In the late hours of April 22, 2017, a young Hispanic man's life was cut tragically short in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Benjamin Montoya, a 21-year-old male, was fatally shot in the chest in the parking lot of the Town House Motel on West Picacho Avenue. His death would set in motion a complex investigation involving conflicting accounts from those present at the scene.
On that fateful night, Montoya and his pregnant, on-again, off-again girlfriend, Dakota Ocampo, were staying in a motel
room with a friend, Joel Arciniega-Saenz. An argument erupted between Montoya and another man in the room, which escalated into a physical altercation. During the fight, Montoya was pushed onto the bed, and a gun was drawn. A single shot was fired, striking Montoya in the chest. After being shot, Montoya stumbled out of the motel room and into the parking lot, where he collapsed and screamed for help.
When police arrived, they were met with differing stories. Ocampo identified Arciniega-Saenz as the shooter. She told investigators that Arciniega-Saenz had previously made romantic advances toward her, which she had rejected, telling him she saw him as a brother. Her account painted a picture of a deadly love triangle. However, Arciniega-Saenz provided a different narrative to the police. He claimed that a petite, unknown woman had entered the room, argued with Montoya, and then shot him before fleeing the scene.
Based on Ocampo's testimony, Joel Arciniega-Saenz was arrested and charged with an open count of murder. A grand jury later indicted him on a charge of first-degree murder on May 4, 2017. Despite the initial charges and indictment, the legal proceedings took an unexpected turn. On April 20, 2018, nearly a year after Montoya's death, the murder charges against Arciniega-Saenz were dismissed by prosecutors. The reasons for the dismissal were not immediately made public, leaving the question of who was responsible for Benjamin Montoya's death officially unanswered by the justice system.
