State Police arrest man in hit-and-run that killed cyclist near Deming

A man is accused of crashing into a bicyclist and killing him outside of Deming while on his way across the border on Saturday afternoon.

Noel Ronquillo Jr., 33, of Columbus, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal accident in Luna County Magistrate Court.

The dead cyclist was identified as 69-year-old Kevin O’Leary.

Ronquillo was spotted driving across the border into Puerto Palomas, Mexico, within minutes of the crash being reported to New Mexico State Police.

State Police said in a news release that a license plate reader was used to identify Ronquillo’s vehicle as the one involved and there “were no witnesses.”

“In just a short time, this system identified a vehicle that was involved in a homicide, leading to an arrest.“ State Police Chief Troy Weisler said in the release. “If not for this technology, this case might not have been solved so swiftly, and a dangerous offender might have still been on the street.”

However, according to court records, there was a witness who followed Ronquillo into Mexico, parts of Ronquillo’s vehicle — one having an identifiable serial number — were left at the crash site and State Police told Border Patrol to be on the lookout for the vehicle, leading to Ronquillo being detained at the border crossing Monday.

State Police said Ronquillo was arrested after being questioned, according to the release.

Officers responded around 1 p.m. to the crash along N.M. 11, several miles north of the Mexico border, and found O’Leary dead near a mangled bicycle, according to a statement of probable cause filed in Luna County Magistrate Court. Police found many parts of a maroon vehicle, including a piece with a serial number on it beneath O’Leary’s body.

Border Patrol was notified and told police the damaged Cadillac SUV crossed into Mexico around 1:10 p.m., identifying the license plate as registered to Ronquillo, according to police. A man told police he saw the Cadillac near a wrecked bicycle and it drove alongside him into Mexico.

The complaint states police used the Border Patrol’s video to identify the driver of the Cadillac as Ronquillo.

On Monday, Ronquillo was stopped at the border but in a different vehicle and officers went to speak with him, according to police. Officers asked him to come to the State Police office for an interview and to “bring the vehicle so we could look at it.”

Police arrested Ronquillo after he came to the office in Deming.