in the chest.

Prosecutors also highlighted Hernandez’s failure to immediately render medical aid after the shooting. Testimony indicated Hernandez was seen retrieving personal equipment, including his flashlight and bicycle, while Gomez bled and struggled to breathe. Another responding officer later attempted lifesaving measures.

At trial, Hernandez testified that he feared for his life and claimed the vehicle struck him as Gomez reversed, making it a weapon. State investigators countered that evidence showed Hernandez was not struck by the vehicle and was not in immediate danger when he fired. Jurors ultimately rejected the prosecution’s second-degree murder charge but found Hernandez guilty of voluntary manslaughter with a firearm enhancement.

In late 2024, the City of Las Cruces reached a $20 million settlement with the Gomez family to resolve a wrongful death lawsuit related to the shooting. City officials said at the time the settlement was the largest of its kind in city history.

Court records show Hernandez has filed a motion for a new trial. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Feb. 6.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.