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A Texas man was charged with first degree murder in the March 16 death of an alleged Lea County sex offender living in Eddy County, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Carlsbad Police Department.

Rodney Welch, 43, is presumed to have run over Richard Radcliff with a pickup truck.

He was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident and knowingly causing death or bodily harm to Radcliff, the criminal complaint indicated.

Lt. Jaime Balencia, Carlsbad Police Department spokesperson, said Welch was visiting a homeless camp in the Lower Tansil area near the Pecos River, and was allegedly arguing with Radcliff.

Balencia said Welch left the camp and came back in a pickup truck, drove around in circles almost hitting some tents and then ran over Radcliff.

Balencia said Welch was arrested during a traffic stop on March 17 in Carlsbad.

Radcliff was pronounced dead on scene March 16 and his body was transported to Albuquerque for an autopsy, per a report from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI).

Radcliff, 39, died from blunt trauma, according to the report written by Lauren Decker, MD, medical investigator with the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque.

Radcliff's body was littered with scrapes and bruises, and a large cut to scalp, the report noted. Radcliff had rib fractures and cuts to the lungs, according to the report.

The report said Radcliff had an unknown medical history and did have a history of homelessness after periods of incarceration.

Radcliff was arrested three times in Eddy County during a nearly nine-month period from June 2019 to March of this year for failing to register as a sex offender, according to the Eddy County Detention Center website.

His last arrest was on March 5 and he was released March 9 on a $25,000 unsecured bond, per online court records.

Radcliff was convicted nearly 20 years ago in Lovington for attempt to commit criminal sexual penetration in the first degree, according to court records.

Welch entered no plea to the charges on March 18 before Carlsbad Magistrate Judge Kelly Calicoat, court records stated.

He was bound over for trial on April 8 and has a jury trial set for Nov. 3, per court records.

Welch remains in the Eddy County Detention Center on no bond and no bail on the leaving the scene of the accident charge, the jail’s website indicated.