Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) –A press conference was held today in Las Cruces over the officer involved shooting of Johnny Morales on February 8th. Morales was caught trying to steal a bicycle at Walmart when an off duty officer attempted to detain him. Morales shot at the officer and a chase ensued. During the pursuit Morales was shot and killed by officers. Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story commented on Morales’ long criminal history. “The judge should have all the information so when he gets the new charges they should know his history of violating. Every time he was out from prison he violated very quickly so he had a history of not complying, and then they put him out on a bond. He commits another crime gets arrested and he still gets out the next day. To me that’s several layers of failures that we have to do better at in our state.” When completed, the investigation will be turned over to the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s office in Las Cruces.
