LAS CRUCES - A teenager has been indicted by a Do a Ana County grand jury after Las Cruces police allegedly found him in possession of cocaine in the maternity ward of Memorial Medical Center.

Christopher Michael "Scrappy" Sanchez, 19, was arrested Sept. 11 after a scuffle with police outside the room where his girlfriend was giving birth. Police, who were looking for Sanchez in connection with a shots-fired call at Las Cruces High School, say he was in possession of 7.1 grams of cocaine.

Sanchez, of the 1300 block of Panlener Avenue, was formally charged Thursday at grand jury with cocaine possession and resisting arrest.

The 3rd Judicial District Attorney's office describes Sanchez in court documents as "a known, violent gang member" with a multitude of gang tattoos.

Sanchez is free on bond awaiting trial in 3rd Judicial District Court for two other violent incidents from 2010.

Police were called the afternoon of March 17 after someone driving east on Lohman Avenue, near Interstate 25, fired a handgun at another vehicle. One bullet hole was visible on a rear-quarter panel of the victims' vehicle, police said. Sanchez was located a few minutes later and allegedly said he fired because "he believed the victims were laughing at him," according to court documents.

The next month, Sanchez was arrested for his alleged involvement in the armed robbery of a 59-year-old man's gold necklace at the Nacho Shell convenience store. Sanchez allegedly approached the man

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and blamed him for nearly causing a traffic crash a few minutes earlier. Police found Sanchez and two alleged co-conspirators a few minutes later at the MVD Express up the street, where he had apparently stopped to run an errand, police said. Sanchez was charged with robbery and tampering with evidence and transported to jail.

Earlier in 2010, a federal lawsuit brought by Sanchez's mother against the Las Cruces Police Department, alleging officers violated Sanchez's rights in 2006 while investigating a string of bomb threats at O ate High School, was thrown out by the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462