Las Cruces Man Arrested in Gunpoint Carjacking The Took Place in El Paso

Police arrested a man accused of carjacking an SUV and taking it's owner by gunpoint in El Paso Sunday morning. 

Michael Derby, 24, of Las Cruces is being charged in Las Cruces with three counts of Aggravated Assault Upon a Peace Officer, two counts of Aggravated Fleeing from a Law Enforcement officer and one count of Being in Possession of a Stolen Vehicle. The carjacking took place at 3 a.m. Sunday morning near Rigsby Rd. and Barker Rd.

As a police officer pulled over Derby, at the time he was with a 25-year-old female passenger. The officer questioned the couple and that’s when he saw a handgun near Derby's feet. The officer gave commands for Derby to keep his hands in view but Derby then drove away, driving south on Stern Drive toward Vado.

And it didn’t end there. Derby then allegedly drove to a gas station at North Desert Road near Trans Mountain Road where he allegedly forced the man to put $20 worth of gas into the tank. Around 8:45 a.m. the stolen Montero was then spotted in Las Cruces off of Picacho Avenue.

When police approached the vehicle they ordered Derby to vacate the vehicle but, instead, he allegedly sped away on a second car chase that initially went south on Valley Drive. The pursuit continued north through Las Cruces and east of I-25. Las Cruces Police officers finally stopped the vehicle off La Reina Road. Derby continued to ignore the officer's orders to exit the SUV and had to be forcefully removed.

Derby is initially being held without bond at the Dona Ana County Detention Center.