A failed New Mexico state House candidate visited the homes of local Democratic leaders to vehemently contest his election loss weeks before he allegedly orchestrated a series of shootings at the residences, elected officials said.
Republican Solomon Pena is accused of conspiring and paying four men to carry out four shootings at the Albuquerque-area homes of two Bernalillo County commissioners and two state legislators, Albuquerque police said.
Police announced his arrest Monday night. No one was injured in the shootings.
“Peña came to my house right after the (November) elections. He was a little erratic in the points he was trying to make about the election, and about how many doors he knocked on and how the number of votes didn’t match up,» Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa said in a phone interview with NBC News.
Barboa said he called the police after the incident.
“He was at my door and he was aggressive. He was an election denier,” said Barboa, who was shot eight times at his home on Dec. 4, the first in a series of shootings targeting state and local Democrats.
Former County Commissioner Debbie O’Malley shared a similar experience with Peña around the same time after she first visited his old home before locating it at his current address.
“This guy came to my house. He worried me a lot and he was very disturbing. He was angry about losing the election,” he said. «He felt the election was unfair and false.»
Although he did not threaten her during the November encounter, she called authorities, and officers patrolled her home for a few days.
But weeks later, her home was hit with 12 bullets on Dec. 11 while she and her husband slept, police said.
He «could have killed us,» O’Malley previously told NBC News.
Police said Pena may have been motivated by anger over his November loss. Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said at a news conference Monday night that Peña claimed his defeat was the result of voter fraud.
Peña lost his state House challenge to incumbent Democrat Miguel P. Garcia 5,679 to 2,033, or 74% to 26%.
He took his case to three county commissioners and a state senator, some whose homes were targeted in the shootings, to no avail, Gallegos said.
“She had complaints about her election and felt like she was being manipulated,” Gallegos said. «As the mayor said, he denied the elections, he does not want to accept the results of his election.»
One of the meetings with local and state leaders turned heated, he said.
“I think one actually led to a great discussion,” Gallegos said. “It was shortly after the shootings occurred.”
Two other shootings were previously believed to be connected to the case: on December 10 at the former campaign office of Raúl Torrez, who was elected New Mexico attorney general, and on January 5 outside the law offices in downtown New Mexico. named state senator Moe. Maestas: They have not been connected to the suspect, police said Monday.
denis romero, phil helsell Y mirna alsharif contributed.