Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield died of fentanyl, alcohol toxicity

TAOS — After the call went out on Easter Sunday that Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield had been found unresponsive in his patrol unit outside his Abiquiú Reservoir home, more than a dozen of his fellow law enforcement officers responded, combing the cliffside property for clues until the sun sank beyond the rose-colored Mesa Prieta.

The subject being one of their own, the call might have seemed extraordinary at the time, but a toxicology report released this week by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator revealed something at the root of Merrifield’s death familiar to all northern New Mexico first responders: fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that claims tens of thousands of lives in the U.S. every year.

The report was released on Thursday and states Merrifield, 50, died due to the “toxic effects of fentanyl and ethanol.” The state’s medical team determined Rio Arriba’s former top cop had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.071% — below the legal limit of 0.08% to operate a motor vehicle in New Mexico. His blood also contained 23 nanograms per millimeter of fentanyl, a drug estimated to be 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

While OMI ruled Merrifield’s death an accident, New Mexico State Police spokesperson Amanda Richards said Thursday that the investigation into the late sheriff’s death remains open.

Appointed sheriff in 2022, Merrifield’s fatal overdose follows a string of controversies that have plagued the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office in recent years. According to previous Journal reporting, former Rio Arriba sheriff James Lujan received a three-year prison sentence in 2021 after a jury convicted him of two felonies for helping a friend avoid arrest in 2017. In 2015, Tommy Rodella was sentenced to 10 years and one month for convictions on two federal counts related to a 2014 road rage incident.

Lorenzo Aguilar, who spoke to the Journal outside Merrifield’s home on Easter Sunday, was appointed sheriff by Rio Arriba county commissioners April 21. He issued a statement Thursday expressing “profound disappointment and concern” regarding the findings in Merrifield’s death.

“It is essential to emphasize that no individual is above the law, particularly those of us who have taken an oath to uphold it,” the statement reads. “While we all make mistakes as human beings, public officials are held to a higher standard due to the trust and responsibility bestowed upon them by the community they serve.”

Dispatch logs and 911 calls revealed Merrifield had been in a car crash in his patrol unit hours before he was found inside the vehicle near his home on April 20.

A friend told State Police that a woman had called him around 3 a.m. that day to say she was with Merrifield while he was off duty when they got into a “minor crash” in his patrol vehicle, according to State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver. Silver said the friend found Merrifield in his vehicle about a half mile from the sheriff’s home. Merrifield told the friend he was OK, and the vehicle was then returned to Merrifield’s residence.

When the friend was unable to reach Merrifield by phone to check on him, they returned to the residence around 10 a.m. and found the sheriff in his patrol unit, not breathing.

According to a dispatch log entry, Merrifield’s neck and fingertips were turning purple — a hallmark of an opioid overdose, which causes a person’s breathing to slow dangerously or stop, leading to brain damage or death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In recent years, fentanyl has eclipsed the likes of heroin, an illicit opioid, and oxycontin, a prescription drug that fueled the opioid epidemic from the late ‘90s through the 2010s, as synonymous with drug addiction and overdose in the U.S.

Drug overdose deaths dropped to the lowest they’ve been in five years nationwide in 2024, CDC data shows. A total of 54,743 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, 48,422 — or 60% — due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

According to a January report from the New Mexico Department of Health, fentanyl was involved in 65% of overdose deaths in the state in 2023. However, overall overdose deaths have also declined in New Mexico — down 8% statewide since 2021, when they reached a peak of 1,029.

Data from the New Mexico Department of Health shows that Rio Arriba ranked the highest among all 33 counties in the state for drug overdoses from 2017-2021, with an estimated rate of 95.4 deaths for every 100,000 people.

Aguilar, who took Merrifield’s place, said he understands that public confidence in his office could be shaken by the report that Merrifield had fentanyl in his blood at the time of his death. Aguilar said he was committed to holding himself and his office to higher standards.

“Those who compromise the integrity of our badge and the principles we stand for have no place within this agency,” his statement continued. “It is imperative that we uphold the highest standards of conduct, as our community deserves law enforcement officials who exemplify honor and responsibility. Moving forward, I will work diligently to restore faith in our office and ensure that we continue to serve our community with the respect and integrity it rightfully expects.”

To reach the National Helpline of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).