Rio Rancho man arrested after stabbing juvenile in street fight

A Rio Rancho man faces child abuse and aggravated battery charges after police say a street fight on 11th Avenue turned into a stabbing that left a juvenile injured and a neighborhood block with nearly $600 in damage.

Phil Lujan, 42, a Rio Rancho resident, was arrested June 3 after the June 1 confrontation in the 200 block of 11th Avenue. Police said Lujan is charged with child abuse, two counts of aggravated battery and criminal damage to property. If convicted, he could face more than 20 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint summarized by investigators, an argument escalated into a physical fight. Police said Lujan pushed the juvenile, put the victim in a headlock and used a switchblade to stab the teen in the arm before fleeing the scene. The juvenile told police the fight continued as the teen struck Lujan back, and two witnesses said they tried to break up the altercation.

Officers did not recover the knife. The reported property damage came to nearly $600, adding another consequence to a case already marked by violence against a child.

The arrest has drawn attention because it unfolded on a residential stretch of Rio Rancho rather than in a remote or isolated setting. Crime-mapping data place the city’s violent-crime rate above the average U.S. city, a reminder that even brief disputes can quickly become serious public-safety incidents in familiar neighborhoods.

The case is expected to move through Sandoval County’s court system. New Mexico Courts says Sandoval County criminal and juvenile matters fall under the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, which has mandatory jurisdiction in non-capital criminal and juvenile cases.

City records guidance also notes that police reports requested under the Inspection of Public Records Act may be redacted or withheld in some circumstances, which can limit how much detail is released early in a case. For now, the allegations center on a juvenile injured in a street fight, a missing weapon and felony charges that could keep Lujan in court for months to come.