New Mexico Congressional Candidate Arrested for Stalking After Allegedly Sending Woman Harassing Texts

A candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives was arrested in Albuquerque, NM and charged with felony stalking after the candidate allegedly sent a series of harassing and threatening texts to a Santa Fe woman in late October.

David Alcon, who’s one of several Democrats vying for New Mexico’s soon-to-be open 2nd congressional seat, was arrested by police performing a “welfare check” outside an Albuquerque apartment complex on November 10, KRQE reported on Monday. The station reported that it is unclear why Alcon was in Albuquerque, or what he had been doing in the two weeks since a warrant was issued for his arrest in Santa Fe on October 30.

Alcon’s arrest comes after he allegedly sent a barrage of text messages to woman during a halloween party on October 28. According to a police report obtained by the Las Cruces Sun-News, Alcon began by telling the woman that he loved her and the situation escalated from there.

“The text messages went on to tell her that she better not leave, and he told her that he was not going to lose her again for another 10 years and even included a picture of his genitals,” the report stated.

The recipient of the harassing texts claimed she’d known Alcon for around a decade and that his behavior on the night of the texts was unlike their previous interactions.

Alcon, whose campaign website describes him as “The Liberal you deserve in Congress,” had previously been convicted of stalking a different woman in 2007. At the time, his sentencing judge described his behavior as “creepy” while placing him on probation for a three-year term.

When he announced his congressional run last month, Alcon did not shy away from his previous troubles, telling the New Mexico Sun they were “something in the past.”

“I’ve been able to maintain my mental health,” he added. “Mental health is something that people don’t pay attention to. It’s a big issue in this state.”