Albuquerque police investigating source of campaign contributions to Solomon Pena
Jan. 19—Albuquerque police are looking into the possibility of criminal activity involving campaign contributions to disgraced state House candidate Solomon Pena as part of their investigation into a series of shootings he is accused of orchestrating at Democratic politicians' homes.
A news release Thursday states Albuquerque detectives uncovered "potential illegal activity" stemming from contributions made by José Trujillo, another man police say is suspected in the shootings, and Trujillo's mother.
Trujillo donated $5,155 to Pena between the primary and general elections, and his mother, Melanie Griego, gave $4,000 to Pena's campaign during the general election, according to police and state campaign finance reports. The reports state Trujillo is a cashier.
Police said Trujillo and Griego's contributions listed the same southwest Albuquerque address and accounted for about 40% of the total amount raised by Pena, a Republican, throughout his failed campaign for state House District 14.
Detectives are trying to determine whether the money came from drug trafficking, and if any campaign laws were broken through the donations, police said in the news release.
While online court records do not show Trujillo has been charged in the alleged shooting conspiracy, he was arrested early Jan. 3 — not long after a shooting at state Sen. Linda Lopez's home in Albuquerque — by Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies after a traffic stop.
Police said 893 fentanyl pills were found inside the Nissan Maxima that Trujillo was driving, along with $3,036 in cash and two guns.
Investigators found the Nissan was registered to Pena and tied one of the guns to the shooting at Lopez's house, according to a criminal complaint filed late Monday against Pena filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court.
The complaint cites other named and unnamed alleged accomplices, but so far none has been charged in the high-profile shootings between Dec. 4 and Jan. 3. Police have described the shootings as politically motivated attacks by a man who refused to accept the results of his election.
Pena's campaign raised a total of $9,493.32 in contributions during the 2022 primary election cycle and $14,166.51 for the general election.
His biggest general election backer was the Jalapeño Corp., a company owned by oilman and former state GOP chairman Harvey Yates, which gave Pena $5,000 on Sept. 28. Yates is a prolific political donor and has been for years; his company gave more than $150,000 in political contributions in 2022 alone, mostly to Republicans but also to a few conservative Democrats in contested primary elections.
Pena was a supporter of Republican secretary of state candidate Audrey Trujillo — and her second-largest campaign donor, according to campaign finance records. He gave her $4,664 for her unsuccessful campaign.
Pena gave much smaller amounts to four other Republican candidates.
Another major supporter of Pena was Michael Fletcher, who gave him $2,875 during the primaries and $1,850 during the general election cycle, according to campaign finance records. The records list Fletcher as a security guard.
Pena, a convicted felon, is accused of masterminding shootings at the homes of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa, recently elected House Speaker Javier Martinez, then-Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley and Lopez after trying to convince them his November election against incumbent Democratic Rep. Miguel Garcia was rigged.
His campaign for the state House came to an end when he lost to Garcia, receiving only 26% of the vote.
He was arrested by an Albuquerque SWAT team Monday and appeared in court remotely Wednesday in shackles.
A judge said he will remain detained until a hearing to determine whether he should be jailed until his trial.
Albuquerque police Chief Harold Medina noted in a statement Wednesday a judicial assessment recommends Pena's release until his trial, which Medina called an example of a broken criminal justice system in need of reform.
"This suspect is alleged to have hired hitmen to shoot up elected officials' houses with life-threatening gun fire," Medina said in the statement.
Assistant City Editor Nathan Brown contributed to this report.
