The guy who Albuquerque police believe to be the "mastermind" behind a recent spate of shootings that targeted the houses of Democratic politicians was detained on Monday.
The suspect, Republican Solomon Pena, ran unsuccessfully for office in November. He has often claimed that the election was rigged and he appears to have been present at the violence in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.
APD's SWAT team surrounded a condominium building close to the ABQ BioPark Zoo at around 3 p.m. to carry out a search warrant. Drones soared overhead as they made announcements for Pena, who they claimed might be carrying a gun, to surrender.
Police Chief Harold Medina reported Monday night that within an hour, officers had apprehended Pena, who is accused of hiring four individuals to fire shots at the residences of two county commissioners and two state lawmakers. Additionally, according to the investigators, Pena was present for at least one of the shootings.
Jose Trujillo, one of the four men Pena is accused of recruiting, is facing federal charges related to drug trafficking and firearms, although the other suspects' names were withheld at first.
Pena, who was a candidate for the House District 14 seat but lost, asserted on social media that he ought to have won. In November, he went unannouncedly to the houses of three of the targeted officials and complained that the election was invalid.
Mayor Tim Keller stated during a news conference that "APD basically found what we had all feared and what we had assumed — that these shootings were indeed politically motivated." They were dangerous assaults on democracy in general as much as on these particular people.
Republican House Leader Ryan Lane and Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham both released comments praising law enforcement and denouncing violence.
According to Lujan Grisham, "violence against any elected person or their family has no place in our society or our democracy, and I have faith that the legal system will hold those guilty for such crimes fully and fairly accountable."
Lane mentioned Pena's criminal record, which was a contentious topic during the campaign, and expressed the gratitude of the New Mexico House Republicans that no one was hurt in the shootings.
This is another another instance of a convicted criminal obtaining a firearm illegally that they are not allowed to own or carry and utilising it to hurt the public, according to Lane.
Democrat targets
Early in January, APD reported that it was looking into a number of shootings that had targeted the houses of Democratic elected figures in the city.
They claimed that on December 4, eight bullets struck the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa in Southeast Albuquerque, and a week later, on December 11, more than 12 rounds struck the home of County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley in North Valley.
On January 3, three bullets entered the bedroom of state representative Linda Lopez's 10-year-old daughter as she slept after shots rang out at her home in Southwest Albuquerque.
State Representative Javier Martnez, who is running for speaker of the House and represents District 11 in Southwest Albuquerque, noticed that his home had also been shot at after hearing about the inquiry. On December 8, he heard gunfire outside his house, and he believes that's when the shooting took place.
Gunshots were also heard near Ral Torrez's campaign office as he ran for state attorney general as well as the office of state senator Antonio "Moe" Maestas. However, a department spokesman stated on Monday that there is currently no evidence connecting Pena and his alleged accomplices to those shootings.
