Man Commits Suicide On NM Golf Course

A New Mexico golf course turned into a crime scene earlier this week when a man committed suicide on the Sonoma Ranch Golf Course in Las Cruces. 

The LCPD were dispatched to the golf course around 9:40 a.m. on Wednesday and found a man’s body sitting upright in a lawn chair.


“Information is preliminary, but it appears to be a suicide,” LCPD spokesman Dan Trujillo said. “LCPD is investigating. Specifics are what we’ll try to determine.” 

The golf course head pro was notified of a man sitting in a chair on the property earlier in the morning, but because he was out of the way and not bothering anyone, they left him be. 

“He had been on the property a few moments, my staff thought it was odd he was sitting there in the chair but he wasn’t in the way,” head pro Vernon Bane said. “He wasn’t bothering anyone so we left him alone and about 9:30 a.m. is when he did it. We’re the ones that called the cops. One of my guys was in the shop when he heard it, and we called the cops.” 

By the time Bane approached the scene, the LCPD were already there cordoning off the area. 

“By the time I got there it was cornered off and we shut the golf course down. So my priority became closing the golf course to prevent the public from showing up and hitting golf balls into the scene,” Bane said. “It’s unfortunate to have not been there and just rolled up when it happened. It’s a tough one.”