APD details fatal shootout in Taylor Ranch that left one man dead

A welfare check for a man who had swallowed pills turned into a fatal shootout with police after the man brandished a gun and would not listen to officers’ commands after an hour of negotiation.

The Albuquerque Police Department on Monday shared lapel video and other evidence from the July 15 shooting that left 69-year-old Sammy Jenkins dead with a gunshot wound to the chest. Jenkins, who had no prior criminal history, fired eight shots at officers before being shot.

It was the 10th shooting in 2025 by Albuquerque police, and there has been one more since then. Seven of those shootings were fatal.

Deputy Cmdr. Rob Drager, who helps oversee APD’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, said officers were dispatched to the 4000 block of Wellsburg Avenue NW at 5:28 p.m. after Jenkins’ wife called around 5 p.m. to report he had taken four to five Klonopin pills — which are used to treat seizures and anxiety — was heavily drinking and threatened suicide.

She would not answer whether the pills were prescription and told the operator “he doesn’t want you to know.”

The woman called back shortly after and begged a 911 operator to cancel the call, saying it was “more out of pride at this point.”

“It’s not as serious as I thought it was going to be,” Jenkins’ wife told the operator on the phone. “Please don’t come. He’s worked so hard, and I do this to him.”

The operator said they would not be able to cancel the 911 request and asked if Jenkins had any weapons. When his wife said yes, the operator asked if the weapons were locked up or if he currently had them, to which the wife responded, “I’m not sure at this point.”

Upon arriving, Jenkins’ wife came through the garage, as shown by lapel camera footage from officer Christopher Luthi.

“He can’t know you’re here. He has a gun,” she pleaded with officers.

“I’m going to be straight with you, if it’s sleeping pills, he may not wake up,” said Luthi, who has been with APD since 2011 and has no prior history of police shootings. “That’s not something we can walk away from.”

Officers said they would not be able to leave the home and asked if Jenkins had a weapon in his hands. Jenkins’ wife would not answer, which officers believed was a sign that he did have a weapon in his possession.

“Officers requested backup at that point,” according to a news release from APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos. Officers told Jenkins’ wife to go to a neighbor’s house, where she stayed when the shooting occurred.

At 5:46 p.m., officers saw Jenkins in his backyard. Officers asked Jenkins to prove he wasn’t armed, and Jenkins showed them a handgun in his hands. For nearly an hour, an enhanced crisis intervention officer spoke to Jenkins to try to de-escalate a situation. During this time, Jenkins went to an upstairs bedroom that faced the street where officers were.

“Nobody here wants to hurt you, but it requires your cooperation,” an officer told Jenkins, according to lapel footage. “This does not need to continue escalating. We’re only here to help you.”

At 6:38 p.m., Jenkins fired one shot at officers from the bedroom. One officer returned fire. At this point, nobody had been injured during the exchange of gunfire, according to the release from Gallegos.

Five minutes later, Jenkins fired another shot from the upstairs window. Three officers returned fire. Again, nobody was harmed. Jenkins shot a total of eight times, six from a 9 mm handgun and two from a rifle.

At 6:47 p.m., Jenkins came downstairs to his garage with a firearm in his hands. Officer Matthew Silva shot Jenkins once in the chest in the garage, killing him.

“Rescue personnel responded and determined he was deceased,” Gallegos wrote in the release.

Officers searched the home and found that Jenkins had a total of four weapons in the house. The two other firearms, a revolver and another rifle, were unused during the shootout. All the weapons were purchased legally, according to Drager.

Officers fired over 17 shots at Jenkins, including one lethal gunshot to the chest. Two of the eight bullets that Jenkins fired struck the front tire of a police vehicle. Another hit the driver’s side door of another police vehicle.