Krcelic sentenced to more than 37 years for Chaparral home invasion case

Twelfth Judicial District Attorney John P. Sugg announced that the Honorable James Waylon Counts has ordered Jason Krcelic, age 37, to serve the next 37 and a half years in prison for his role in a 2015 home invasion and armed robbery occurring in Chaparral.

An Otero County jury found Krcelic guilty of nine felony counts following a three day trial in November 2018.

Krcelic and two other men, armed with an AR-15 rifle and a 1911 .45 caliber pistol, posed as DEA Agents and forced their way into a home yelling “DEA, get on the ground, get on the ground!”

Once inside, Krcelic and his cohorts bound the family, which included a 15-year old boy, and their neighbor with duct tape and proceeded to rob them.

The victims’ 18-month-old daughter and the neighbor’s two-year old-son were also present in the home.

Before the men could make a clean getaway, deputies with the Otero County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene after receiving a 911 call from another neighbor.

A foot pursuit ensued, and while deputies were not able to take the men into custody at that time, the suspects left their vehicle behind.

During the execution of a search warrant on the suspects’ vehicle, deputies located a rifle case, a ammunition magazine, ammunition for the AR-15 and the .45 caliber handgun, and a receipt with one of Krcelic’s co-defendant’s name on it.

Deputies also seized cellphones belonging to Krcelic and his co-defendants.

Computer Forensic Investigator Brandi Wright of the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office recovered text messages which outlined a conspiracy between the three men to use the DEA as a front for the home invasion.

Krcelic, an El Paso resident, has extensive criminal history in the State of Texas dating back nearly 20 years, with felony convictions for theft, possession of methamphetamine and burglary of a habitation.

Krcelic’s sentence was enhanced under New Mexico’s Habitual Offender Act, and under New Mexico’s firearm enhancement law which adds an additional year of incarceration for each crime committed with a firearm.

Since all but one of the crimes Krcelic was convicted of are considered to be “serious violent offenses” under New Mexico law, Krcelic will be required to serve approximately 85 percent of his his 37 and a half year sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.

Krcelic will also have to serve five years of supervised probation and two years of parole upon his release.

Krcelic is the last of three co-defendants to be tried and convicted for the crimes.

Krcelic’s co-defendants, Clayton Moses and Handel Hughes, were previously convicted and sentenced. Moses is serving 18 years in prison while Hughes is serving a 41-year prison sentence.

The cases were prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Scot Key, and were investigated by the Otero County Sheriff’s Office.