Restaurant owner shot by deputies after allegedly killing wife
Sep. 21—Doña Ana County deputies shot the owner of a Las Cruces pizzeria after he allegedly shot and killed his wife, with her 17-year-old son in the next room, on Sunday.
Robert Yacone, 59, is charged with an open count of murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the death of Kimberly Yacone, 48. Yacone is expected to survive his injuries after being shot by deputies responding to the homicide.
Yacone told deputies he had a gun and rushed at them before being shot, but no weapons were found on or near him, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Doña Ana County Magistrate Court.
The couple owned Forghedaboudit Southwest Italian, a restaurant in Las Cruces, and previously had another restaurant in Deming. Court records show Kimberly Yacone petitioned for a divorce from her husband in February after less than four years of marriage, citing "discord and conflict of personalities that have destroyed the marital relationship."
Robert Yacone was sentenced to probation in 2018 in a case where he allegedly pointed a gun at another driver when both men had their kids in the car.
The Republican Party of New Mexico mourned the loss of Kimberly Yacone, a member of the Doña Ana County Republican Party Executive Committee.
"This was a real tragedy ... " Kim Skaggs, RPNM executive director, said in a news release. "This was a senseless act of violence and a blow to the Doña Ana County GOP and the entire community."
Around 7:45 p.m., deputies were called to the family's home on Vista De Oro after the couple's son reported the shooting, according to the complaint. Deputies found Yacone on the balcony of the home and he told them he had a gun.
Deputies said an unarmed Yacone rushed at them from behind a wall and was shot multiple times. Inside the home, deputies found the body of Kimberly Yacone, who had been shot twice at close range with a shotgun.
Kimberly Yacone's 17-year-old son told deputies his stepfather was angry and said "she didn't love him" before shooting her, according to the complaint. The teen said Robert Yacone then crashed his truck into the garage and told another sibling he was going to kill himself.
Deputies said Robert Yacone's daughter, who lives in New York, told them her father called and told her he shot his wife and "was freaking out." The daughter said her father had been drinking and accused Kimberly Yacone of infidelity.
The daughter called another brother and he called 911 before going to the home and finding his mother dead in her bedroom, according to the complaint. The brother told deputies he was crying, and called 911 when his father pulled into the driveway.
Deputies said the brother told them he ran to a neighbor's house to seek help, but "was told to go away."
