Killer of Alamogordo police officer gets life sentence

An Alamogordo man who shot a police officer in the head with a sawed-off shotgun during a foot chase last year has been sentenced to life in prison for the killing.

Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office Chief Administrative Officer Jesse Grajeda said in a statement that Dominic De La O, 27, of Alamogordo was sentenced Tuesday for the death of Alamogordo police officer Anthony Ferguson, 41.

De La O’s attorney could not be immediately reached.

“District Attorney (Scot D.) Key commended the law enforcement officers involved in the case, offering a heartfelt, ‘Well done,’” Grajeda said.

An Otero County jury found De La O guilty on Friday of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, aggravated fleeing of a law enforcement officer, resisting or evading an officer and criminal trespass in a trial that lasted less than a week.

“This tragic event has left an indelible mark on our law enforcement community, and our hearts continue to go out to the family, friends, and colleagues of Officer Tony Ferguson,” New Mexico State Police Chief Troy Weisler said in a statement. “The conviction and sentencing of the person responsible for this senseless murder brings some measure of justice, but it will never replace the loss of Officer Ferguson.”

An attempt was made to reach Alamogordo Police Chief David Kunihiro for comment, but he did not respond as of Wednesday afternoon.

According to a criminal complaint filed at district court in Las Cruces, at about 2 a.m. on July 15, 2023, Ferguson attempted a traffic stop in Alamogordo on a vehicle occupied by De La O. After the vehicle crashed into a light pole, De La O ran off with a shotgun. Ferguson chased De La O into an alley, where De La O turned around and shot him in the head.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said De La O fatally shot Ferguson with a 12-gauge shotgun, which had its barrel shortened and stock removed and replaced with a pistol grip.

In July, agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives learned that a second man — Jonah Apodaca, 31 — provided De La O with the shotgun.

Last month, Apodaca received a six-year sentence after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in June.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Apodaca’s DNA was found on the shotgun shell recovered from the chamber and ammunition from the magazine tube.