Jury convicts on all counts in the political shooting trial of Solomon Peña

A federal jury handed down 13 guilty verdicts in the trial of Solomon Peña, who prosecutors called the “mastermind” of a string of shootings at the homes of four Democratic elected officials following the 2022 election.

Jurors deliberated about six hours before finding Peña, 41, guilty on all counts following a weeklong trial in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. He faces a mandatory 60 years in prison at a sentencing hearing to be held within 90 days.

“I think the verdict is a travesty,” said his attorney, Nicholas Hart, who said he intends to appeal the case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. “I think that trial was all about politics.”

Attorneys offered jurors competing theories of the shootings in closing arguments with defense attorneys putting full responsibility for the shootings on Peña’s co-defendants, Jose and Demetrio Trujillo, both of whom testified last week for the prosecution.

Prosecutors argued that Peña planned and ordered shootings at the homes of two state lawmakers and two Bernalillo County commissioners, directing the actions of his co-defendants.

“He is legally responsible for all the shootings because he set them all in motion,” U.S. Assistant Attorney Jeremy Peña told jurors on Wednesday. “He willfully caused other people to do the criminal acts.”

Prosecutors said that Peña was motivated by his November 2022 election loss to incumbent Rep. Miguel P. Garcia, D-Albuquerque, by a margin of nearly 50 percentage points. Peña later posted on social media that the election was “rigged.”

Prosecutors also contend that Peña himself fired a round from a 300 Blackout AR-15 pistol at the home of Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, on Jan. 3, 2023. Peña paid his co-defendants to fire gunshots at the other three homes, they alleged.

“He targeted (Lopez) because she campaigned for office in the past and he wanted to discourage her from running for office in the future,” Jeremy Peña said.

“For the defendant, he thinks the shootings will advance his political project,” the prosecutor told jurors. The Trujillos were motivated by financial gain, he said. “The targeted nature of the shootings can’t be explained without the defendant.”

Three of the four elected officials targeted by the shootings — Lopez, Sen. Debbie O'Malley and Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa — issued a joint statement following the verdicts.

“Justice has been served," the statement said. "No individual or family should ever have to experience the terror of a drive by shooting. Our homes are meant to be our havens, where families feel secure and the stresses of our professional lives can be safely left behind. We are grateful that the jury found this man guilty on all counts and hope this verdict serves as a reminder that threats or acts of violence against anyone in this community will not be tolerated.”

Peña, who has remained in custody since his 2023 arrest, declined to testify in his own defense. Asked by U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs on Tuesday if he had made his own decision to give up his right to testify, Peña responded, “That’s correct, ma’am.”

The allegation that Peña fired the AR-15 pistol at the Lopez home is the basis of one count in Peña’s indictment charging him with “using and carrying a machine gun” in a crime of violence.

Peña was indicted by a federal grand jury on 13 felony charges alleging he “organized a shooting spree that targeted the homes of four elected officials and their families” from Dec. 4, 2022, to Jan. 3, 2023.

Peña’s attorney, Carter Harrison, told jurors Wednesday that prosecutors built their case on the testimony of witnesses facing potential life sentences if their stories don’t assist the prosecution. He warned jurors to be wary of their testimony.

“They have an immense incentive to tell the government the story they want to hear,” Harrison said in closing arguments. “These men are fighting for their lives on the stand.”

Jose Trujillo, 24, and his father, Demetrio Trujillo, 44, each testified last week that they fired gunshots at the homes of elected officials at Peña’s instructions.

Each of the Trujillos has pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges and faces a sentence of up to life in prison. Neither man has been scheduled for a sentencing hearing.

Harrison argued that prosecutors have powerful leverage over how long the Trujillos spend in prison based on their sentencing recommendations. Demetrio Trujillo faces a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison and Jose Trujillo, 10 years to life.

Hart predicted after the verdict Wednesday that the Trujillos soon will be released from custody in exchange for their testimony.

Demetrio Trujillo told jurors that he fired gunshots at the homes of Barboa on Dec. 2, 2022, and House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, on Dec. 8, 2022. He said Peña paid him a total of $1,400 for the two shootings.

Jose Trujillo testified that he fired gunshots on Dec. 11, 2022, at home of O’Malley, then a Bernalillo County commissioner, and on Jan. 3, 2023, at Lopez’s home. He testified that Peña provided the firearm used in the shooting and accompanied him to O'Malley's home.

Demetrio Trujillo told jurors he drove a stolen pickup used in the shooting at Lopez’s home but did not fire gunshots. Jose Trujillo sat in the passenger seat and Peña sat between the Trujillos, the Trujillo's testified.

Jose Trujillo testified that he handed the 300 Blackout AR-style pistol to Peña, who then fired a single round through the open driver’s window. The gun jammed after Peña fired one round, he testified.

“I was mad,” Jose Trujillo told jurors last week. “It was loud. It hurt. My ears were ringing.”

Jose Trujillo then stepped out of the truck and fired multiple gunshots with a Glock 9mm pistol equipped with a Glock switch that converts a semi-automatic pistol into an automatic weapon.

Gunshots penetrated the wall of Lopez’s bedroom and a second bedroom where her 10-year-old daughter was sleeping. No one was struck by gunfire in any of the shootings.

The case attracted national media attention at the time because of violence directed at elected Democrats and Peña’s claims of election rigging, which he compared with President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina cheered the verdict Wednesday.

“While nobody was injured during these shootings, we were still shocked as a community by the fact that political rhetoric could turn to violence and put people at risk,” Medina said in a statement. “I hope this verdict sends a message that political violence will not be tolerated in our city.”

In addition to the Trujillos’ testimony, prosecutors showed jurors dozens of text messages between Peña and others they say implicates him in the attacks.

In a Nov. 13, 2022, text message to a political ally, Republican Lisa Meyer-Hagen, Peña said, “We have to press the attack. They want us to become hopeless and give up.”

On Nov. 21, 2022, shortly after the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners certified the election results, Peña sent a text to Jose Trujillo that said: “They just certified it. They sold us out to the highest bidder.”

Prosecutors argued Wednesday that Peña targeted the homes of the two commissioners in revenge.

“He targeted them because they did their jobs — they certified the election results,” Jeremy Peña told jurors.

Prosecutors also argued that Peña targeted the home of House Speaker Martinez because he defeated a political ally of Peña’s.

Peña also faces three federal counts for allegedly trying to hire two men in 2023 and 2024 to kill the Trujillos. Peña at the time was incarcerated with the two men, both of whom also testified last week.