Suspect indicted for fatal Alamogordo police officer shooting
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ALAMOGORDO, N.M. — A grand jury has indicted a man accused of shooting and killing Alamogordo Police Officer Anthony Ferguson earlier this month.
Dominic De La O faces a first-degree murder charge and nine other charges.
District Attorney Scot D. Key filed an expedited motion to hold De La O until his trial. The district attorney cited De La O’s criminal history and argued pretrial release would endanger the community.
Just after 2 a.m. July 15, De La O allegedly shot Ferguson after crashing his car into a light pole and firing at police. Police had tried pulling him over before that.
Another officer returned fire and shot De La O in the leg.
Paramedics took Ferguson to a nearby hospital, then flew him to a hospital in El Paso. He later died there Sunday night.
De La O had two other active criminal cases against him at the time of this deadly shooting.
In January 2022, De La O was driving drunk and fled from law enforcement. Police arrested him, then a judge released him on bond with conditions – which he later violated with the case pending.
In January 2023, officers tried to serve a warrant on him when a foot chase led to a shooting. Documents say De La O pulled a gun on officers. Then, an officer shot him.
A judge revoked his conditions of release for a bit until an attorney said the detention center wasn’t providing him with appropriate medical attention.
Twelfth Judicial District Judge Angie Schneider agreed to “give him one more chance.”
The release came just a month before he allegedly shot and killed Ferguson.
MORE:
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- 2 New Mexico counties to discuss improvements to pretrial services
- Video: Man arrested for killing Alamogordo officer was shot by police in January
- Otero County DA weighs in on release of suspect in deadly police shooting