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It was a chaotic scene that escalated quickly and ended even faster.
Las Cruces Police Department Officer Brad Lunsford was called to the former Chevron on Aug. 2, 2022. A store clerk said Presley Eze, 36, had shoplifted a beer from the store after forgetting his driver’s license and arguing with the clerk.
A few minutes later, Eze was dead, shot in the back of the head at point-blank range by Lunsford. A year later, at the behest of the New Mexico Department of Justice, Lunsford stands charged with voluntary manslaughter and could face three years or more in prison.
Lunsford is no longer a Las Cruces police officer. Court records show that Lunsford was suspended from duty on Oct. 4, 2023, a day after the NMDOJ announced criminal charges against him.
Prosecutors chose not to try to hold Lunsford in jail without bond.
The trial is set to start on Feb. 3. Court records show that ten days have been set aside for the case, but the trial may wrap up before that. Unlike most cases in the 3rd Judicial District, this case will not be overseen by a local judge. Instead, the state Supreme Court appointed Judge Jim Foy of the 6th Judicial District to facilitate the case.
The prosecutor is also from another part of the state: John Duran, a prosecutor with NMDOJ, will oversee the state’s case against Lunsford.
Lunsford will be represented by local attorney Jose Coronado, who also represented the man accused and ultimately convicted of killing Faviola Rodriguez (also known as Baby Favi), one of the more high-profile cases in recent memory.
