Former Las Cruces police officer granted new manslaughter trial

LAS CRUCES — A former police officer convicted earlier this year of voluntary manslaughter in the 2022 death of Presley Eze will receive a new trial.

Brad Lunsford, 39, was convicted in February for shooting Eze in the head during an altercation at a Las Cruces gas station after officers responded to a shoplifting complaint.

District Judge James Foy had previously acknowledged a court error in the substitution of two jurors for alternates. At issue was whether the error deprived Lunsford of a fair trial.

In his ruling, released Monday, Foy said he took into account the fact that one of the jurors who had been substituted subsequently signed an affidavit saying he would have found Lunsford not guilty. Additionally, the judge said the prosecution’s case was weak and that, in the court’s view, “the Defendant’s actions could be construed by a reasonable juror to be justified given the circumstances.”

Lunsford and another officer, Keegan Arbogast, struggled to remove Eze from his vehicle and place him under arrest as they investigated a complaint that Eze had stolen a can of beer at the gas station on Aug. 2, 2022. During the altercation, Arbogast was injured, and Lunsford testified that he made a split-second decision to shoot Eze when he saw him grasp Arbogast’s Taser. Foy’s ruling stated that under that circumstance, Lunsford’s use of force was justified.

Foy continued, “... although a jury could find guilt and did find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, this judge based upon the evidence presented believes the case presented was weak in proof that Mr. Lunsford was not justified in the force used against Mr. Eze given all the surrounding facts and circumstances of this case.”

Although Foy could have issued a directed verdict declaring that the prosecution had not presented sufficient evidence to take the case to jury, the ruling stated that questions about the reasonableness of Lunsford’s actions and whether the Taser should be considered a deadly weapon were questions for a jury to decide.

A new trial has not yet been scheduled. Lunsford has been free on a secured bond since March, when Lunsford’s defense counsel raised the procedural issues and argued for either a judicial acquittal or a new trial. Separately, he has sued the state Department of Justice and the Law Enforcement Certification Board over the suspension of his certification.

Lunsford’s attorney, Matthew Chandler, had argued that one of the jurors who deliberated in the case had an undisclosed bias against police, later brought to light through social media posts and a past podcast. Foy’s ruling, however, focused on the juror who had not been seated and attested he would have acquitted Lunsford.

In a news release, Chandler said preparations have begun for a new trial, “including testimony supporting Officer Lunsford’s decision-making under extreme circumstances.”

“We are grateful to the Court for its careful review of the record and findings that follow the law,” Chandler stated. “We remain confident that a fair trial will lead to Officer Lunsford’s full and complete exoneration.”

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the state would appeal the decision.

“Today’s decision to set aside the jury’s finding of guilt has devastated Presley Eze’s family and further undermines the public’s faith in New Mexico’s criminal justice system,” Torrez said in a written statement. “The presiding judge — in both today’s order and throughout the proceedings — has repeatedly mischaracterized the factual record, improperly weighed in on the strength of the state’s case and committed numerous procedural errors that prejudiced the prosecution.”

Torrez continued, “We intend to file an immediate appeal ... to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice and to demonstrate to all New Mexicans that no one is above the law — even those who are charged with upholding it.”