ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico’s attorney general is taking over the investigation of whether deputies should face charges in the shooting death of a mentally ill woman.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that Attorney General Hector Balderas said the family of Elisha Lucero asked him to take over the review.
Authorities responded to the family’s home in July 2019 after a relative called 911 saying Lucero, 28, had hit her uncle. The relative told authorities Lucero was mentally ill, needed help and was a threat to herself and others.
When deputies arrived, they said Lucero initially refused to come out of the home and then ran out screaming and armed with a knife. Three Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies shot Lucero, hitting her at least 21 times. She died at the scene.
A lawsuit filed by her family against the Bernalillo County Commission and Sheriff Manuel Gonzales was settled for $4 million in March.
A contract special prosecutor had been reviewing the case for the past several months, said Brandale Mills-Cox, a spokeswoman for 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Mills-Cox said the office welcome Balderas taking over the case. Their office has nearly a dozen cases awaiting review and no funding for full-time, independent prosecutors.
