Witness: Solomon Peña fired an AR-15 gunshot from a pickup at the home of a state senator

A key witness in Solomon Peña’s federal trial told jurors Thursday that he realized the failed Republican candidate couldn’t handle a fully automatic weapon in their 2023 attack on the home of a state senator.

Jose Trujillo, 24, said that after a brief argument, he handed Peña an AR-style semi-automatic pistol instead, which he promptly used to fire a single round through the open window of a Ford pickup at the home of state Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque.

“We pulled up to this house,” said Trujillo, a second co-defendant in the case. “My dad opened the window. (Peña) reached over my dad and fired over my dad.” Trujillo’s father is Demetrio Trujillo, 44, a co-defendant in the case.

The sound of the gunshot inside the truck cab was deafening, Trujillo testified on the third day of Peña’s trial.

“I was mad,” he told jurors. “It was loud. It hurt. My ears were ringing.”

Federal prosecutors allege that Peña conspired with Jose and Demetrio Trujillo to target the homes of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, former commissioner Debbie O’Malley and two Democratic lawmakers, House Speaker Javier Martínez and Lopez.

Peña and the Trujillos all participated in the shooting at Lopez’s home, Jose Trujillo testified. Demetrio Trujillo drove the pickup, Jose Trujillo sat in the passenger seat and Peña was seated between them, he said.

Jose Trujillo, who testified in handcuffs and shackles and a prison jumpsuit, said that the gun fired by Peña — a 300 Blackout AR-15 pistol — jammed after Peña fired a single round.

Jose Trujillo said he then stepped out of the pickup and fired multiple rounds at Lopez’s home from a 9mm Glock pistol adapted with a 50-round drum magazine and a Glock switch that converts the semi-automatic pistol to a fully automatic weapon.

“I aimed over the bed of the truck and fired,” Trujillo told jurors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Cordova said in opening statements Tuesday that one of the rounds penetrated Lopez’s bedroom, striking an aluminum picture frame and waking her up. A second round entered a bedroom where her 10-year-old daughter was sleeping. No one was struck by gunfire in any of the shootings.

Both of the Trujillos pleaded guilty earlier this year to multiple federal charges and face sentences of up to life in prison. Neither man has been scheduled for a sentencing hearing.

Prosecutors allege Peña was motivated by his November 2022 election loss to incumbent Democratic Rep. Miguel P. Garcia and his belief that Democratic officials had “rigged” the election. Peña lost that election in a landslide.

Peña was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2023, alleging he “organized a shooting spree that targeted the homes of four elected officials and their families.”

Peña’s attorneys told jurors in opening statements that the Trujillos were solely responsible for the shootings. They also contend that the Trujillos obtained favorable plea agreements and expect lighter sentences in exchange for their testimony implicating Peña.

The trial is scheduled to continue through March 21 before U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs.

Just hours after the shooting at the Lopez home, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies pulled over Jose Trujillo, who was driving a Nissan Maxima registered to Peña, and found firearms, ammunition and fentanyl in the car. Trujillo has remained in custody since his Jan. 3, 2023, arrest.

Trujillo also told jurors that both he and Peña went to Garfield Park, near Candelaria and 12th NW, where Trujillo fired gunshots at O’Malley’s home on Dec. 11, 2022.

Demetrio Trujillo testified Tuesday that Peña paid him a total of $1,400 to fire gunshots at the homes of Barboa and Martínez in early December 2022.

Both Jose and Demetrio Trujillo told jurors that they had little interest in Peña’s theories of election fraud and his admiration for President Donald Trump. Peña became frustrated by Demetrio Trujillo’s disinterest in politics, he testified.

Jose Trujillo said he understood that Peña was angry about losing the November 2022 election and was frustrated with public officials who ignored his protests.

“It all had to do with the election,” Trujillo said of the shootings. “He felt like he should have won. He was mad because these people were controlling things.”