Rio Arriba undersheriff faces charges over response to sheriff arrest

Trujillo accused of ordering officers to draw guns on other deputies arresting Sheriff Lujan in May

Rio Arriba County Undersheriff Martin Trujillo is accused of ordering deputies to draw their guns on other officers who arrested his boss, Sheriff James Lujan, on May 21.

Trujillo, 53, surrendered to New Mexico State Police, was booked into the Los Alamos

County jail and was released on his own recognizance all within about two hours Friday.

He is charged with criminal solicitation to commit assisting the assault upon a peace officer, a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to the affidavit for arrest warrant.

Prosecutors say Trujillo ordered his deputies to respond to the Rio Arriba County station with sirens and lights activated and surround Taos County sheriff ’s deputies and Española police officers who were there to execute a warrant on Lujan.

Trujillo directed the deputies to draw their weapons on the Taos and Española officers, “creating an extremely volatile and dangerous dynamic between law enforcement agencies,” the affidavit states.

“It was kind of like a blue-on-blue situation,” said Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb, who is handling the case against Lujan at the request of First Judicial District Attorney Marco Serna.

Lujan faces a number of charges, including allegations

he arrived at an Española SWAT scene intoxicated and interfered with the operation.

“Undersheriff Trujillo’s actions triggered a response that could have escalated to a shootout between law enforcement officers,” according to the affidavit.

There was no justifiable reason to command and authorize Rio Arriba County deputies “to respond in a high-risk manner to a controlled scene and draw their weapons out and point them at fellow Police Officers,” the affidavit states.

Reeb said other officers at the scene deescalated the situation and Rio Arriba County deputies did not draw their weapons, but “it was so disturbing to their own deputies that they filed tort claims on their own office.”

Reeb said she notified Trujillo’s attorney, William Snowden, on Friday that she was authorizing a warrant for Trujillo’s arrest because she wanted Trujillo to have a chance to surrender to authorities in hopes of avoiding a situation where Trujillo might be “surprised” at home by other officers attempting to execute the warrant.

Trujillo surrendered to state police officers in Española around 2:30 p.m. Friday in Española, Snowden and co-counsel Damian Horne said.

“He’s absolutely innocent and it appears to us he is some sort of pawn in political machinations,” Horne said Friday.

He added that after viewing the Rio Arriba County Sheriff ’s Office, it appeared to him it was the officers who arrested Lujan who used excessive force during the May incident. For example, Horne said, after they arrested Lujan, the officers used a shotgun to gain access to Lujan’s office.

“We are looking forward to our day in court,” Snowden said.

Los Alamos County Magistrate Pat A. Casados released Trujillo on standard conditions of release around 4:30 Friday, telling him to expect a summons for an arraignment in Española Magistrate Court.

Casados was assigned to the case after Española Magistrates Alexandra C. Naranjo and Joseph Madrid recused themselves from hearing the case, court records show.

Lujan did not respond to a message seeking comment Friday.