Las Cruces police officer indicted for voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a man in 2022
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A Las Cruces police officer has been indicted on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a man during a confrontation last year, authorities said Thursday.
The officer, Brad Lunsford, allegedly shot 36-year-old Presley Eze in August 2022 at a Las Cruces gas station after an employee called 911 to report that Eze had left with a beer he did not pay for, according to authorities.
A grand jury returned the indictment this week. Lunsford’s attorney, Jess Lilley, said Thursday he had not yet seen a copy.
“But we’re anxious for a jury to listen to the truth of what happened,” Lilley told The Associated Press. “We’re confident that Mr. Lunsford will be found not guilty.”
Authorities said Lunsford was the first officer to arrive at the gas station that day and began questioning Eze. A scuffle ensued when Lunsford and another officer tried to remove Eze from the vehicle he was in.
Eze resisted the officers’ attempts to take him into custody, according to the attorney general’s office. The man ended up on the ground on top of one of the other officers and placed his hand on the officer’s taser.
That’s when Lunsford drew his handgun and shot Eze once in the head at close range, authorities said.
Court records show the shooting happened just a few months after Eze was arrested by officers in nearby Sunland Park after he and another man were found unresponsive in a vehicle with firearms. The criminal complaint in that case stated that a background check at the time determined Eze had been convicted of an undisclosed felony in Connecticut in 2014.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said his office consulted with experts who concluded that the use of deadly force in the 2022 case was not reasonable under the circumstances.
“It is our duty to ensure that law enforcement officers are held to the highest standards, that their actions are transparently examined, and that any misconduct is addressed with the utmost seriousness,” Torrez said in a statement Thursday.
Prosecutors said Lunsford, 38, could face up to nine years in prison if convicted of voluntary manslaughter with a firearm enhancement.
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