ALBUQUERQUE — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.

ALBUQUERQUE – A Las Cruces man appeared in federal court after allegedly using Molotov cocktails to ignite multiple fires at an apartment complex.

According to court documents, on January 12, 2026, Las Cruces Fire Department responded to a reported fire at the Villa Del Telshor Apartments in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Fire investigators determined the fire originated in a second-floor apartment and was intentionally set using an improvised incendiary device, commonly known as a Molotov cocktail. Surveillance footage from a neighbor’s Ring camera captured Richard Sepulveda, 47, who resided on the first floor of the complex, carrying two bottles upstairs moments before a bright flash is seen coming from upstairs. Sepulveda is then seen returning down the stairs holding one lit Molotov cocktail. He then appeared to inadvertently start a second smaller fire on the first floor, which he extinguished.

On January 13, 2026, ATF agents reviewed the footage, confirmed Sepulveda’s identity through lease records and driver’s license photographs, and verified he was not registered to possess or manufacture such a destructive device. On January 15, 2026, agents executed a search warrant at Sepulveda’s apartment and recovered shoes with apparent burn marks matching those seen in the video, multiple lighters, and Miller High Life bottle caps consistent with the incendiary devices used.

Sepulveda is charged with possession of a firearm, specifically a destructive device (Molotov cocktail), that was not registered to him in the National Firearms Act. He will remain detained pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charges, Sepulveda faces ten years in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Shawn Stallo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case with assistance from the Las Cruces Fire Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Gardner is prosecuting the case.

An indictment or criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.