One dead in dairy shooting

A Texico man was found shot to death Thursday afternoon at a Curry County dairy.

One man is in custody and has been identified as the suspected shooter, Sheriff Wesley Waller said in a news release.

Mairon Franco Rodriguez, 23, was found deceased inside a milking barn, the release said.

According to the news release:

• Deputies about 1:30 p.m. Thursday were dispatched to a dairy located at 197 New Mexico State Road 77 regarding a person shooting at employees.

• Upon arrival, deputies detained an individual, who was reported by the dairy staff to be the shooter. The suspect is an employee of the dairy.

• The victim was also an employee of the dairy. He had been shot multiple times. No other injuries were reported.

• The 9th Judicial Major Crimes Unit was activated to assist with the investigation, along with New Mexico State Police.

It was not immediately clear if the alleged shooter had been charged.

The suspected shooter was not booked into the Curry County jail as of 8:45 p.m. Thursday, according to jail logs, nor did online court records reflect charges filed against him.

The owner of Route 77 Dairy — located near the address cited in the release — told The News there were four dairies on the road there but he declined to say where the incident occurred. Dean Van Dam said “there was some activity there,” but declined to speak further. He said law enforcement officers had asked him not to talk about the incident.

The shooting death is the third homicide in the region this year, following two slayings in Portales in April.