During a news conference Monday evening, hours after SWAT officers arrested Peña at his home, the police chief said Peña was angry over losing the election last November and made baseless claims that the election was “rigged” against him.
Photos taken from the scene show officers escorting Pena, wearing khaki pants, a blue shirt and blue tennis shoes, handcuffed from the home.
Police said they identified Pena as their “key” suspect using a combination of cellphone records, witness interviews and bullet casings collected at the lawmakers’ homes. His arrest comes one week after Medina, the police chief, initially announced they had identified a suspect in the shootings.
Medina described Pena as the “mastermind” of what appears to be a politically motivated criminal conspiracy leading to four shootings at or near the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators between early December and early January.
Pena was defeated in November by incumbent state Rep. Miguel P. Garcia, the longtime Democrat representing House District 14 in the South Valley.
Police said Pena, an election denier, had approached county and state lawmakers after his loss claiming the contest had been rigged against him despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud in New Mexico in 2020 or 2022. The shootings began shortly after those conversations.
The police said in a statement that Mr. Peña had paid four men cash and “sent text messages with addresses where he wanted them to shoot at the homes.”
New Mexico’s state Canvassing Board unanimously certified the results of the November election.
No one was injured in the shootings, which came amid a rise in threats to members of Congress, school board members, election officials and other government workers around the nation. In Albuquerque, law enforcement has been struggling to address back-to-back years of record homicides and persistent gun violence.
Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock said at least four people, including Peña, were involved in the shootings. Peña is accused of paying the others to carry out at least two of the shootings, according to Hartsock, before “Peña himself” allegedly “pulled the trigger” during one of crimes.
Hartsock said additional arrests and charges were expected in the case but declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. He said some individuals, including Peña, were in custody Monday night.
Video surveillance, a black Audi and a sore loser
The first shooting took place Dec. 4, when someone fired about eight rounds at the home of Adriann Barboa , a Bernalillo County commissioner, police said. According to the criminal complaint, the shooting took place just after 3:30 p.m. and a pick-up truck was seen in the area by neighbors.
In addition to Barboa’s home being hit, a parked vehicle was also struck by gunfire.
On Dec. 8, more than a dozen shots were fired at Martinez’s home. His wife, the complaint reads, was home at the time of the attack and heard the gunfire erupt. Neighbors also told police they watched a pick-up truck speed away from the scene.
Three days later, on Dec. 11, a shooting targeted the home of another Bernalillo County commissioner, Debbie O’Malley.
According to the complaint, at least 12 rounds were fired at the home. In addition, O’Malley said that Pena arrived at her home a day or two prior to the incident.
“Debbie recalled that he was upset that he had not won the election for public office,” the complaint continues.
Video surveillance from her home showed Pena arrived at her house in a black 2022 Audi.
Then, on Jan. 3, police said Peña accompanied the men to Lopez’ home and tried to shoot but the automatic rifle he was using malfunctioned. Another man shot more than a dozen rounds from a handgun, police reported, including into the bedroom of Lopez’s daughter.
Contributing: Associated Press
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund .