Latest news with #NewMexicoHouse
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Defense: Solomon Peña is ‘right-wing election denier,' not shooting spree ‘mastermind'
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Jury deliberation began Wednesday in the federal trial against Solomon Peña. The former New Mexico House of Representatives candidate is accused of orchestrating shootings at the homes of four Bernalillo County Democrats who he believed were responsible for his loss in 2022. A federal judge handed the case to the 12-person jury, comprised of six women and six men, after closing arguments wrapped up Wednesday. During the trial, the jury listened to more than five days of testimony from the federal prosecution's witnesses to prove the election interference case against Peña. The feds also presented text messages, cell phone location data, ballistics reports, videos of two shootings, photos, and confessions from two of the four co-conspirators—Jose Louise, and his dad, Demetrio Trujillo—who already took plea deals, admitting to their roles and detailing Peña's plan. 'He defined the conspiracy,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Pena said of Peña. 'The evidence has shown this was his plan and no one else's.' Albuquerque police take 11-year-old into custody in connection to fatal hit and run AUSA Pena told jurors Peña targeted the people who certified the 2022 election—Bernalillo County Commissioners Adriann Barboa and Debbie O'Malley, his fellow Republican friend's political opponent, New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martinez, and a Democrat he hoped would end up scared to run for re-election, State Sen. Linda Lopez. 'The defendant masterminded the shooting spree against elected officials to retaliate and to advance his political plan,' AUSA Pena said in court. The first shooting happened on Dec. 4, 2022, and the last on Jan. 3, 2023. Just hours after the final shooting, Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies pulled over Jose Louise Trujillo and arrested him on an outstanding warrant. In the trunk of the vehicle, deputies found a Glock outfitted with a drum magazine and an AR-15. Investigators were able to connect the car back to Peña and the guns to the shootings. The guns were shown in court throughout the trial—including Wednesday, when the prosecution reiterated to the jury that Peña shot the AR-15 at Senator Lopez's home. 'He was the aggressive one,' AUSA Pena told the jury. Peña's defense team agreed the shootings happened but disputed that Peña orchestrated them or shot any gun. In closing arguments, the defense tried to sow doubt in the Trujillos' testimonies—calling them convicted criminals with drug addictions who said what the government wanted them to so they'd get time off their sentences. 'These men are fighting for their lives on the stand,' Defense Attorney Carter Harrison told the jury. The defense said Peña was nothing more than 'a political science dork' and 'right-wing election denier' who asked the Trujillos to do surveillance—and the father-son duo escalated to violence on their own. The defense also did not call any witnesses during the trial. Peña has spent the last two years behind bars awaiting this trial. In court Wednesday, he appeared to be paying close attention—raising his eyebrows a few times and blotting his face with a tissue once or twice. Otherwise, he didn't show much emotion. Peña faces 13 charges, one of which is because he's already a convicted felon—so he can't possess a gun. Three were added recently—after Peña was accused of offering to pay two of his fellow inmates $10,000 each to kill the Trujillos. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM House passes public safety package
New Mexico House Leader Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) and other House leaders previewed public safety and behavioral health proposals for the 2025 legislative session during a Jan. 10 news conference in Albuquerque. (Photo courtesy NM House Democrats) On Saturday, the New Mexico House of Representatives passed a six-bill package of public safety legislation on a 48-20 vote, sending the bills to the Senate. House Bill 8 includes several components, including: enhanced penalties for fentanyl trafficking; increased fourth-degree felony charge for making a shooting threat; criminalization for possession of a weapon conversion device; increased penalties for vehicle thefts; legislation to make it easier for police to conduct blood tests in DWI cases; and a controversial criminal competency bill that prompted criticism last week from a coalition of community organizations, which described said the package of legislation 'focuses on new crimes, increased punishments, and forced hospitalization.' Following the House passage, its co-sponsors and House leaders released statements lauding their work. 'We are taking a thoughtful, holistic approach to make New Mexicans safer,' Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Albuquerque), co-sponsor of the competency legislation, said. 'This public safety package will help us address the pressing issues facing our communities today, and our investments in behavioral healthcare, housing, prevention, and treatment will help us to tackle the root causes of crime.' Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who traveled the state in advance of the session building support for her public safety agenda, also released a statement following the House package, which she described as 'a first step towards ensuring accountability for criminals and updating our criminal competency and civil commitment procedures. While it is an important step forward, our work isn't finished. I urge the Legislature to advance the remaining public safety bills. Each day that passes without action means more people get hurt and neighborhoods suffer. Get these public safety bills to my desk now—our communities deserve real protection, not more excuses. I will not stop until New Mexicans feel safe.' Other crime bills still making their way through the legislative process include House Bill 12, which makes changes to the state's extreme firearm protection law, as well as bills related to human trafficking, behavioral health and crime victims, among others. Prior to the session, House Democrats previewed their public safety agenda, which also includes a a $200 million toward expanding the state's behavioral healthcare infrastructure, which the Senate passed on Friday and will now proceed through the House committee process. 'We promised to work closely with our colleagues in the Senate to develop well-vetted solutions to the public safety and behavioral health challenges facing our state and we are delivering on that promise,' Speaker of the House Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) said in a statement over the weekend. 'By working together to pass good legislation, rather than trying to score political points, we can make our communities safer and ensure that New Mexicans who are struggling can get the help they need.'
