The incident began around 8:30 a.m. when New Mexico State Police officers were dispatched to an armed robbery call at the Pecos River Station, a gas station and convenience store located on Interstate 25 at mile marker 319 in San Miguel County.
Officers received information that a male subject had entered the Pecos River Station and purchased a drink. The suspect, later identified as Lane Reed, left the store and walked to the frontage road and back to the store. Reed re-entered the store and pointed a silver, small-framed revolver at a female child with the clerk. Reed demanded the money from the cash drawer and the keys to the clerk’s vehicle. The clerk gave him the cash, approximately $250, but did not have any keys. The owner of the store, who resided above the store, came downstairs into the store when he overheard the clerk talking loudly to Reed. The store owner was armed with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun in the small of his back.
When the owner entered the store, Reed pointed his revolver at the owner. The owner stated Reed threatened to kill him. Reed demanded, and received, the keys to the owner’s grey 2014 Dodge four-door pickup. Reed asked the owner where the pickup was located. The owner showed him, and Reed discovered the owner was armed. Reed subsequently took the handgun from the store owner. Reed left the store and drove away in the owner’s pickup.
New Mexico State Police sent an advisory to all nearby law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the stolen Dodge pickup taken from the Pecos River Station. Around 10:00 a.m., deputies with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department observed the stolen pickup on the west frontage road of Interstate 25 near La Cienega, around mile marker 272.
When deputies attempted to stop the vehicle driven by Reed, the vehicle turned onto a dead-end street in the Waldo area, attempting to elude deputies. Reed turned the vehicle around and fired multiple gunshots at deputies. Reed then drove onto Interstate 25 southbound attempting to evade law enforcement. He traveled southbound and attempted to exit at the Santo Domingo exit (mile marker 259) where deputies attempted to conduct a felony stop. Reed began firing rounds a second time at deputies at that location. One Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department deputy returned fire at Reed through his windshield.
Reed continued southbound on Interstate 25. Officers and eyewitnesses observed him throwing items out his window, including what appeared to be money and a firearm. Eyewitnesses later recounted to officers during interviews they observed Reed pointing a gun at officers and shooting. Officers attempted to use tire deflation devices in an attempt to stop the fleeing vehicle, but all attempts were unsuccessful.
State Police officers observed the stolen pickup just north of Algodones, NM at mile marker 250 southbound and began assisting the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department in the pursuit. A third time near that location, Reed again began firing out his window at officers. A State Police officer returned fire through his windshield and Reed then stopped and surrendered. There were no injuries to Reed or officers during the incident.
The New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau assumed command of the entire officer-involved shooting incident and the State Police Crime Scene Team processed numerous crime scenes from this incident. State Police agents recovered two firearms, a large amount of US currency, and several spent bullet casings during subsequent searches of the crime scenes.
In a later interview with Reed, he told State Police agents he was involved in an armed robbery spree which began in Texas in the early weeks of July 2017. He traveled through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico where he was taken into custody. Reed admitted to committing crimes in Texas and Colorado and to the armed robbery at the Pecos River Station that day, along with the theft of the owner’s vehicle, pursuit with law enforcement, shooting at officers from the fleeing vehicle, and throwing incriminating items out of the vehicle during the pursuit. Reed also told agents he had removed the serial numbers from a stolen firearm he purchased. He also told agents he intended to “kill” the officers who were trying to stop him.
Subsequent investigation conducted by the New Mexico State Police revealed that the Raton Police Department had been dispatched to a robbery at the Cross Roads gas station on July 24, 2017, the day prior. The description of the suspect matched Reed’s description. It was also reported the suspect in the Raton robbery used a silver, small-framed revolver to demand money from the cash drawer before leaving in a Toyota four-door sedan bearing Florida plates.
When State Police responded to the call at the Pecos River Station, officers located in the nearby area a black 2018 Toyota four-door sedan bearing Florida registration. Officers discovered this vehicle had been reported stolen out of Denver, Colorado on July 23, 2017 around 9 p.m. The suspect from the auto-theft matched the description of Reed. Witnesses stated the suspect took the vehicle from the occupants after brandishing a firearm at a Diamond Shamrock gas station in Denver. The Denver Police Department was able to establish through their investigation that Lane Reed was the suspect in the theft of the black Toyota.
At the time Reed was taken into custody, he had numerous felony nationwide warrants, including:
Warrant #1 out of Denver, Colorado: Aggravated robbery; aggravated theft of a motor vehicle.
Warrant #2 out of Fort Worth, Texas: Aggravated robbery.
Warrant #3 out of Grandview, Texas: Aggravated robbery.
Reed was booked into the Sandoval County Detention Center. He has been charged by the New Mexico State Police with the following charges:
Assault with intent to commit a violent felony (five counts); Shooting at or from a motor vehicle; Aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer; Possession of firearm by a felon (three counts); Receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle (two counts); Receiving stolen property (firearm); Tampering with evidence; Armed robbery; Abuse of a child; and Unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
Because Reed’s crime spree covered multiple jurisdictions in New Mexico, Reed will face charges in Santa Fe and San Miguel Counties. State Police is cooperating with law enforcement agencies to determine if Reed will face additional charges for other crimes committed during his multi-state crime spree.
This case remains under investigation.
