The Office of the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney announced on Friday, November 8, that Dominic De La O has been found guilty of first-degree murder and multiple other charges by an Otero County jury in connection with the fatal shooting of an Alamogordo police officer.
In addition to the murder charge, De La O was convicted of tampering with evidence, aggravated fleeing from law enforcement, criminal trespass, and two counts of resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer.
The verdict came after the jury heard testimony from 21 witnesses for the prosecution, who presented details about the events that occurred on July 15, 2023.
According to the evidence presented, an officer from the Alamogordo Police Department initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of 9th Street and Puerto Rico Avenue in Alamogordo, New Mexico. While two passengers exited the vehicle and approached the officer with their hands raised, De La O took the driver’s seat and sped away.
During the subsequent pursuit, De La O collided with a light pole and attempted to flee on foot while armed with a sawed-off shotgun. He then turned and fatally shot Officer Anthony Ferguson. Ferguson was airlifted to the University Medical Center in El Paso but tragically died from his injuries on July 16, 2023.
The case was prosecuted by District Attorney Scot D. Key, with support from Deputy District Attorney Mikel Ward and Assistant District Attorney Ryan Suggs. “Key expressed his gratitude to the law enforcement community and all justice partners for their unwavering dedication and commitment to seeking justice in this case,” according to the official statement.
De La O will remain in custody until his sentencing, which is set for November 12 at 9:00 a.m. He faces a maximum sentence of life without parole, in addition to eight years and 361 days.
A leading national school choice advocate, Dr. Corey A. DeAngelis, Ph.D., is making a stop in the Land of Enchantment next Monday, June 17th, as part of the Rio Grande Foundation’s (RGF)education project, “Opportunity for All Kids NM.”
“School choice is sweeping the nation. Arguably the most prominent national spokesperson and expert on allowing education dollars to follow students is Corey DeAngelis,” wrote RGF. DeAngelis is a visiting fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation, and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, among other accolades.
45th President Trump wrote about DeAngelis, “Corey DeAngelis is a FIGHTER for Parental Rights. His new book, The Parent Revolution, is a great guide to help Moms and Dads take back control of their children’s education from the RADICAL MARXISTS ruining our schools. As I have long said, School Choice is the CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE of our time, and parents must have a voice in their child’s education!”
DeAngelis is the author of “The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools.” The book is the #1 seller on Amazon for education funding and is a national USA Today bestseller.
There will be talks and book signings in Albuquerque and Alamogordo. The Albuqueruqe event will be held at 12:00 p.m. at the Greater Association of Albuquerque Realtors (GAAR) located at 1635 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102. The registration link is here.
The Alamogordo talk will take place at 6:00 p.m. at the Flickinger Center for Performing Arts at 1110 N New York Ave, Alamogordo, NM 88310. The registration link is here.
For a special Piñon Post reader exclusive offer, enter the code PINONPOST at checkout to receive 10% off your ticket to either event!
Walmart is facing renewed criticism over its self-checkout policies, with customers expressing frustration at feeling like criminals during their shopping experiences. Charles Bisbee, a Walmart shopper from Alamogordo, shared his encounter while using the self-checkout lane at his local store, according to a report by The Sun.
According to Bisbee, an employee approached him and reached into his bag to retrieve a container of energy drink mix, bluntly asking, “Are you going to pay for that?” Bisbee described the interaction as “confrontational” and explained that he had already scanned the item, even pointing to the screen as proof.
Bisbee, who resides in Alamogordo, New Mexico, emphasized the tight-knit nature of his military community and how accusations of theft can tarnish one’s reputation unfairly. He also shared a similar incident involving his father, a retired colonel, who was confronted by a worker due to a missed-scan alert for a gallon of milk. The alert system, implemented by Walmart in 2019 to deter theft, has inadvertently caused discomfort and hostility in various customer interactions.
Walmart employees conveyed that they are not allowed to directly accuse customers of theft, even in cases where suspicions arise. However, shoppers have reported feeling labeled as thieves due to innocent mistakes or technical glitches, causing distress. Daniel Jones, another customer, expressed his shock when the self-checkout kiosk played security footage of an alleged missed-scanned item. He felt accused of a crime and feared that the video playback in his work uniform might lead others to believe he was stealing. An employee approached Jones, questioned him, and reactivated the system, leaving him feeling “punished” for utilizing the hand scanner.
These incidents have left many honest shoppers feeling unwelcome and unfairly treated, as they are erroneously perceived as thieves. Walmart responded to the concerns, stating, “We’re continuously working on our security processes, and we encourage customers with concerns to let us know. Our associates are trained to handle these situations professionally and respectfully, ensuring our customers have the best shopping experience possible.”
The ongoing criticism underscores the importance of striking a balance between loss prevention and maintaining a welcoming shopping environment where customers are not unfairly subjected to suspicion or embarrassment.
On Tuesday, the New Mexico State Police formally charged Dominic De La O in the fatal shooting of Alamogordo Police Department Officer Anthony Ferguson last Saturday.
Officer Ferguson via the Alamogordo Police Department.
The State Police wrote, “Twelfth Judicial District Attorney Scot D. Key, announced today that an Otero County Grand Jury returned true bills of indictment on 10 counts against Dominic De La O, in connection with the incident on July 15, 2023, which resulted in the death of Officer Anthony Ferguson of the Alamogordo Police Department.”
“True bills included one count of First-Degree Murder (Willful & Deliberate) a capital felony; Tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; Aggravated Fleeing a Law Enforcement Officer, a fourth-degree felony; two counts of Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, fourth-degree felonies; two counts of Resisting, Evading or Obstructing an Officer, both misdemeanors; two counts of Criminal Trespass, both misdemeanors; and Improper Equipment — Driving a Vehicle at night without Lighted Lamps.”
Mugshot of Dominic De La O via New Mexico State Police.
The Department added, “Although De La O has been held in custody on a separate case, following this indictment, District Attorney Key filed an Expedited Motion for Pretrial Detention. Similar to a motion filed by the State in October 2022, DA Key is requesting that De La O be held in custody pending trial. In the Expedited Motion, Key cited De La O’s criminal history, argued that he continues to be a danger to the community, and petitioned the court to make a finding that no conditions of release will adequately protect the community.”
De La O was previously arrested in January after brandishing a gun on a police officer but was allowed pretrial release under the state’s failed laws that have removed cash bail — allowing violent offenders back on the streets.
He violated his pretrial release Wednesday by attending a party where a warrant was issued for his arrest. The perpetrator was stopped on Saturday during a routine traffic stop where he pulled the gun, which was obtained illegally, on Officer Ferguson, causing the fatal injury to the esteemed law enforcement officer. Officer Ferguson was transported to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center and later flown to the Univeristy Medical Center of El Paso, where he passed away.
According to New Mexico State Police, “New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Throughout the process, investigative findings will be shared with the district attorney for their review and consideration.”
Officer Ferguson is the first Alamogordo Police Department officer killed in the line of duty since Clint Corvinus in 2016. Officer Ferguson was nominated for Officer of the Year in 2019 and has honorably served Alamogordo throughout the years.
The City of Alamogordo announced services for fallen Alamogordo Police Officer Anthony Ferguson, who was fatally shot Saturday by a suspect who had previously brandished a gun at law enforcement.
On Wednesday, the community will gather for a candlelight vigil at 6:30 at Alamogordo High School’s gym, known as the Tiger Pit.
Then, on Thursday at 2:00 p.m., funeral services for Officer Ferguson will be held at the Tays Events Center at New Mexico State University-Alamogoro, located at 2400 N Scenic Drive.
“Please be advised that there will be limited parking available at the Tays Special Events Center parking lot for the tribute service for Officer Ferguson. Overflow parking can be used at the NMSU-A campus across from the Tays Special Events Center,” wrote the City.
Officer Ferguson via the Alamogordo Police Department.
“For those unable to attend the service in person, the funeral will be live streamed by the KRQE news station. This will allow you to participate and join us in honoring Officer Ferguson remotely. We are grateful for the support and unity of our community, near and far.”
Condolences flooded in from across the state, with local leaders, pastors, lawmakers, and others showing unity with Alamogordo as it mourns the tragic killing of Officer Ferguson.
Late Sunday, it was revealed that Alamogordo Police Department Officer Anthony Ferguson, 41, an eleven-year veteran of the force, had succumbed to his injuries after being shot by a wanted criminal who shot him in the face with a sawed-off shotgun.
The Alamogordo Police Department wrote, “Officer Ferguson was serving in the Patrol Division as a Field Training Officer. He is survived by his mother, father, four brothers, his daughter, and son. He was loved and admired by the citizens of Alamogordo and Officers alike. We would ask for the family’s privacy to be respected at this time.”
The perpetrator, Dominic De La O, is being held at the Otero County Detention Center and charged with attempt to commit first-degree murder, aggravated battery on a police officer with a deadly weapon, tampering with evidence, aggravated fleeing, resisting and evading, criminal trespass, lights required on a vehicle, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, and reckless driving.
De La O was previously arrested in January after brandishing a gun on a police officer but was allowed pretrial release under the state’s failed laws that have removed cash bail — allowing violent offenders back on the streets.
He violated his pretrial release Wednesday by attending a party where a warrant was issued for his arrest. The perpetrator was stopped on Saturday during a routine traffic stop where he pulled the gun, which was obtained illegally, on Officer Ferguson, causing the fatal injury to the esteemed law enforcement officer. Officer Ferguson was transported to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center and later flown to the Univeristy Medical Center of El Paso, where he passed away.
According to New Mexico State Police, “New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Throughout the process, investigative findings will be shared with the district attorney for their review and consideration.”
Officer Ferguson is the first Alamogordo Police Department officer killed in the line of duty since Clint Corvinus in 2016. Officer Ferguson was nominated for Officer of the Year in 2019 and has honorably served Alamogordo throughout the years.
In 2016, the voters of New Mexico passed a constitutional amendment removing cash bail and instituting pretrial release, which has since let violent thugs back on the streets to wreak havoc on the state’s communities.
Albuquerque’s crime-plagued streets are often mentioned as examples of how this far-left policy has failed the state, but it is now permeating even further into smaller communities — this time in Alamogordo.
“State Police agents learned that on July 15, at around 2:30 a.m., an APD officer initiated a traffic stop on a Honda passenger vehicle driven by Dominic De La O, 26, of Alamogordo for driving with no headlights or taillights. De La O fled from the officer and crashed into a light pole at the intersection of Delaware Avenue and 1st Street. De La O fled the crash scene on foot and a foot pursuit ensued,” according to State Police.
“At some point during the foot pursuit De La O presented a concealed sawed-off shotgun and fired it toward one of the APD officers, striking him in the face. A second APD officer fired his duty weapon at least once towards De La O striking him in the leg. De La O continued to flee on foot, and after a physical confrontation with officers at a residence on the 100 block of Delaware, De La O was taken into custody. De La O was treated and released from the hospital and taken into custody by the New Mexico State Police.”
Mugshot of Dominic De La O via New Mexico State Police.
De La O was previously sprung from jail awaiting trial from January 2023 charges.
“In late January, De La O was shot twice in the back by Alamogordo police when he pulled a handgun during a scuffle with officers, according to court records. De La O was facing one felony drug charge and several misdemeanors in that case and was awaiting trial,” the Albuquerque Journal reported. “Court records show a warrant was issued for De La O’s arrest on Wednesday after he violated his conditions of pretrial release by being at a party where a shooting occurred.”
De La O is being charged with the following:
Attempt to Commit 1stDegree Murder
Aggravated Battery on a Police Officer with a Deadly weapon
Tampering with Evidence
Aggravated Fleeing of a Police Officer
Resisting and Evading a Police Officer
Criminal Trespass
Lights Required on Vehicle
Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle
Reckless Driving
The officer was rushed to El Paso and remains in critical condition following surgery.
The fringe group, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is attacking Otero County again. This time, the extremist dark money organization is triggered after the announcement Alamogordo’s Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center (GCRMC) is joining the CHRISTUS Health group, which is Catholic. The health group, which is based in Irving, Texas, runs 600 successful facilities in the country, including in Santa Fe, many of them being top-rated.
GCRMC CEO Jim Heckert said the merger would create $100 million in new investment over the next decade.
In a hostage letter typical of the group, the ACLU claimed the hospital’s merger must incorporate abortions and “LGBTQ+ inclusive” services, “including gender affirming care for transgender patients, and end-of-life care options.”
“We firmly believe in the fundamental right to religious exercise and expression, and we have a long history of defending that right,” claimed ACLU’ of New Mexico’s “Reproductive Rights and Gender Equity” managing attorney Ellie Rushforth.
“However, religious freedom does not give a health care system the right to limit information and access to basic health care by imposing a narrow set of directives on everyone. The hospital should seek feedback from their community and take more time to consider the potential risks posed by this transaction to their patients and health care providers.”
Religious freedom guarantees a private non-profit hospital to do whatever it so chooses regarding its beliefs. But the ACLU believes that “religious exercise” in America now must be limited if that religious belief includes pro-life, anti-transgenderism aspects.
At a recent meeting, the Otero County Commission met to reject a proposal to involve the state attorney general in investigating the merger. Instead, the Commission is working on a letter of support for the hospital’s union with CHRISTUS.
On Wednesday in Alamogordo, a jury of twelve in the state District Court found former Otero County Commissioner and Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffin not guilty of skirting New Mexico campaign laws.
According to the Associated Press, “State prosecutors accuse Griffin of a misdemeanor violation of failing to register as a political group, which is punishable by up to a year in prison and an additional $1,000 fine.”
Griffin told the AP, “All I wanted to do was speak on behalf of an ‘America First’ agenda, which should all be protected under the First Amendment,” adding, “I don’t want the state of New Mexico to know who has supported Cowboys for Trump. It’s about protecting donors.”
The court case came after arbitration between Griffin and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s office resulted in demands he registers the group as a political committee despite it not falling within that scope and ordered fines of $7,800.
After the verdict, Griffin wrote on Twitter, “This trial was a great example of how our judicial system is supposed to work. We could get away from the weaponized system, from the radicalized activists that sit on the bench, and we do that by jury trials.”
“Thank you for following along, thank you for your support, and this fight’s just getting started. We’re gonna get lots more wins from here on out.”
Griffin has battled in courtrooms in Washington, D.C., and in Santa Fe, where he has not been judged by his peers until now. He noted after his court victory on Wednesday that his previous cases were in front of leftist judges and/or juries, such as in Washington. D.C., where he claims it is “95 percent” Democrat.
On Sunday, the Alamogordo Public School Board voted unanimously to put Superintendent Kenneth Moore on paid administrative leave amid a lawsuit filed by the Flickinger Performing Arts Center’s executive director Lorrie Black and a video released showing Moore demeaning community members. The move came after the board members met for an executive session that day.
Black wrote in a February 9, 2023 press release, “The Flickinger Center for Performing Arts has entered into a lawsuit against Alamogordo Public School Board and Superintendent Kenneth Moore. The Flickinger Center’s mission states ‘…. reaching our local student population with live music, dance and theater.’ For many years, the Flickinger Center has provided free use of the facility to public schools, private schools, and home school students for band, choir, orchestra concerts, theatrical performances, and awards programs. Six to ten times per year, the Flickinger Center pays additional fees to their Premier Series performers to provide free school educational outreach programs for all area public and private schools.”
“The Flickinger Center was extremely disappointed to learn that the Alamogordo Public School Board allowed Superintendent Moore to make the decision that the Flickinger Center was no longer an approved facility for the students and teachers at Alamogordo Public Schools to use. The Flickinger Center looks forward to a quick resolution to this conflict and get the students at Alamogordo Public Schools back into the theater.”
In an undercover video posted via YouTube by Casey and Myke Petersen, Moore was seen at a conference telling attendees he and his administration are stealthily sneaking in Critical Race Theory through the curriculum.
Moore said in the video, “I mentioned guerrilla warfare. We have to do it subtly to work. We can’t even say ‘equity,’ you know?” He also said, “We’re sneaking [Critical Race Theory] in. It’s guerrilla warfare.”
He must “be careful that we don’t let the ‘e’ word slip (equity) out of our mouths, lest we get shot or something like that” he said.
In other comments made by Moore in the video, he demeaned Alamogordo residents, saying, “If you’ve ever heard of Alamogordo — Otero County — and I’m not knocking the place, but been there four years, and if ever there was a time and a place for discussions about race and equity to take place, it’s in this little town called Alamogordo, New Mexico, where many people would rather not have this discussion, would rather bury their heads in the sand when it comes to race…. If you look up ‘Otero County news’ on Google, where you’ll see headlines from a couple [of] days ago here, you’ll see how we’re trying out fascism as a type of government. I am embarrassed by the county government and the things that are going on.”
He later said, “They have also co-opted religion with this. They believe they are doing God’s work by doing this…. Alamogordo has been a place where these people go to.” He said, “This has become a place that’s only attractive to Trumpers.”
When asked how he, a progressive, became superintendent, he answered, “I have four board members that are on the fence, and they support me because I’m a safe white guy, really.”
“We got less triggering CRT training for our teachers. It was more on implicit bias and things like that that they could take a bite out of without — without much of the backlash…. Never talk CRT. They don’t know what it is, but if those three letters are there, it blows back in our face[s]. So, we’ve done a lot of the implicit bias, the microaggression stuff… SEL (social and emotional learning).”
“If I could force ‘em all, one by one, into something like this (CRT), we might get ten percent of them to open their eyes,” Moore said.
Following the release of the video, state Rep. John Block of Alamogordo wrote in a statement, “I am extraordinarily proud to represent my home of Alamogordo in the Roundhouse. I am equally disgusted by comments made in a recent undercover video showing our public school superintendent demeaning the good people who live in our community as racists and fascists. This angers me to see such disrespect for our great community, and I will continue to work with our local officials to continue promoting our Otero County values while ensuring children in the Alamogordo Public Schools are not indoctrinated with racist Critical Race Theory extremism.”
District Three Alamogordo City Commissioner Karl Melton wrote, “Public education is an institution that requires mutual trust to operate. Parents should never be worried what is being taught behind their back.”
The Flickinger Center and Black’s 34-page lawsuit against APS and Moore was filed in the Twelfth Judicial District Court. The full complaint can be found here.
Board Member Angie Cadwallader made the motion for Moore to be put on leave, although it is not immediately clear what the specific reason was for his administrative status change. Deputy Superintendent Pam Renteria has been named acting superintendent while Moore remains on leave. That motion was made unanimously by the Alamogordo Public School Board. The public meeting lasted around only five minutes for the board to conduct its business.
