Police say an 18-year-old shot another teen in the back during a planned burglary early Sunday before hiding a handgun under a couch cushion.

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - An 18-year-old Las Cruces man is accused of shooting another teen in the back during a planned burglary early Sunday morning, according to court records.

Police say the shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. Oct. 13 near the Dos Vistas and Arena neighborhood. Officers responding to an assault call found a gunshot victim who told investigators he had been walking with a friend named Evan when he felt a hit in his back and fell.

Detectives later identified the friend as Evan Gabriel Martinez, who was arrested later that day.

According to a statement of probable cause filed by Las Cruces police, messages recovered from the victim’s phone showed the two had planned to burglarize a home near Parkhill Drive to steal firearms. Detectives said a live-photo selfie taken around 2 a.m. showed Martinez in the background shortly before the shooting.

The victim told officers Martinez shot him intentionally. Police said they later recovered clothing described by the victim and a 9mm handgun hidden under a couch cushion at Martinez’s home on Agate Street.

Martinez declined to give a statement. He is charged with attempt to commit first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. A judge ordered him held without bond following a probable-cause hearing Monday.

The case remains under investigation by the Las Cruces Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division.

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.