One of the three defendants facing federal charges for his part in a series of shootings targeting the homes of local lawmakers last year pleaded guilty Monday afternoon to conspiracy, interfering with federally protected activities, and using a firearm during those crimes. During a hearing in a nearly-empty courtroom Jose Trujillo, 22, also pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute.
Trujillo faces between 10 years and life in federal prison. His defense lawyer, the former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico John Anderson, said there is no requirement in the plea agreement for Trujillo to testify against his co-defendants. His sentencing date has not been set.
Police say Trujillo and his father were hired by Solomon Peña, a Republican candidate for state legislature, to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two Bernalillo County commissioners in the months after Peña lost his 2022 race for House District 14 by nearly 50 percentage points. Reps. Javier Martínez, Sen. Linda Lopez and Commissioners Adriann Barboa and Debbie O’Malley are all Democrats.
No one was injured in the shootings but in one case a bullet pierced the bedroom wall where a child was sleeping.
Barboa’s house was shot at on Dec. 4 and Martínez’s home was shot up on Dec. 8, but casings were not discovered until nearly a month later. O’Malley’s house was hit with 12 rounds on Dec. 11 and on Jan. 3 shot spotter—a gunshot detection device—alerted authorities to gunfire near Lopez’s house. Although Lopez did not immediately recognize the sound or see any damage, it was later discovered that the bullet had pierced the wall to her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom and dust that blew in from the hole landed on her bed and face.
The case drew national attention, in part because of Peña’s insistence on social media that he had not lost his election. His last post on X (formerly Twitter) reads “Trump just announced for 2024. I stand with him. I never conceded my HD 14 race. Now researching my options” alongside a photo of himself wearing a signed “Make America Great Again” sweatshirt. Another post implies he was in Washington D.C. during the January 6 storming of the Capitol.
The cases against Peña, 40, and Jose Trujillo’s father, 42-year-old Demetrio Trujillo, are pending. Peña faces a mandatory minimum of 60 years in prison.
Jose Trujillo was arrested on Jan. 3 shortly after the final shooting. A deputy pulled him over for a traffic stop less than an hour after police were alerted to a shooting near Lopez’s home. The deputy found Trujillo had nearly 900 pills—including fentanyl—two firearms—one of which was a machine gun—and more than $3,000 in cash. He was driving Peña’s car and it wasn’t long before investigators were able to put the case together.
Peña was arrested a couple of weeks later and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, shooting at an occupied dwelling, attempted aggravated battery, criminal solicitation and other crimes. In late May, federal prosecutors charged him and the Trujillos with conspiracy and interference with federally protected activities along with gun and drug crimes.
According to that indictment, Peña was a “close political ally” of the Republican candidate who challenged Martínez, the incumbent, to represent District 11 in 2022. Lisa Meyer-Hagen lost the race by more than 55 percentage points. A couple of days after the election, authorities say Peña and the Trujillos began to conspire. Two other men, adult brothers, were also involved but have not been charged.
On Nov. 21, 2022 the Bernalillo County Commissioners certified the losses of Peña and Meyer-Hagen.
In the early morning hours of Dec. 4, investigators say Peña sent a text to Meyer-Hagen—referred to in the indictment as “candidate 1”—saying “We can’t just sit around being angry. We have to act. I’m continuing my study of election rigging. The enemy will eventually break, because they are committing intentional wrongs, and all humans eventually make mistakes.” Less than 24 hours later the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Barboa was riddled with bullets.
The indictment does not say if Meyer-Hagen responded to the text. Following Peña’s arrest, Albuquerque police announced they were investigating the source of his campaign contributions. In Monday’s hearing, Judge Kirtan Khalsa read the facts from an 18-page plea agreement, including that Peña had paid Trujillo to use his bank account to contribute more than $5,000 to the campaign.