Jury convicts former Las Cruces police officer of manslaughter

A jury found former Las Cruces police officer Brad Lunsford guilty of voluntary manslaughter Wednesday in the 2022 killing of Presley Eze.

Lunsford, 39, was immediately taken into custody to be held at the Luna County Detention Center ahead of his sentencing.

The eight-day criminal trial stemmed from a complaint of shoplifting at a local gas station on Aug. 2, 2022, that escalated into a melee involving Lunsford, another officer and Eze. Lapel camera and mobile phone footage by a bystander showed officers pulling Eze out of his vehicle and wrestling him to the ground as he attempted to flee.

Ultimately, in a fight lasting less than 30 seconds, Lunsford fired a shot directly into Eze’s head, killing him.

Jose Coronado, Lunsford’s attorney, said he will ask the judge to review the verdict for its legal sufficiency. “While I respect the jury’s verdict, I am extremely disappointed in it. I don’t believe the state met its burden,” he said in an email to The Associated Press.

The New Mexico Department of Justice charged Lunsford with voluntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, with a firearm enhancement in October and a grand jury indicted him in December.

Lunsford testified at trial that Eze, 36, reached for the other officer’s gun as well as a Taser that had fallen to the ground, while an expert witness for the prosecution argued that Eze could not have used it effectively under the circumstances.

Coronado, Lunsford’s attorney, told jurors in his closing argument that Lunsford had followed his training and department policy in a fast-moving and dangerous situation. In attempting to subdue Eze, Coronado emphasized Lunsford’s testimony that he could not easily reach his baton or Taser and reasonably judged there was an imminent threat of death or bodily harm, justifying deadly force.

Prosecutors countered that Lunsford had time to position the gun against Eze’s head so that his fellow officer would not be hurt and could have used other nonlethal means to subdue Eze. Prosecutor John Duran argued that Lunsford’s decision was not reasonable under the circumstances, suggesting he may rather have been motivated by rage.

“That is not a reasonable officer,” Duran told the jury, underscoring that Eze had merely been accused of shoplifting a beer. “He went from zero to death in a matter of seconds.”

The jury deliberated for 2½ hours before returning a guilty verdict. It was not immediately clear how soon Lunsford would face a sentencing hearing.

State Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement that Lunsford could face up to nine years in prison, given firearm enhancement.

“No one is above the law — not even those sworn to uphold it. Officer Lunsford’s actions were not just a tragic lapse in judgment; they were an egregious abuse of power that cost Presley Eze his life,” Torrez said in a news release following the verdict. “The jury’s swift decision underscores the gravity of this case and sends a clear message that excessive force will not be tolerated in New Mexico. Our office will continue to hold law enforcement officers accountable when they violate the public trust and betray the communities they are meant to protect.”

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Albuquerque Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.