Put your stuff down - and get out - Can you, can you stop holding me? Stop it Shots fired! Oh, sh** Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired! - Over a f***ing can of beer, man Officers with the Las Cruces Police Department were called to a Chevron gas station after receiving a report about a shoplifter But on August 2nd, 2022 that routine call about a stolen beer became one of New Mexico's most hotly debated police encounters What's going on, man? Nothing, I was messing with my door What's up? I was messing with my door, window Okay. What's the deal with the people inside? Nothing. So I walked, I walked into the store Uh-huh Okay? With a beer in my hand With a beer in your hand? Yeah -Okay -Yeah, I walked in with a beer in my hand Look at the cameras He's coming outside and he's, like, harassing me - I was like - Okay look at your camera He said, I wanna check the camera I said, check the camera So you went inside with the beer? Yeah Okay. Can I, can I get your ID real quick so I can go talk to them - and check the video out? - I don't have, I don't have my ID on me You know what I'm saying? I was, that's why... The whole is that I wanted to buy a pack of cigarettes - and I didn't have my ID on me - All right Okay And I was trying to show him, like, look, I have beer - I have a digital... - Yeah You know what I'm saying? I have a, like, a beer because I'm 21 You know what I mean? Yeah So he's... And then he, instead of that, he comes and started acting like a d**k Yeah For no reason - You know what I'm saying? - Okay He's like, I’m gonna call the cops. I was like, call them They're gonna come and look at the... They’re, they’re obviously investigating - (unintelligible) - Yeah, I haven't gottent there yet, so, I mean... You know what I'm saying? So, like... ...bear with me ...you, you're gonna see You're gonna in there and look - I came in with the beer - Where's the, where's the beer at right now? With the initial report still unresolved officers turned to confirming Presley's identity But each record check only expanded the investigation Honestly, I don't even know I was, I was pissed off I was, I was walking, uh, and (unintelligible) So that's your ID? Yeah, with my name (unintelligible) Out of Texas or what? (Unintelligible) I can't hear you, man Yeah (unintelligible) my ID Okay So, it's not my ID. I have this, like, (unintelligible) Do you have your driver's license, man? Yeah Let me get it real quick But isn't that harassment, though when they follow you outside the store (unintelligible)? In a form. I mean, if he... if he's in the wrong, he's in the wrong That's what I'm trying to figure out, okay? Wha... What was the beer anyways? Budweiser Budweiser the 16-ouncer - or a 40-ouncer or what? - Yeah, just a can A big can All right. Hang tight Sure Let me go in there ...see what I got in there, and I'll be right back, okay? Don't take off. Obviously, I got your ID Simple as that, I'll be back Did he come in with that or not? Cuz he's claiming he did Huh? Did he come in with it or not? No, sir Okay, give me one second All right, so who'd you hand the beer off to when you came outside? Him? Cause he said you passed off the beer when you came outside Oh, yeah, yeah I just said I don't even want it (unintelligible) Okay (Unintelligible) It's like (unintelligible) - (Unintelligible) - All right Like, are you gonna, you gonna look at it? The video footage? Yeah, I'm gon... Soon as I get somebody over here I'm gonna go in there and check them out, all right? Just hang tight, okay? Presley's identity remained unconfirmed and officers continued piecing the investigation together as it moved beyond the original report Is it possible I can go buy cigarettes? I know you got issues with… What's up? Is it possible I can go buy cigarettes and go... Just hang tight Let me talk to them and get things figured out, okay? Yeah okay Where do you have an ID out of, Pete? Out of, uh, West Hartford, Connecticut Out of where? West Hartford I can't hear you West Hartford Connecticut? Yeah How is it that I'm (unintelligible)? Like I said, I'm waiting for somebody to get here so I can go inside and check out the cameras But for how long? (Unintelligible) I understand that - I'm, I'm in the, I'm in the same boat - (Unintelligible) - I'm standing outside my car, man - (Unintelligible) I know, but, like - if you can just... - I've got all this stuff on You can handcuff me and bring me in there with you and like, I'm serious We don't need to go that route That's better than doing this - We don't need to go that route right now - …better than doing this We're sweating (unintelligible) I understand it's hot, man As soon as he gets here, I'm going inside We'll get this all sorted out, all right? So I got a total of 3, um... shoplifters The one in the front, a passenger... he's not coming back on file Um, so I'm gonna detain him He's claiming he went in there with the beer... and, uh, had it, and then they accused him of taking the beer So I gotta go inside and... see whether or not they have any camera footage I just poked my head in real quick to ask if he came in with it They said he didn't So I'm just gonna detain the passenger for now until I can positively ID him And I got the driver's ID There's a guy in the back passenger... right side, so With the investigation reaching a critical point officers moved to detain Presley What followed would define the entire encounter All right, Pete, do me a favor We're gonna step out (Radio chatter) (Unintellgible) Step out for me, please No, I don't really wanna get out Okay, I'm not asking you right now - Step out for me - Hold on, hold on, hold on - No, no, no - Why, why... Can I, can I know why? Because you're not coming back on file, man - Okay, step out of the car - No, can I know... Can I know why? Because you're not coming back on file for me - Step out - What does that mean? - You're not coming back on... - What does that mean? - Okay - We can't figure out - Okay, listen - who you are What do you mean you can't figure out who I am? Because it's not coming back on file You better come out now, dude (Unintelligible), take my phone, take my phone - Keep recording, keep recording - Hey Okay You gonna cooperate or what? I'm gonna cooperate Okay Put your stuff down - and get out - Can you, can you stop holding me? Stop touching me I don't want you reaching for anything, man I'm not reaching for anything I'm not reaching for anything Okay, step out Okay - I'm not reaching for anything - Drop your sh**, drop your sh** to the ground I'm not reaching for anything Turn around I'm not reaching for anything Hey, come here Dude, stop Turn around Turn around 859, 10-3 Stay on the f***ing car Okay, watch it, watch it, watch it Stop it (Radio chatter) Stop it Stop Stop Stop Got a taser Taser, taser! Shots fired! Oh, sh** Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired! Get your hands up now! Get your hands up! Get your f***ing hands up! After the shooting, more officers arrived on scene and worked to detain both the driver and the other passenger in the back seat Step back towards us! Turn and face us Now walk towards us with your hands up Walk towards me. Over here Over here. Keep going, keep going Get your hands up Keep going Stop Turn around - Turn around - (Unintelligible) (Unintelligible) - Turn around, put your hands on your back - (Unintelligible) Who else is in the car? Who else is in the car? Back right passenger! Step out with your hands up! I’ll go hands (unintelligible) Keep walking towards me, pick your - hands up! - Hands up Pick your hands up, walk slowly! Put your hands in the, in the air! Keep walking - Keep walking - Hands up or you're gonna get f***ing tased! They're in the... Keep walking They're in the air Keep walking - Keep walking - Stop I'm not... - Stop - Stop right there Turn around! Yes, sir - Turn around - Get on your knees Stop the f***... What did I do? What the f*** did I do? Hmm? Stop f***ing... Are you going to be stupid? I'm not f***ing being stupid! What the f*** are you talking about? What the f***? I didn't do nothing (Unintelligible) Oh, my God Keep walking - Do you have any weapons on you? - towards me with your hands up No, sir. I didn't do… - I didn't do nothing - All right - I didn't do nothing at all, man, they… - You're good, you're good, you're good They asked him to step out and he was resisting and... - What's your name, bro? - Oh, dude My name's John Hey, whose, whose unit is this? Unlock it I didn't do... Oh, my God, dude I didn't do nothing, brother You're good, man You're, you're detained for now, okay? You don't have no weapons on you? No, sir You mind if I take, check your pockets? No What's your name again? John John? I had, I had no clue he was gonna act up like that, man Who is... Who is he to you? I, I just met him. He's just a buddy from the streets I'm gonna take this off of you (Unintelligible) Have a seat In here? (Radio chatter) You're good, you're good Go over there As the scene was documented each piece added another layer to the case How's it going? Did you guys see what happened? I... I s... I got every... I saw everything man You saw everything? Did you see anything? I didn't hear... I just saw the guy on the floor Like on top of the cop After that I heard a gunshot and... All right, do me a favor Hang out over there by the coolers - And I'll go talk to you in a minute - We have two, um, we have a customer and her two kids in here Did they see what happened? - No, they... - Okay I told them to get back Okay - All right - Cuz as soon as I saw that guy... Do you have cameras facing that way? I don't, but I have it on video Perfect It's all right It's, it's... Well I know it's a lot - and, and - I've never seen that man I know, it happens, it happened fast I know it's something nobody's used to seeing, but... You can take a deep breath Relax I'll give you some time to gather, gather yourself And then I'm gonna ask you what happened, all right? Hm, so I have, like I said, it's right here All right. Do you mind if I watch this while you... while you gather yourself a little bit? Stop it Stop it Stop Stop Stop Got a taser Taser, taser! Shots fired! Oh, sh** Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired! Get your hands up now! Get your hands up! Get your f***ing hands up! Okay I don't know if that's simply enough I mean, it's, it's, it's good I appreciate it I mean, I, I, I was just doing this for our safety because I know we're... we're gonna be going into renovation and... We're trying to get everything set up right and correct, but... That's why I took video Don't worry about it, man Okay I told him, I looked at my coworker you know, and I said, "He's backing up" He's... Something's going on Something... He... Something spooked him And that's why we have the people in the back And so another unit showed up right behind that unit And they were approaching the subject The subject started fighting with the two officers The male subject... The Black subject took him down He was wrestling him I think I don't know if he was trying to go for the other officer's gun or he had him in a chokehold The f... the initial officer? - Yes - So the subject was on top of the officer? Yes And the other officer, I don't know if he was trying to go for the other officer's gun that he had in a chokehold, or what But he just... The other officer pulled out his gun and he just shot him And I was like, that's what I saw The officer and… behind him? Yes So there was an officer on the ground - and then the... - I think it was the bald-headed officer on the... on the ground that was getting wrestled And the other officer was trying to help him And... Cuz the other... Cuz the subject was on top of him? Yes Okay All right Officers compared evidence against witness statements and investigative findings Piece by piece, the case came together Did you see this gentleman prior or see anything - inside the store first? - Well, when we came, when we pulled in I saw there was a cop already just there And at first I was like Oh, he probably pulled someone over, you know - and they're just doing it - Right Came into the parking lot instead is kind of what I thought So then I was just like, come on let's go real quick because we had 5 minutes I was like, just come get your stuff and let's go Right But then whenever I was checking out I noticed there was another cop that pulled in behind him And so then I was like Oh well, maybe we should wait a second because it seems, like whatever happened is getting worse Right And... Did you see the officers talking to anybody? - Or did you see the cop cars? - Not... Nn-nn I just saw the cop cars - And then - You didn't see officers inside or outside? - You just saw the cars? - Not inside No, not inside, just outside And I don't even remember him talking to someone like, when I came in But I was just trying to hurry - in and out - Right So I just looked and noticed there was a cop Which made me feel safe too I'm like, well, at least there's a cop here if anything Did you actually see the cop? No, I didn't So you just saw the car? There was just a car That's all And I'm so blind, I can't see that far And I leave my glasses in the car Because I'm like, I don't want them to fall or drop and lose them So they're in my car So then from there... That's why looking that way, I was like I could barely see I just saw tussle, tussle and turning And then the gas thing is even right in front of, like, what was ever really happening I just saw the guy holding on to his car when the cop was trying to get him down to like, I guess, cuff him or something And then that's the right he turned Can you tell me what this guy looked like? He looked dark Dark? That's all I could... but then again like I said, it was far The gas thing was in front But he just looked dark Okay Um, if you can kind of just give us as much detail as much as you saw So I was actually the one who called today because he came in tried to buy a pack of cigarettes I told him I needed to see an ID He didn't have one He walked out I thought that was the end of it I saw him walk up to the car He called another guy The other guy came in Same thing, I was like, sorry, I can't do it It's a secondhand purchase Right He was, like No issues He walked out A little bit, a while after another guy comes in And I saw him go around the Ramada And then eventually he came out this way Same thing, told him, I can't Secondhand purchase And then after a while I just see both of them walk by So I was like, okay that's better for me I don't get in trouble No sale And then I completely gave out on that I see the first suspect coming back again He goes back to the beer but I know he doesn't have an ID So I see him walk out He’s…he casually walks out with a Budweiser I go and I ask him Hey, can you come back here and pay for this And then he tells me Well, suck on this and pay for it I'm like, okay, you know what, whatever I walked out, came in here My boss was still here She's like, no, just call the cops And then the cops showed up And then I just went on about it dealing with the customers And all of a sudden, she comes in She starts having issues to, like, pay Yeah And then all of a sudden I hear a gunshot That's when I was, like Oh, he got shot in the head I went into panic mode for them I made sure I got them to the back After that, I just completely freaked out Okay So the first subject that came in Can you describe him for me? The guy that tried to buy cigarettes Like 5, uh 5... 5-something He was tall It was a dark-skinned male and he was the one that... got shot So he's the one that - got shot? - Yeah How do you know he's the one that got shot? Because I saw him, like when they went to get him out of the vehicle he was kind of struggling with the officer So he was the one that was in... Yeah Having the wrestling match - with the officers - Yeah And then I saw him on the floor like, on top of the officer So I just completely blew it off I continued the purchase with the lady but the transaction kept on having issues And then again, same thing I heard the bop from, like, the guy who got shot So that first guy came back that's the dark skin What was he wearing? Do you remember what he's wearing? He was wearing a black shirt, black pants and I believe it was Nike shoes So you see that other guy get out he comes in here he tries to buy cigarettes but you deny him cuz it's a secondhand… I can't do it You're not gonna do it So he... - He doesn't make a big deal - He’s fine, but he goes back And he goes back to the vehicle? Yeah And then you see another subject get out? No, the same, uh, dark-skinned guy He like... I saw him walk out towards the back of the Ramada Okay And he gets that other guy with the black shirt black pants or shorts And he comes around He tries to buy the Newports I'm like, I can't, secondhand purchase He walks out, he's fine with it But then I see him walk with the dark-skinned guy (Unintelligible) So you knew he was... - Doing the same thing - Purchasing for that guy as well Okay You okay? Never seen somebody... It's all right I know it's, uh... - It's not an easy thing to watch - Over a f***ing can of beer, man Yeah Over a f***ing can of beer Alfonso, how long... How long have you been working here, man? I'm not even a month Not even a month? I... I can't tell you exactly what time the subject came in He came in for, I think, a pack of cigarettes Mm-hmm From what... From what the employees were telling me He didn't have an ID, so he got... I guess, he was mad Mm-hmm And then he came in and I was... I think I was... I can't remember if I was helping a customer or not or I was about to And my friend Mio, coworker said, did he just grab that beer? And I said, yeah, I think so And then Leo went outside and confronted him and he... I don't know what words were exchanged out there, I don't know what happened Leo came in My boss told him to call the, um cops, to call you guys It was about maybe about 13-minute wait and they showed up And I don't know the officer's name that was first arrived He confronted him outside And... he noticed something was wrong obviously Because he wouldn't turn his back on them So they said that's when... backup came up And I remember another officer approaching the subject on the passenger side Mm-hmm And so when... when he came in again you see him come in and go grab a beer - or did you just see... - No, um, Leo saw Did he pay for that? Or did he just walk in with that? And I said, I... I don't know I don't think he did Because we have a lot of people come in and they try to rob us, right? Well, here anyway And... Did you see him actually leave the store with a beer, or? Yes, we saw him leave the store with it but he said that... I guess Leo talked to him and like, I don't know what... what was said out there Right Okay, but Leo comes back in lets your manager... uh, your supervisor know they're telling him, hey, call the cops And the guy gets out there and he stays out there Now he stays out there, he drinks They all share the damn beer Okay And then he walks behind the bushes where... of the Ramada He walks back here and then he walks around right here He walks right by the door and I thought he was gonna come in again And he didn't He just... they decided to stay there and they were standing in the back of the vehicle and something... I guess they got spooked I guess because they saw the officer's vehicle over here because this is where… the side where the officer came in from Next officers work to gather statements from both the driver and the other passenger You wanna talk to me and tell me what happened, man I got to here your side of the story (unintelligible) Okay? Yeah Okay, so we're gonna start slow and just kind of back up how we got here, okay? So you said to me earlier that... Remember I tried to ask you this guy what his name was? And you said his name was Slim, right? Slim? They call him Slim Okay Where did you meet him at? You wanna give me... I guess... I didn't know his name And you know… they’re asking him… They called him Pete or something Who's asking what? Oh, they were asking for names I gave him my name and then they asked him for his... Who's they? The police The... The police officers? Why do you think the cops were talking to him? Uh, there was... Oh, because he, uh, they... I guess he had an altercation I didn't even realize that he had an altercation with the clerk about something about beer Something about beer with the clerk inside? Yeah, so I didn't even know that was, like, the case He was like, hey, can we go? And I was like Dude, I'm trying to put this (unintelligible) He's like, well, the cops are here I'm like, well, what's that have to do with us? Like... Yeah Like, I don't care Like, you know what I mean? So... I didn't find out that like, the cop walked up, he's like uh, so which one of y'all had an altercation with the guys inside? I'm like, I don't know It was news to you? And then he starts telling them, like Well, I had a beer and uh, when I got here or something like that you'll be able to hear something, and... Uh, be able to like (unintelligible) or like, have them (unintelligible) or something, I don't know At this time I'm messing with the door panel You're being f***ing stupid after what just happened You keep pulling away it's gonna make it so much worse And I'm gonna put you on the f***ing floor if you keep acting up I was stopped What do you mean? I didn't do nothing What's your name? Daniel What are you on? What am I on? Yeah Are you on those pills that are in your bag? No, man Why were you acting stupid? So what… your friend just got shot - And you're acting the way you were acting? - I got... I got scared No, no, honestly Okay, so you come out with your hands down - and not being cooperative? - No, they were up They were up My hands were up I... I swear my hands were up, man What's your first name? Daniel Daniel, what? (Redacted) Social? I, I don't know, sir You don't know your social? I don't know You're 29 years old You don't know your social? Where, where are you from? Uh, I'm from Chicago - From Chicago? - Yes, sir Is that where your ID from? No, uh, my ID is from New Mexico From New Mexico? How long you been living here? About 10 years Huh? About 10 years Where do you live? I'm homeless Okay, where was the last place you were staying at? my... my grandma's With the investigation progressing Officer Brad Lunsford provided investigators with his account of the encounter on August 11th Uh, previous calls That was for a suspicious individual in a neighborhood just walking around, checked the area (unintelligible) or anything, it was Uh, didn't locate him Uh, started making my way, way over to the, uh Chevron uh, for the theft Uh, caller described the suspect as a Black male, no shirt He got disorderly because he was trying to purchase cigarettes and he didn't have an ID, I guess So I made my way over there pulled into the parking lot and the clerk comes out as I'm pulling in and the clerk says "They're over there" Points to pump number one which is where the green Pontiac is parked at, and says "Black male, uh front seat" So I make my way around in my unit to go eventually make contact with the vehicle and the occupants Vehicle stops I do a driver side approach passenger side Yeah, there's no room on the passenger side because there's a pump next to the passenger side, so I don't have any room to move if I need to So I decide to make a driver side approach and I can see that there's 3 people inside the vehicle So I start making conversation with them I ask them, "What's going on?" The driver initially answers and he says he's messing with his window So I’m… I ask him about what, what happened inside That's when the, uh suspect, is in the right front seat Um, says that he went in with a beer So I ask him for his ID, so I can go make contact with him, he says he doesn't have his ID and that's what started the whole confrontation with the guys inside of the gas station So I ask him for his information uh, which he provides me with uh, Pete (Redacted) I spell his last name for him (Redacted) He agrees that's how he spells his last name gives me date of birth and then he gives me an El Paso address So I ask the driver for his driver's license which he hands me and tell him to sit tight and let me go speak with him real quick the suspect provides me with Go back up ask about the beer He says he handed off the beer to, I guess somebody else in the parking lot at some point So I tell him I'm gonna do the passenger side approach, detain him That way we can figure out who he is and eventually watch cameras if there's cameras to be seen So at this point we go to passenger side cuz we're obviously gonna ask him to step out and try to take him into custody as soon as possible to try to prevent any type of further altercation or whatever the case is or have any issues So I go to the passenger side and open the door up and tell him, "Pete, step out for me" He... He's asking me Well, first he doesn’t…. he doesn't even acknowledge me So as we're trying to get him out of the vehicle you could see underneath that wat... water can he's got a knife on his lap So Officer Arbogast goes to grab the knife as we're pulling him out, his arm hits Offi... Officer Arboga... Officer Arbogast's hand as he's trying to take him out Um So we get him out of the vehicle and he starts moving himself towards the back of the SUV as he does that he grabs the rear passenger door handle and tries to open it and there's the right rear passenger, so I slam the rear shut and I tell the rear passenger to stay inside the vehicle He first reaches down to the gun side of his belt and he, he can't get anything from there, so he keeps... As we're trying to fight to control him, he's still looking down at his belt He sees the taser I can see out the corner of the eye O... of his eye how he's looking at... he tries to take it once and he's not able to And then the second time he tries to take it, he he ends up taking the taser, I I say, "Taser, once" as he pulls the taser from Officer Arbogast's holster and he's holding it up and he's trying to work the safety, I can actually see his fingers trying to work the safety of the taser, so I say, "Taser, once" as he has it And at that point it wasn't... Of... It wasn't a struggle to try to detain him It was a struggle for Officer Arbogast's life and my, my life at that point because I was concerned for his safety So I ended up placing it directly to the back of his head downward and to the right to avoid shooting Officer Arbogast in the process I fired one round into the back of his head Uh, the suspect falls on top of Officer Arbogast I yell out to Officer Arbogast cuz he doesn't... He's he says, "What the f***?" Or he's, he's trying to figure out what's going on I yell out, "Took your taser" and he gets out from underneath him We back up because we still have the driver and the rear passenger Following the investigation Officer Brad Lunsford was formally charged with voluntary manslaughter and firearm enhancement Investigators said the decision followed an extensive review of the available evidence bodycam footage, and expert analysis On February 12th, 2025 a jury found Officer Brad Lunsford guilty He was remanded into custody and transported to the Luna County Jail following the verdict However, a judge later granted a new trial after determining that juror misconduct had occurred and the case remains pending