APD arrests man, on lookout for three others after officers were shot at during traffic stop

One man is in custody and three others remain at large after Albuquerque police officers were shot at during a traffic stop in Southeast Albuquerque Monday morning.

Joeray Newson, 35, of Albuquerque is charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, shooting at/from a motor vehicle, great bodily harm, felon in possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence, criminal damage over $1,000 and concealing his identity.

Newson was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center Monday afternoon. It is unclear who his attorney is.

Newson is on federal probation for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said.

Police were able to identify Newson through video surveillance before a drone tracked him down hiding in a backyard, according to a criminal complaint filed at Metropolitan Court.

At 3:54 a.m., officers attempted a traffic stop on a white Acura without a license plate at Tennessee and Trumbull.

After the vehicle fled, officers unsuccessfully used StarChase, a GPS tracking device fired onto a moving vehicle, according to police. An officer said he then heard “loud pops” and “loud hissing” before seeing “muzzle flashes” and hearing gunshots, the complaint states.

One of the officers avoided getting shot by “hugging the left side of the roadway,” police said. The officer then tried following the vehicle until it turned south onto San Mateo, clipped the rear driver’s side of the car, causing it to spin, slide then hit a tree, according to the complaint.

No officers were hit by bullets, Gallegos said, but an officer suffered a minor laceration when he crashed his vehicle.

The other vehicle continued before stopping outside the Wells Fargo at San Mateo and Zuni, where the occupants — including Newson — got out and ran, Gallegos said. Officers later found two firearms in the yard of a home in the 700 block of Truman, less than half a mile away from the bank, the complaint states.

A drone found Newson hiding in the backyard in the 4900 block of Inspiration, less than a mile from the Wells Fargo, police said. Newson initially identified himself with another name before police learned he was Newson, the complaint states.

Three of the suspects have yet to be found, Gallegos said.

APD is working with federal law enforcement and the U.S. District Attorney’s Office on getting a warrant regarding Newson’s probation violation and on federal charges related to Monday’s shooting, he said.