Defender of Rabbit fired by Sheriff Villanueva.
By Frost McGahey
Investigative Reporter
Raul Villanueva from Staff Directory
On Friday, the sheriff's deputy, Alejandro Gomez who allegedly killed the baby rabbit, was fired by Sheriff Villanueva along with the two supervisors who laughed while the incident occurred.
The deputy, Marcus Salas, who tried to defend the rabbit from his fellow officers, was also fired. A source has said that the reason for Salas's firing was that he failed to act. The source also said that that Villanueva didn't like Salas because he brought attention to this event.
When one reads the transcript or watches the video, it is evident that the situation was three against one with Gomez threatening Salas with his taser.
Deputy Gomez was charged with 4 counts of Aggravated Assault upon a Peace Officer with a Deadly Weapon (Taser) and Extreme Cruelty to Animals.
The New York Post reported that the Grant County Sheriff's Office Internal Affairs investigators looked into the matter with "little or no action being taken against the deputy or supervisors involved."
According to the Post, Gary Mitchell, Gomez's attorney said, "We don't think he did anything wrong, obviously," and called it, "an inner-office situation that should not have turned into a criminal case."*
When the case went to the Magistrate Court with Judge Matthew Runnells presiding ,all charges were dismissed except for animal cruelty. That surprised people.
Runnells is the former chair of the Democratic Party of Grant County, and Villanueva has run as a Democrat.
Runnels was elected 2024 when he ran in the Democratic Primary despite not having any legal or law enforcement experience.** The magistrate judgeship pays $118,000. The only education requirement is high school graduation.
The Extreme Cruelty to Animals charge was bound over, which does not mean Gomez is guilty, but only that there is enough evidence for the case to be tried.
The Grant County Beat first broke the story of the baby rabbit killing back on May 1, 2025, despite the New Mexico Department of Public Safety trying to hide it. An Inspection of Public Records Request (IPRA) for the police report was done on February 21. The Department kept delaying the request because they said it was burdensome.***
A former officer told the Beat to go to the Magistrate Court and get a copy of the police report from there. It took five minutes, and the Beat was finally able to publish the incident.
A source said that the Sheriff's firing Salas is retaliation for exposing the crime. Villanueva also refused to help the State Police close down I-10 during a dangerous dust storm because one source said the State Police investigated the baby rabbit killing. ****
*Rabbit-killing cop's lawyer not sure what the big deal is (nypost.com)
***Is Santa Fe trying to Cover Up the Baby Rabbit Case? (grantcountybeat.com)
****Grant County Sheriff does not help State Police during Dangerous Dust Storm (grantcountybeat.com)
