Man charged in June homicide

Max J. Lucero, 56, was arrested Dec. 17 after running from New Mexico State Police during a traffic stop near Pecos, according to a criminal complaint filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court.

Following an interview with Las Vegas Police investigators the next day, Lucero was charged with second-degree murder in the June 15 death of Cruz M. Gallegos.

Police had been looking for Lucero since May after he failed to appear in Magistrate Court in a case where he’s accused of being in possession of a stolen Jeep.

An NMSP officer spotted Lucero around 1:40 p.m. Dec. 17 driving a GMC truck southbound on New Mexico 63 near Pecos. NMSP attempted to pull the truck over, but according to the criminal complaint, Lucero refused to stop. After abandoning the truck, he fled on foot, jumped a metal gate and ran through a field. An officer chased after Lucero, and Lucero stopped when the officer drew his firearm and commanded Lucero to get on the ground.

According to police, Lucero was driving with a revoked license, the license plate on the truck belonged to another vehicle and the truck had been reported stolen in Santa Fe.

Lucero was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on the active warrant, and he was charged with felony receiving or transferring stolen motor vehicles along with misdemeanor charges for resisting an officer, use of plate on another vehicle and for driving while license revoked.

When LVPD questioned Lucero about his involvement in the June 15 death of Gallegos, Lucero admitted to shooting and killing Gallegos, according to an affidavit for arrest filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court.

 

June 15

When LVPD investigators executed a search warrant on the house in the 1100 block of Chavez Street following the June 15 shooting, they found blood near the front door, in the kitchen, in a hallway and on an entertainment center.

According to the arrest affidavit, blood was also found on the carpet in several rooms, and it appeared that someone had attempted to clean it. Police also located a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun with an extended magazine hidden under a couch.

The arrest affidavit also details an interview with a woman who was at the house when Gallegos was shot.

She told police that she and Gallegos went to see Gallegos’ uncle, Marcos Ruiz, at the home on Chavez Street, which belonged to Marcos Ruiz’s mother. As she and Gallegos approached the home, Gallegos warned her to “be careful” and said, “You know how he can be.”

Three people were inside the home when they walked in: Marcos Ruiz, his brother Arturo Ruiz and a man she described as an older man with white hair and a white mustache, who’s since been identified as Lucero.

She said Marcos Ruiz “made a sarcastic remark,” and then pointed a gun at them. Marcos Ruiz then handed the gun to Lucero, turned to her and told her to step outside so they could talk to Gallegos.

As the woman walked to the door, a shot was fired, striking Gallegos. She told police Lucero then turned the gun on her, but Arturo Ruiz told Lucero not to shoot her. Gallegos walked out of the house and collapsed to the ground.

Marcos Ruiz then threw a cellphone at her — described as a small flip phone — and said, “Call the cops, you stupid b—-.”

Gallegos was transported to Alta Vista Regional Hospital where he later died.

Lucero’s account

Max Lucero’s account of that day differs slightly from what the witness told police.

According to the arrest affidavit, Lucero told investigators that he’d been at the house “partying” with Marcos Ruiz and Arturo Ruiz. He said he’d heard the two discussing Gallegos, and that it sounded like Gallegos had stolen drugs or money from Marcos.

Lucero told investigators that when Gallegos and the woman arrived, they went to a bedroom. Lucero said he’d met Gallegos once before, and based on the “secretive” conversation Marcos Ruiz and Arturo Ruiz had about Gallegos, Lucero was worried that Gallegos was going to shoot them.

Lucero said there were three handguns in the living room, and while Gallegos was in the bedroom, he grabbed one of them.

When Gallegos exited the bedroom, he thought he saw a gun in his hand, so Lucero fired a shot at him.

Lucero told police that, after the shooting, either Marcos Ruiz or Arturo Ruiz took the gun from him, and then the three of them got into a vehicle. He said they drove him to his father’s house, and there, Marcos Ruiz gave him $1,500, and Arturo Ruiz gave him half an ounce of heroin. He then went to sleep.

 

August Shootings

In late August, Marcos Ruiz was charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 3 shooting death of Mark Carrillo. Marcos Ruiz has also been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Gilbert Montoya the same day, and he and Arturo Ruiz were targets of raids by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in September. Additionally, the FBI has named Ruiz as a possible suspect in the July shooting death of Leroy Lucero. However, neither Marcos Ruiz or Arturo Ruiz have been charged in Gallegos’ death.

 

Questions remain

According to a federal search warrant affidavit filed in U.S. District Court that was unsealed in September, confidential sources told FBI agents that Cruz Gallegos was killed because he’d stolen $70,000 worth of fentanyl from Marcos Ruiz.

The search warrant affidavit also shows that agents with the FBI considered Marcos Ruiz and Arturo Ruiz suspects in Gallegos’ death for several months. However, while the FBI affidavit includes statements from the woman who witnessed the shooting, Max Lucero is not named, nor is there any reference to an older man with white hair. In fact, the FBI affidavit names a juvenile as a potential suspect, someone LVPD has never mentioned publicly.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney Richard Flores told the Optic he could not add any more information than what was already contained in the arrest affidavit.

Chief of Police David Bibb did not respond to a request for comment by the Optic’s press time.

Max Lucero is being held on a no-bond warrant. He was booked into SMCDC Dec. 17 where he remained as of this writing.