A failed Republican candidate for the New Mexico House of Representatives visited the homes of local Democratic leaders to vehemently contest his election loss weeks before he was charged with orchestrating a series of shootings at their residences, elected officials said.
Republican Solomon Pena is accused of conspiring and paying four men to carry out four shootings at the Albuquerque-area homes of two Bernalillo County commissioners and two state legislators, Albuquerque police said.
No one was injured and police announced their arrest Monday night.
Efforts to reach Peña were unsuccessful on Tuesday.
“Peña came to my house right after the [November] choice. It was a little erratic in the points that he was trying to make about the election and about how many doors he knocked on and how the number of votes didn’t match up,” Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa said in a phone interview.
Barboa said he called the police after the incident.
“He was at my door and he was aggressive. He was an election denier,” Barboa said. Eight shots were fired at his home on December 4, the first in a series of shootings targeting state and local Democrats.
Former County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley shared a similar experience with Peña, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump who has openly denied the election results. It happened around the time he called Barboa. Pena first visited O’Malley’s old home before tracking it down to her current address.
“This guy came to my house. He worried me a lot and he was very disturbing. He was angry about losing the election,” he said. «He felt the election was unfair and false.»
Although he did not threaten her during the November encounter, she called the authorities. Agents patrolled her home for a few days thereafter.
But weeks later, on December 11, 12 bullets struck her home while she and her husband were sleeping, police said.
He «could have killed us,» O’Malley said.
‘The desired effect of shootings’
Police found a Glock 17 and an assault rifle, more than 800 counterfeit oxycodone pills made from fentanyl, and a large amount of cash in a Nissan Maxima that they had pulled over for a routine traffic stop less than an hour after They shot themselves outside the house. of state Sen. Linda Lopez, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.
The car belonged to Peña, but a man, who police later discovered was one of four men Peña accuses of having hired to carry out the shootings, was behind the wheel of the car just 5 miles from the shooting.
It was later discovered that one of the guns in the car appeared to have fired outside Lopez’s home, according to the complaint. A casing found in the Maxima also matched those found outside the home of new state House president Javier Martinez on Dec. 8, police said.
Using Trujillo’s cell phone records and an informant, police discovered that Peña had sent addresses, instructions, coded messages, and public assembly points to those involved in the shooting, which allegedly involved the driver and his two brothers, and paid them $500 everyone. divided by the first shooting, the complaint said.
The informant, who was also present at the shootings, said that one of the men told the shooters to aim above the windows of the houses so as not to hurt anyone, but that Peña later complained because «he wanted the shots They were more aggressive.»
Peña «wanted them to aim lower and fire around 8 p.m. because the occupants probably would not be lying down,» the complaint says, which «would increase the chances of getting the desired effect of the gunfire.»
It appeared to have the effect of frightening the victims, as Lopez recounted in the complaint that her 10-year-old daughter was awakened by what she believed to be a spider «crawling across her face» and then «asked her for what it felt like to be there.» there was sand in the bed.»
«As it turned out, the bullets that went through her bedroom threw plaster dust all over Linda’s daughter’s face and bed.» Officers found 12 bullet holes in the house.
An aggrieved election denier
Police said Pena may have been motivated by anger over his November loss. Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told a news conference Monday that Peña claimed his defeat was the result of electoral fraud.
Peña lost his state House challenge in a landslide to incumbent Democrat Miguel P. Garcia 5,679 to 2,033, or 74% to 26%. There is no evidence to support his fraud claims, despite his insistence on Twitter and in other statements.
«No. It’s rigged. Plain and simple», Peña replied on 16 november on his official Twitter account to a post.
He took his case to three county commissioners and a state senator, some whose homes were targeted in the shootings, to no avail, Gallegos said.
“She had complaints about her election and felt like she was being manipulated,” Gallegos said. «As the mayor said, he denied the elections, he does not want to accept the results of his election.»
One of the meetings between Pena and local and state leaders turned heated, Gallegos said, noting that it happened shortly after the shooting.
Two other shootings were previously believed to be related to the case: one on December 10 at the former campaign office of Raúl Torrez, who was elected New Mexico attorney general, and another on January 5 outside the downtown law offices. of the city of the newly appointed state senator. Moe Maestas: They have not been connected to Pena, police said Monday.
A history of crimes and grievances.
State records show Monday’s arrest was not Peña’s first.
In three cases in 2007, Peña was convicted of 20 counts, including robbery, receiving stolen property and larceny. The prosecutor dropped several charges of bribery or intimidation of a witness.
Peña received a reduced sentence from the 25 years he could have faced, and was given a further reduction for time served, which appears to have brought it down to the nine-year mark he said he served in a commentary on his verified Twitter account.
As a result of his conviction, Pena was also ordered to receive alcohol/substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, 90 days in Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous and anger management, court records show.
Due to his record, he lost his right to vote for many years. She was eligible for reinstatement only in 2021, the year he completed his parole, meaning he likely never cast votes for Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
separated from family
Pena is separated from his immediate family, said his older brother, Joseph Pena, who lives in Dallas.
«He hasn’t talked to us in years. It’s probably been, I don’t know, 15 years,» he said.
Joseph Pena said he doesn’t know why, adding: «He just stopped talking to us. I’m sure he has his reasons.»
Joseph Pena says he knows nothing about his brother’s arrest.
«I have to find out the details about it,» he said. «I don’t see why she would talk to us now.»
Sharon Bode, who has lived in the same building as Peña for the past few years, recalled him «irritating people during election time.»
“He put vulgar signs on his windows and on his car. The people in the building were not happy,» Bode said, adding that the signs «were critical of Joe Biden.»
Bode says that his partner, who died a year ago, had several interactions with Pena.
“My partner had difficult and unsolicited conversations with him as he was going in and out of the building,” she said. «He is not a nice and polite person.»
