The Presley Eze case is the New Mexico prosecution of Las Cruces police officer Brad Lunsford for the August 2, 2022 shooting death of Eze, a 37-year-old nursing supervisor and father, outside a Chevron gas station. A jury convicted Lunsford of voluntary manslaughter with a firearm enhancement in February 2025, but Judge James Foy vacated the conviction in October 2025 and ordered a new trial. A separate federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Eze’s family is ongoing.
What Happened at the Gas Station
Las Cruces police were called to a Chevron after an employee reported that Eze had walked out with a beer he had not paid for. Officers tried to detain him but could not verify his identity. When they pulled him from a vehicle, a struggle followed, and Eze ended up on top of one of the officers on the ground. During the scuffle, Eze gained control of the other officer’s Taser, though he never activated or deployed it. Officers had already removed a closed pocketknife from him. He was otherwise unarmed.1CNN. A Police Officer Has Been Charged in the Killing of a Black Man at a Gas Station
Lunsford drew his service weapon and shot Eze at point-blank range in the back, left side of the head. Eze died at the scene. Body-worn camera footage and a witness cellphone video captured the encounter, with the footage appearing to show Lunsford place his firearm against the back of Eze’s head before firing.2New Mexico Department of Justice. NMDOJ Secures Conviction Against Las Cruces Police Officer Brad Lunsford3Police1. Former N.M. Officer Awarded New Trial After Conviction in OIS Death
The Charges and 2025 Conviction
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced voluntary manslaughter charges against Lunsford, with a firearm enhancement, on October 3, 2023. His office’s special agents investigated with use-of-force experts, who reviewed the footage and concluded that Lunsford’s use of deadly force was “not reasonable under the circumstances” and that less-lethal options had been available.4New Mexico Department of Justice. Attorney General Raúl Torrez Announces Charges Against Las Cruces Police Officer According to Source New Mexico, the filing marked the first time in nearly a decade that a New Mexico officer faced criminal charges for a fatal shooting.5Source NM. NM AG Torrez Pushes Back at Judge in Police Manslaughter Case
Trial ran eight days before Judge James Foy in Las Cruces. The jury deliberated for roughly two and a half hours before returning a guilty verdict on February 12, 2025. The charge carries a maximum sentence of nine years. Lunsford was remanded into custody after the verdict.2New Mexico Department of Justice. NMDOJ Secures Conviction Against Las Cruces Police Officer Brad Lunsford
Why the Conviction Was Vacated
The defense filed post-trial motions almost immediately, claiming the jury foreperson had “disgusting and blatant bias” and had lied to “infiltrate” the jury. The Attorney General’s office said the motion, though it did not name the juror, sparked a social media harassment campaign against the foreperson led by Lunsford’s wife and others. On April 1, 2025, the New Mexico Supreme Court granted Torrez a stay to protect the juror, with Torrez arguing that parties cannot conduct an “ideological witch hunt to discredit a juror’s service because a party does not like a verdict.”6KTSM. NM Supreme Court Grants Stay to Consider Juror Issue in Lunsford Case7New Mexico Department of Justice. New Mexico Supreme Court Grants Stay to Consider Petition for Writ
The case eventually returned to Judge Foy, who vacated the conviction on October 6, 2025, and ordered a new trial. His written ruling pointed to a different problem than the alleged juror bias: what he called a “clerical error on the part of the court.” Two jurors who had sat through the entire trial were dismissed after it concluded and replaced with alternates for deliberations. One of the replaced jurors had indicated they would have voted to acquit. Foy called the state’s case “weak at best” and found that “the error prejudiced the defendant, affecting his substantial rights.”8KTSM. Ex-Las Cruces Police Officer Lunsford Gets New Trial9KOAT. Former Las Cruces Officer Granted New Trial After Manslaughter Conviction
Lunsford was released from custody in early October 2025. Torrez called the new trial the result of the judge’s “own error” and said his office would seek Foy’s recusal if the case proceeds to retrial, citing what he described as the judge’s “inability to manage and maintain his courtroom.” The New Mexico Department of Justice said it intends to appeal.10KRQE. Former Las Cruces Officer Gets New Trial, Judge Citing Errors in Juror Handling
The Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit
Eze’s family filed a separate federal civil rights lawsuit against Lunsford and the City of Las Cruces in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, alleging excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The plaintiffs include family members and a guardian ad litem for Eze’s minor child.11KOAT. Federal Death Lawsuit Against Las Cruces Officer12GovInfo. Eze v. City of Las Cruces, Case No. 2:23-cv-00976 Family attorney John Sodipo has said in a phone interview that the killing was racially motivated: “They saw a black man with two brown people. They saw somebody they treated like a child of a lesser God.”13Santa Fe New Mexican. Federal Lawsuit Accuses Las Cruces Police Officer of Excessive Use of Force
In October 2025, U.S. District Judge Kea W. Riggs sanctioned Lunsford for deleting text messages exchanged with the Las Cruces police chief and other officers. Riggs found that Lunsford “intended to deprive” the plaintiffs of the messages and “intended to destroy evidence,” and that he had a clear duty to preserve them after receiving his criminal indictment in December 2023. She ordered him to surrender data from his X account and to pay the plaintiffs’ discovery-related costs and fees, writing that his “willingness to destroy evidence strains this Court’s reliance on his credibility.”14Law & Crime. Cop Who Killed Black Man Who Allegedly Stole Beer Pleads the Fifth When Asked If He Ever Used Racial Epithets
Plaintiffs’ attorneys have also pointed to Facebook comments by Lunsford, including “I hate vagrants.” During depositions, Lunsford invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked whether he had ever used racial epithets.14Law & Crime. Cop Who Killed Black Man Who Allegedly Stole Beer Pleads the Fifth When Asked If He Ever Used Racial Epithets
Who Presley Eze Was
Eze was the oldest son of Nigerian immigrants Isaac and Loretta Eze, who had settled in West Hartford, Connecticut. He worked as a nursing supervisor at an elderly care facility and had a three-year-old son at the time of the shooting. His father said Presley had served in the Army in Africa. Family attorney and friend John Sodipo described him as a “gentle giant” and a frequent churchgoer. His mother Loretta remembered him as “extremely charismatic” with “a love of animals.”1CNN. A Police Officer Has Been Charged in the Killing of a Black Man at a Gas Station15KFOX TV. Family of Presley Eze Speaks Out
Where the Case Stands
As of late 2025, no date had been set for a retrial. The Attorney General’s office plans to appeal Judge Foy’s decision to vacate the conviction, and, if the case goes back to trial, to seek Foy’s recusal. The federal civil rights lawsuit continues in parallel, with Lunsford already under a sanctions order for destroying evidence.16KFOX TV. Judge Grants New Trial for Ex-Officer Lunsford After Errors in Juror Handling Revealed