A well-known Las Cruces bar owner remains behind bars Tuesday morning, accused of pointing an AR-15 style rifle at a woman. According to court documents, a parking lot dispute ensued over content posted on Snapchat.
Robert “Berto” Burnham, 32, the owner of Boots and Bourbon in Las Cruces, is charged with one count of Aggravated Assault following the alleged incident in the parking lot of the Game II Bar and Grill Sunday.
Court documents show that Burnham was at the Game II with friends when his girlfriend and a friend of hers arrived. The alleged victim told investigators that she went inside to tell Burnham that his girlfriend was in the parking lot and wanted to speak with him.
The girlfriend told investigators the couple were supposed to meet at a nearby restaurant and bar. Instead, Burnham’s girlfriend says she saw a Snapchat posted of Burnham with another woman and the two arrived to Game II to confront him about it.
The alleged victim told investigators the pair began arguing in the parking lot and Burnham walked away to his Jeep and pulled out the AR-15 style rifle and pointed it toward her. Court documents state that Burnham’s girlfriend intervened and told him to put away the weapon.
Burnham left the scene and was taken into custody by responding Las Cruces police officers at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Sonoma Ranch a short time later. Police say they located the rifle partially wrapped in a jacket inside the Jeep.
He was booked into the Doña Ana County Detention Center where he is initially being held without bond.
(Story from El Paso Proud)
