Task force releases 911 calls, video related to fatal deputy shooting
Bethany Brunelle-Raja
LAS CRUCES - Video released Tuesday by authorities shows a man being shot by a DASO deputy multiple times.
Diego Eguino-Alcala, 27, was killed in the Oct. 4 encounter. He appears to be unarmed.
Before the shooting, Eguino-Alcala ran a red light causing a collision, threatened bystanders with a shotgun and attempted to steal five different vehicles, including an ambulance.
The Sun-News reached out to several officials Wednesday for clarification on whether Eguino-Alcala was armed at the time of the shooting or to provide clarity on what might have prompted the deputy to shoot at him. Calls were not returned.
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Authorities have not released the name of the deputy who shot Eguino-Alcala.
The Multi-Juridictional Officer Incident Task Force is investigating the shooting.
'He has a gun'
DASO released a 10-minute-long video Tuesday that included commentary from Las Cruces Police Det. Rene Molenda, a member of the task force. The video also includes 911 calls, a map and dashcam video related to the incident.
About 10 a.m. Oct. 4, Eguino-Alcala ran a red light and crashed his silver sedan into a pickup truck pulling a trailer near Union and south Main Street.
A woman who called 911 said Eguino-Alcala was driving "super fast" before the collision.
According to the video, eight 911 calls came into Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Center following the crash, including one from Sheriff Kim Stewart who was off duty at the time and stopped to render aid.
Identifying herself as "703," Stewart tells a 911 operator that Eguino-Alcala is out of it, that he brandished a shot gun at the crash site and she wants a unit out there to secure the contents of the vehicle that he was driving.
"He was last seen going towards I-10 running. He was being drug by a car for a brief period of time," Stewart said.
Another caller states she saw Eguino-Alcala pull a gun out of the trunk of the vehicle he was driving, swing it around at everyone who was trying to help him and then take off running.
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"He's running south … he's wearing a white sweat shirt, a cap put on backwards and black pants. And now he's stealing a motorcycle that somebody was on. Oh you need to hurry and get here," a woman tells the 911 operator.
The woman then tells the 911 operator that Eguino-Alcala runs across the street and tries pulling another guy out of a car.
"Now he grabbed a truck and the truck's driving and he's hanging on the back of the truck and he's going North and now he fell off the truck," the woman says.
Dash cam video shows a deputy in his unit driving west on Manso Avenue, which is a couple blocks north of the crash site.
The unit passes an ambulance that Eguino-Alcala allegedly tried to steal before coming upon Eguino-Alcala, who is running west toward south Main Street.
The deputy exits his unit and tells Eguino-Alcala to stop.
Eguino-Alcala stops and puts his hands on his knees. He doesn't appear to be holding any type of weapon.
"Put your hands up," the deputy demands. The deputy says something else to Eguino-Alcala, but the audio is not clear.
An LCPD unit pulls onto Manso from south Main Street.
Eguino-Alcala appears to raise his torso and the deputy fires at him 10 times, sending him crumpling to the ground.
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Authorities render aid to Eguino-Alcala who is later transported to Memorial Medical Center where he died.
Eguino-Alcala has a history of altercations with police officers. At the time of the shooting, he was on probation for a 2016 conviction of conspiracy to commit trafficking of a controlled substance, distribution of an imitation controlled substance, battery upon a peace officer, resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon on a university campus.
The task force investigating is made of authorities from New Mexico State Police, Las Cruces Police Department, Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office and the New Mexico State University Police Department. Once completed, results of the investigation will be shared with the 3rd Judicial District Attorney's Office.
Bethany Freudenthal can be reached at bfreudenthal@lcsun-news.com, 575-541-5449 or @bethanyfreuden1 on Twitter.