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• Man, daughter shot during break-in

September 12, 2007 (Las Cruces, NM) – A Las Cruces man and his daughter were recovering in an Albuquerque hospital after a weekend home invasion there ended in gunfire.

Craig Luchetti, 54, and his wife, Maria Luchetti, were in Albuquerque visiting their daughter, 34-year-old Veronica Amesquita, when two teens broke into the daughter's home through a partially open garage door, said Albuquerque Police Department spokesman John Walsh. A struggle ensued and Luchetti and his daughter, a nurse, were shot.

Both Luchetti and Amesquita were taken to University of New Mexico Hospital, where they were listed Tuesday in satisfactory condition, according to hospital officials.

The home invasion, which took place about 11:20 p.m. Sunday, was an apparent random act, Walsh said.

"It was fairly simplistic," he said. "Two assailants were in the neighborhood and apparently took an opportunity."

Walsh said the residential neighborhood in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights is a normally quiet, upscale area. The assailants are described as two male Hispanics roughly between the ages of 15 and 18. Both were wearing black clothing and bandanas, and were about 5-foot, 7-inches tall, Walsh said. It appeared the culprits came through the open garage and entered the home through a connecting door leading into the kitchen, he said.

Walsh said Amesquita was shot twice and Luchetti received one gunshot wound to the abdomen. Maria Luchetti was not injured, Walsh said.

Amesquita was talking to a friend on her cell phone at the time of the assault, and her friend was able to alert police. The intruders assaulted Luchetti and, when Amesquita began to fight back, they began to fire. Amesquita was hit once in the arm and once by a bullet that grazed her finger and head, according to police.

The motive for the invasion remains unclear, but the assailants did make off with two cell phones and Amesquita's identification, Walsh said.

The Luchettis were reportedly planning to return to Las Cruces Monday. Calls to their Las Cruces phone number were not answered Tuesday afternoon.

Albuquerque police currently have no leads in the crime.

-By Jason Gibbs, Las Cruces Sun-News