The Lea County Sheriff’s Office has captured a juvenile who escaped from the Lea County Detention Center. The detention center is located at 1401 South Commercial Street in Lovington.
According to a KRQE News 13 report, sheriff’s deputies responded at about 12:15 p.m., on Thursday, June 15 “to a field south of the detention center about an escapee wearing a green jumpsuit.”
According to a press release issued by Corey Helton, Lea County Sheriff, jumpsuits like the one the escapee was wearing “…are worn by juvenile detainees at the Lea County Detention Center in Lovington, New Mexico.”
When responding to the incident, sheriff’s deputies “heard gunshots and observed the suspect pointing the gun in the air and discharging the firearm.” Sheriff’s deputies immediately identified the individual as a detainee from the Lea County Detention Center.
Deputies were able to communicate effectively with the juvenile to drop the firearm. Force was not used, and the juvenile was taken into custody without incident.
The juvenile escapee was identified as Michael Romero, a 15-year-old male from Hagerman, NM. “He was arrested on a warrant for unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and is pending extraction to Chavas County, NM.,”” states the press release.
As a result of his escape from the Detention Center, Romero has been charged with:
- Escape from a Jail (4th Degree Felony)
- Aggravated Burglary (2nd Degree Felony)
- Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer (3rd Degree Felony)
- Resisting, Evading or Obstructing an Officer (Misdemeanor)
- Larceny (Misdemeanor)
- Unlawful Carrying of a Deadly Weapon (Petty Misdemeanor)
- Negligent Use of a Firearm (Petty Misdemeanor)
