A Republican who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the New Mexico state House was arrested in connection to recent shootings at the homes of Democratic lawmakers in the state, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Police say that Solomon Pena, 39, was arrested by a SWAT team in the Albuquerque area on Monday after a standoff. He is accused of conspiring with 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 Chief Harold Medina said.
The shootings began on December 4 when eight rounds were fired at the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, police said. Days later there was another incident at the former campaign office of New Mexico’s newly elected attorney general Raúl Torrez. On Dec. 11 more than a dozen gunshots were fired at the home of former County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley.
The most recent incident was on Jan. 3 when eight shots were fired in the direction of the home of New Mexico Sen. Linda Lopez. Three of the bullets went through her 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom while she slept.
“It is believed that he is the mastermind behind this and that he was organizing this,” Medina told reporters.
Police say Pena, a fervent supporter of Donald Trump, was motivated by anger over his loss. He believed that his 48- point defeat to incumbent Democrat Miguel Garcia was due to fraud.
“He had complaints about his election he felt being rigged. As the mayor said, he was an election denier — he doesn’t want to accept the results of his election,” Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said.
[Image: Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal]
