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Las Cruces Man Gets 29+ Years For Murder

  Johnny Ray Vallejos, 20, of Las Cruces was sentenced today to 29 ½ years in prison for the murder of Julian Peña.  On February 21, 2011, Vallejos and three other defendants: Homero Avalos, Myles Calderon, and Aaron Valdivia participated in a drive by revenge shooting.

The incident took place at the Watson Mobile Home Park, when the defendant fired 10 rounds from a 22 Caliber rifle into the wrong mobile home. The defendants intended to kill Andrew “Tuna” Martinez who attacked and killed an Oñate High School football player with a golf club.  Instead of Martinez, 57 year old Vietnam Veteran, Julian Peña, was fatally wounded by the mêlée of gun fire due to this blunder. 

Judge Douglas Driggers gave the maximum sentence to Vallejos in the plea of 2nd Degree Murder.  Ms. Roxanne Esquibel was the lead prosecutor in the case. She argued that Vallejos was on probation for another offense when he committed this crime. She alluded that Vallejos is a cold blooded killer and displayed no remorse, refusing to take responsibility for his actions.

The Defendant was 16 years old when he committed the offense and was evaluated twice for amenability to stand trial as an adult.

The District Attorney’s Office is pleased with the verdict and sentence.

Information from: Third Judicial District Attorney's Office