Prosecutor: Agreement dismisses charge against undersheriff

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A special prosecutor says a northern New Mexico senior sheriff’s official has agreed to retire in exchange for dismissal of a felony charge accusing him of ordering deputies to draw their guns against other officers.

The charge accusing Rio Arriba County Undersheriff Martin Ray Trujillo of solicitation to commit aggravated assault upon a police officer was dismissed Monday. Prosecutor Andrea Reeb said it can be refiled if Trujillo doesn’t retire at the end of February as agreed.

The 2020 incident in which Trujillo was charged involved a confrontation involving then-Sheriff James Lujan and officers attempting to seize his cellphone for an investigation.