A Las Cruces jury found a man was not guilty of murder charges after police said he fatally shot a man outside a dispensary in December 2023.
Xavier Noe Altamirano, 20, acted in self-defense when he shot Steven Alarcon, 23, outside Top Crop on the 2200 block of E. Lohman Avenue, according to arguments from his attorney, Jeff Lahann.
“When I saw the video, it was absolutely clear in my mind,” Lahann told the Las Cruces Bulletin in an interview.
In their criminal complaint against Altamirano, police said Altamirano and another man argued with Alarcon before the incident erupted into a shooting. Lahann said that Altamirano and Alarcon had never met before the shooting and that Alarcon approached Altamirano in a threatening way.
“He was afraid, and he acted in self-defense,” Lahann said.
Altamirano had been arrested on the case in January, nearly a month after the shooting.
A judge then ordered that Altamirano would remain in jail after prosecutors argued that he was dangerous to the public.
Court records show that Altamirano was allowed to leave jail in August after eight months of incarceration.
The trial began on Aug. 26 and lasted three days, with District Judge Richard Jacquez presiding. A jury found Altamirano was not guilty of second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, or shooting at or from a motor vehicle, resulting in death.
“I’m really proud of the jury for keeping an open mind,” Lahann said. “They’re there to do their active citizenship, which, of course, means generally they’re supporting the government. So, it really takes a very open-minded jury to be able to listen and not just take the prosecutor at face value.”
