APD details shooting that left burglary suspect dead

Police on Friday gave details and released evidence from the fatal shooting of a commercial burglary suspect in Southeast Albuquerque last month

During a briefing, the Albuquerque Police Department said 40-year-old James Litteral should have been in jail long before he and a group of men raided an Amazon distribution warehouse and stole dozens of packages on Jan. 10. Litteral was shot in the neck and chest by officer Brad Hess during a foot chase roughly one hour after the robbery.

No gunshots were fired by Litteral at any point during the day. Lapel footage never distinctly showed Litteral with a gun in his hand or pointing a firearm in the direction of Hess.

A black firearm was later recovered from the scene with a round loaded into the chamber. 

The shooting was the first involving Albuquerque police in 2026. A shooting on Feb. 3 along Interstate 40 was the second and also ended in fatality.

Interim Police Chief Cecily Barker opened the news conference by stating that, in many instances of police shootings, the individuals involved should have been in jail.

"We're seeing these people out of jail and causing havoc in our community," Barker said. "Mr. Litteral has an extensive criminal history; he served prison time. One of those times he should have been in prison for 10 years, he was there for seven and a half."

In 2015, Litteral was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in a case in which he stabbed two people while shoplifting, according to court records. He was released to serve five years on probation in 2020 and moved to Illinois, where he was arrested in 2022 for a home invasion.

Court records show that Litteral was released in May 2025 to serve out the remainder of his probation sentence in New Mexico.

Cmdr. Jeff Barnard said the situation began when police received a call around 9:45 a.m. Jan. 10. According to the 911 caller, a group of men were burglarizing an Amazon distribution center in Southeast Albuquerque, near Central and Juan Tabo, and loading the packages into one of their vehicles.  

Moments later, officers received another call from an employee of the distribution center, who said that at least one of the men was armed with a gun and that the group had left with dozens of packages in a truck.

Footage from the store showed several men tossing packages into a cart that they would later load into their truck. Litteral can be seen in the corner of the video fidgeting with what police believe was a gun in his back pocket. 

"Employees advised they observed Mr. Litteral with a firearm on his person, but he never pointed it at them," Barnard said. "You'll see in this video, Mr. Litteral put his right hand in his back pocket of his jeans, gesturing he has a firearm."

Police arrived and an Amazon employee pointed out the vehicle that was fleeing the scene and showed a photo of the truck. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver sped away.

Dash camera footage from one of the officer's vehicles shows Litteral leaping out of the passenger seat on Western Skies and Singing Arrow. Police lost sight of Litteral after he jumped the fence of a house, Barnard said. 

As officers searched for Litteral, the driver in the truck left the area and was found by police, Barnard said. All the stolen goods were recovered and returned to the Amazon center.

Roughly 30 minutes later, officers found Litteral on the roof of a house in the 10000 block of Singing Arrow, just east of the distribution center.

Hess, who has been with APD since 2021 and has not been involved in any prior police shootings, told Litteral to show his hands, according to lapel footage. Litteral stood up with one hand in his pocket and ran across the rooftop before jumping down.

Hess discharged his Taser four times as Litteral ran, but the activations failed to establish a completed circuit.

"Officer Hess chased Mr. Litteral on foot west of Singing Arrow, where a vehicle was stopped in the middle of Singing Arrow and Doe Lane," Barnard said. "Mr. Litteral attempts to open the vehicle multiple times and yells at the driver to open the door."

The driver later told police that he was scared that Litteral was going to get into his vehicle, and Barker said it was fair to say that the officer stopped the situation from escalating. 

"Don't (expletive) do it," Hess told Litteral, according to lapel footage, who still has his hand on the driver's door as he attempts to tug it open while telling the driver to open the door. 

Lapel video showed that moments later, three shots rang through the air as Hess fired his gun at Litteral. Officers attempted to render medical aid, but Litteral died at the scene.

Hess later told investigators he saw Litteral pull a gun out and point it in his direction, according to a news release. He said Litteral retreated behind the car for a brief moment before returning to the driver's side, where Hess said he saw Litteral's left hand on the driver's door handle with his right hand in his pocket with what he perceived was a gun.

According to police, a witness across the street said he saw Litteral pull a gun from his pocket before Hess shot him.

After the shooting, police found the truck used during the burglary at a nearby trailer park, Barnard said. The driver was not inside the vehicle and police learned he had been seen boarding a city bus near Tramway and Wenonah around 12:40 p.m.

The driver, 45-year-old Jeffrey Morales, was arrested and charged with aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, resisting an officer, aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer and unlawfully carrying a deadly weapon in connection to the burglary. He was released from jail two days later.

Morales said he had been asked by Litteral for a ride to the warehouse earlier in the day but claimed he did not know Litteral had stolen packages from the warehouse. 

"When asked why he did not stop his truck, he stated that Mr. Litteral told him to keep going," Barnard said.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.