Las Cruces Man Sentenced for Robbery

ALBUQUERQUE - A Las Cruces man was sentence to 18 months in prison for stealing merchandise from a Lowe's store and threatening an employee with a firearm when confronted.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on January 24, 2025, Saul Gonzalez, 36, stole several pairs of work gloves from a Lowe's Home Improvement store in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After store employees confronted him about the unpaid merchandise, Gonzalez brandished a derringer-style firearm, causing an employee to fear for their safety. Gonzalez then left the store with the stolen items and fled in a white Dodge van accompanied by a female associate.

On February 2, 2025, Las Cruces Police Department officers located the van and conducted a traffic stop as part of the armed robbery investigation. Gonzalez and the female occupant denied involvement in the incident. A subsequent search of the vehicle pursuant to a state search warrant uncovered clothing matching what Gonzalez wore during the robbery, black latex gloves consistent with those seen in photographs from the incident, and the stolen Mechanix-brand work gloves with their tags still attached.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by threats or violence. Upon his release from prison, Gonzalez will be subject to three years of supervised release.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department. The Las Cruces Branch Office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.