LAS CRUCES, NM – A New Mexico man will spend three years behind bars after being convicted of beating his teenage stepchildren with an extension cord, prompting a jury to return a guilty verdict in less than half an hour, officials said.
Lerenzo Legardy, 53, was handed his sentence Thursday, according to the Doña Ana County District Attorney’s Office. He will serve three years in prison, followed by two years of supervised probation.
Authorities said Legardy’s conviction stems from a violent incident in which he used an extension cord to lash his stepchildren after he caught them using an Alexa device. The force of the beating caused bleeding welts on the children’s arms and legs, as described by prosecutors.
Despite restrictions that blocked the victims themselves from testifying during the trial, the prosecution presented evidence through the testimony of one of the children’s older brothers. The district attorney’s office credited his account with helping to secure the conviction.
Jurors deliberated for only 20 minutes before returning with the guilty verdict on one count of third-degree child abuse, reflecting what prosecutors described as a straightforward case.
Prosecutors say the abuse surfaced after one of the victims fled the family home and sought help at a local library. There, the teen reported the incidents to police, leading to a wider investigation into allegations of abuse inside the Legardy household.
Law enforcement officers responding to the library documented visible injuries on the boy, which they said appeared consistent with his accounts of being beaten. Police then executed a follow-up investigation at the home, where additional evidence was reportedly found.
As the case unfolded, additional details emerged regarding potential abuse from Lerenzo Legardy’s wife, Yvonne Legardy. Authorities alleged she participated in other violent acts, including forcing children to chain-smoke cigarettes and pepper spraying them when they became ill. Court documents indicated the use of a metal mop handle in one instance and noted multiple incidents where pepper spray was deployed against the children.
Yvonne Legardy faced child abuse charges in separate incidents, but those charges were dropped in November, according to court records.
The case highlighted the challenges prosecutors sometimes face when victims are unable or unwilling to testify directly. Officials emphasized their commitment to pursuing cases and seeking justice for child victims, even in difficult circumstances.
As of now, Lerenzo Legardy remains incarcerated and will serve out his sentence under the terms determined by the court.