A man from Las Cruces, New Mexico, appeared in federal court following allegations that he used Molotov cocktails to set fires at an apartment complex.
Court documents state that on January 12, 2026, the Las Cruces Fire Department responded to a fire at Villa Del Telshor Apartments. Investigators determined the blaze started in a second-floor unit and was deliberately ignited with a Molotov cocktail. Surveillance footage from a neighboring Ring camera reportedly showed Richard Sepulveda, 47, who lived on the first floor of the building, carrying two bottles upstairs shortly before a flash was seen from above. The video then shows Sepulveda returning downstairs holding one lit Molotov cocktail and accidentally starting another smaller fire on the first floor, which he put out.
The next day, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reviewed the surveillance footage and confirmed Sepulveda’s identity using lease records and driver’s license photos. They also found that Sepulveda did not have registration to possess or manufacture such devices under federal law. On January 15, authorities searched his apartment and found shoes with burn marks matching those in the video, several lighters, and Miller High Life bottle caps similar to those used for making incendiary devices.
Sepulveda is charged with possessing an unregistered destructive device—specifically a Molotov cocktail—in violation of the National Firearms Act. He remains detained as he awaits trial. If convicted, he could face up to ten years in prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Shawn Stallo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Phoenix Field Division, announced the charges.
The case is being investigated by ATF with support from the Las Cruces Fire Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Gardner is prosecuting.
An indictment or criminal complaint is only an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
