Ruben Jose Trujillo
Introduction
Ruben Jose Trujillo, a 39-year-old Las Cruces man, was convicted by a federal jury after a week-long trial of carrying out four armed robberies in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, in October 2024 — a series that ended with him firing a handgun through a wall at two store employees who had locked themselves in a back room, the bullet nearly grazing one woman’s head. He faces not less than 31 years and up to life in prison at a sentencing hearing that has not been scheduled, and has remained in federal custody since December 2024 .
Background Information
Trujillo was already a prohibited person when the robbery series began: per the Justice Department release, he had previously been convicted of multiple felonies, including unlawful possession of a firearm. The October 2024 series gave that record its most violent chapter — four robberies in twenty-four days, each at gunpoint .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Convicted; sentencing pending.
On October 5 and October 21, 2024, Trujillo robbed two Circle K convenience stores in Las Cruces, pointing a firearm at the employees while demanding cash. On October 27, he robbed a Subway restaurant in Las Cruces, again threatening an employee with a firearm and demanding money .
The fourth robbery, on October 28 at a Family Dollar store in Vado, New Mexico, turned into a shooting. Trujillo broke through the glass front door and pointed a handgun at two employees, who fled into a room and locked the door. Trujillo fired through the wall, nearly grazing one employee’s head with the bullet — an employee who was left with a burn mark near her eyebrow for approximately two weeks from the drywall fragments, or possibly the bullet itself, grazing her head at a high rate of speed. He stole cash and a cash register drawer before fleeing .
Investigators identified Trujillo through surveillance footage that captured distinctive tattoos, clothing, and a noticeable limp. Arrested at a Las Cruces residence on October 29, 2024, he was searched and found out: a firearm, ammunition, a stolen cash register drawer, and clothing matching the robberies. Forensic testing linked Trujillo to the firearm and confirmed it had fired the bullet recovered from the Family Dollar robbery. When federal agents returned on December 4, 2024, to arrest him on a federal warrant, he fled on foot but was caught after a brief pursuit .
Public Reaction and Consequences
The jury convicted Trujillo of four counts of interference with commerce by robbery (the Hobbs Act counts) and four corresponding counts of using, carrying, and brandishing — and in one case discharging — a firearm during those robberies, along with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Following the verdict, the court ordered him to remain in custody pending sentencing .
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and FBI Albuquerque Field Office Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris announced the conviction. The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated with assistance from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Grant Gardner and Richard Williams are prosecuting .
Current Status
Trujillo has been in federal custody continuously since the December 2024 warrant arrest and now awaits sentencing on nine felony convictions. The discharge count alone carries a mandatory minimum measured in decades: the government’s own summary puts his exposure at not less than 31 years and up to life in prison .
Impact on Their Career/Life
The trial record is now permanent: a firearm forensically tied to a bullet pulled from a store wall, a stolen register drawer recovered in his own residence, and a limp visible on surveillance tape. At 39, with a sentencing floor of 31 years, Trujillo’s convictions convert a four-robbery month into a term that will plausibly outlast the working life it interrupted — the arithmetic of a 924(c) discharge count stacked on four Hobbs Act robberies and a felon-in-possession verdict .
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico, “Federal Jury Convicts Man of Four Armed Robberies in Doña Ana County,” October 29, 2026 — source