Murder charge dropped in deadly Clovis New Years Day shooting

CLOVIS, N.M. — A murder charge was dismissed against a 30-year-old man arrested in connection with a Sunday, Jan. 1, fatal shooting in a northeast neighborhood in Clovis, New Mexico, as officials said evidence indicated he acted in self defense.

Ian Michael Downs was charged in the New Year's Day shooting of Oscar Trujillo, 28.

The charge against Downs stemmed from an initial investigation into a report of four or five shots being fired about 9:30 p.m. near Wilmington and Northglen Streets, according to a police news release.

Responding officers found Trujillo in the 2100 block of Northglen lying in the roadway suffering a gunshot wound to the head, the release states.

He was taken by ambulance to Plains Regional Medical Center where he was stabilized then transferred to a hospital in Lubbock where he died.

Meanwhile, officers contacted Downs, who reported the shooting, saying he acted in self defense.

However, police arrested Downs and he was booked into the Curry County Adult Detention Center on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in the shooting. That charge was upgraded to murder after Trujillo died.

The Ninth Judicial District of New Mexico issued a news release on Thursday saying the charges against Downs were dismissed after evidence collected at the scene supported his self-defense claim.

The release states investigators obtained videos from nearby doorbell cameras that contained audio that corroborated Down's version of events, the release states.

"With this new evidence, the District Attorney’s Office filed the Dismissal on Wednesday, January 4, 2023," the release states. "The Major Crimes Unit and Clovis Police Department are still investigating the matter and charges may still be filed in the future."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: DA says evidence supports self-defense claim in Clovis deadly shooting