Initial Details in Officer-Involved Shooting on Lexco Road

Limited information is available about the officer-involved shooting that occurred in the vicinity of the 200 block of Lexco Road in Moriarty yesterday, January 31, 2024. Sheriff David Frazee reported that officers of the Torrance County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) were conducting an investigation unrelated to the circumstances that led to the shooting itself. During the course of the investigation, the unnamed officers encountered 29-year-old Joseph M. Padilla.

The TCSO identified Padilla as the same individual that was convicted by way of plea agreement of armed robbery, 2nd degree kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon in State v. Padilla, D-202-CR-201800795 (2019) on April 17, 2019, in the Albuquerque District Court of the 2nd Judicial District. In that case, Padilla was sentenced to six years of incarceration, minus 419 days of credit for pre-sentencing time served, two years of parole, and five years of supervised probation (which would have ended on April 17, 2024, barring any other adjustments).

During the interaction between Padilla and the unnamed officers of the TCSO, a physical altercation ensued that ended with shots fired and Padilla being transported to the hospital with what Sheriff Frazee described as “non-life-threatening injuries.” Sheriff Frazee did not report any injuries for the unidentified TCSO officers. The TCSO charged Padilla with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and three counts of resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer. The TCSO placed Padilla in custody at the Torrance County Detention Facility after Padilla’s release from the hospital.

The TCSO contacted the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau and New Mexico State Police Crime Scene Team to investigate the officer-involved shooting. The Mountainair Dispatch has contacted the New Mexico State Police for comment on this matter. Padilla should be presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.