A losing GOP candidate in New Mexico was arrested for allegedly paying other people to shoot at the homes and businesses of 4 local Democratic officials, police say.
Police say that Solomon Peña, left, sent a co-conspirator this image showing himself in a car with José Trujillo, an accused gunman in several drive-by shooting attacks on Democratic officials' homes in Albuquerque.Solomon Peña, who unsuccessfully ran for a state House seat in New Mexico as a Republican last November, was arrested Monday in Albuquerque for allegedly paying four men to shoot at the homes of four elected officials, police said.
. Court documents also show Peña appears to have taken a selfie with one of his accused co-conspirators.A photo that police say was sent from the phone of Solomon Peña shows José Trujillo eating a hamburger while holding a pistol. Trujillo and others are named in a criminal complaint charging Peña with orchestrating a string of shootings.
"This type of radicalism is a threat to our nation that has made its way to our doorstep right here in Albuquerque," Keller said.The first shooting happened on Dec. 4, when eight rounds were fired into the residence of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa. Four days laterthe home of House Speaker Javier Martinez came under attack in the North Valley area. And on Dec.
But around the same time, Lopez's daughter, 10, came to her mother's bedroom saying"she believed a spider woke her up by crawling on her face," according to the criminal complaint. When Lopez took her daughter back to bed, the girl"asked why it felt like there was sand in the bed." According to the criminal complaint, a confidential witness told detectives that Peña apparently took part because he was unhappy the bullets hit high on the homes and the shootings took place late at night.
The Maxima that Trujillo was driving was registered to Peña, according to law enforcement. It was stopped less than five miles from Lopez's home. Describing the attackers' methods, police say the gunmen apparently stole cars to carry out several attacks. A newly stolen red truck was used in the Lopez attack, police say, suggesting that when Trujillo was stopped, the alleged gunmen had already gotten rid of the stolen vehicle.
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