GUILTY NM - Rampage killer Damian Herrera killed "for fun," Abiquiu, 15 June 2017

A man accused of killing his stepfather, brother and two strangers in a shooting rampage spanning nearly 200 miles across New Mexico had made troubling statements to family members about his intentions to kill or hurt people for fun, court documents said Friday.

[...]

After Herrera gunned down his family, police say, he carjacked and killed a driver before shooting another man hours later at a general store in a tiny town that artist Georgia O'Keeffe called home. That's where the final victim, a regular at the store and security guard at O'Keeffe's home, died.

Herrera was arrested Thursday and initially accused of five counts of murder. But prosecutors later said Herrera's mother was in critical condition. She had been taken off life support, leading authorities to believe she had died, District Attorney Marco Serna said.

Read more at ... http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/17/family-suspect-in-4-slayings-talked-about-killing-for-fun.html

From the article in the above post, what changed for him during the past year? Family dynamic? Drugs? Onset of mental illness? What???

Damian Herrera was known in the small town of La Madera as a quiet, respectful young man. He played on the basketball team at Mesa Vista High School. He had gone on to attend classes at University of New Mexico-Taos, where he was pursuing a pre-science degree. He was seeing a girl who spoke highly of him and said that he was close with his friends and family.

[...]

In an interview with Albuquerque-based KRQE-TV earlier this week, Carissa Herrera and her sister, Candice, said that he had been struggling with an undiagnosed mental illness for about two years. They said that "he would hear things" and that on the day of the violent shootings, he was scheduled for an "appointment."

[...]

He was initially charged with four counts of first-degree murder Friday morning, along with other charges stemming from the alleged crimes. When his mother, who had been kept on life support, died of her injuries Friday evening, a fifth count of murder was added. The suspect has been assigned a public attorney, who will provide defense counsel as the case moves through the court system.

<snip> http://www.taosnews.com/stories/stunned-by-shootings,41354


An apparent argument about the use of a truck started the alleged killing spree, Rio Arriba County Sheriff&#8217;s Sgt. Mark Webb wrote in a statement of probable cause for Damian Herrera&#8217;s arrest.

Witnesses told Webb that Damian Herrera took the truck earlier in the day and when he returned in it, he was confronted by Trujillo.

[...]

Witness Shiann Barela told Webb she had just arrived at Trujillo&#8217;s house to drop off her 5-month-old child when she saw Trujillo and Damian Herrera speaking near the back of a truck and it appeared they were loading or unloading something, he wrote in a statement of probable cause.

&#8220;She then advised she went into the main house and began to speak to Carissa about her birthday party when she heard possibly three (3) shots and Max yell &#8216;Brenda,&#8217;&#8221; Webb wrote ... She tried to find the telephone to call 911, but could not find it so she ran out the back door, her infant in her arms. She was looking for the landline because there is no cell phone reception in La Madera.

<snip> http://www.riograndesun.com/news/fi...cle_d28f81c4-582f-11e7-be4a-8b3a57c5830f.html

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Scary situation! There could easily have been more victims. This young man (accused) apparently has mental illness, but his motive for the shootings of family members was a dispute over a truck. Also, he chose not to shoot his sister and other people who entered the house--only people involved in the dispute initially. Will his mental illness be taken into account in court? IMO, it will not, but we'll see what is determined by a mental exam and how much the results are weighed.

His defense attorneys now say they want the trial moved to either Santa Fe or Los Alamos County. Currently, his trial is set to begin in February.

A hearing on the motion has not been set.

Shooting spree suspect wants trial moved to different county

Major O'Keeffe fan and had missed this news somehow. Horrible!

Indy Anna said:

Damian Herrera was known in the small town of La Madera as a quiet, respectful young man. He played on the basketball team at Mesa Vista High School. He had gone on to attend classes at University of New Mexico-Taos, where he was pursuing a pre-science degree. He was seeing a girl who spoke highly of him and said that he was close with his friends and family.

[...]

In an interview with Albuquerque-based KRQE-TV earlier this week, Carissa Herrera and her sister, Candice, said that he had been struggling with an undiagnosed mental illness for about two years. They said that "he would hear things" and that on the day of the violent shootings, he was scheduled for an "appointment."

[...]

He was initially charged with four counts of first-degree murder Friday morning, along with other charges stemming from the alleged crimes. When his mother, who had been kept on life support, died of her injuries Friday evening, a fifth count of murder was added. The suspect has been assigned a public attorney, who will provide defense counsel as the case moves through the court system.

<snip> Stunned by shootings


An apparent argument about the use of a truck started the alleged killing spree, Rio Arriba County Sheriff&#8217;s Sgt. Mark Webb wrote in a statement of probable cause for Damian Herrera&#8217;s arrest.

Witnesses told Webb that Damian Herrera took the truck earlier in the day and when he returned in it, he was confronted by Trujillo.

[...]

Witness Shiann Barela told Webb she had just arrived at Trujillo&#8217;s house to drop off her 5-month-old child when she saw Trujillo and Damian Herrera speaking near the back of a truck and it appeared they were loading or unloading something, he wrote in a statement of probable cause.

&#8220;She then advised she went into the main house and began to speak to Carissa about her birthday party when she heard possibly three (3) shots and Max yell &#8216;Brenda,&#8217;&#8221; Webb wrote ... She tried to find the telephone to call 911, but could not find it so she ran out the back door, her infant in her arms. She was looking for the landline because there is no cell phone reception in La Madera.

<snip> Five Killed in Shooting Rampage

_____________________________________________________________________

Scary situation! There could easily have been more victims. This young man (accused) apparently has mental illness, but his motive for the shootings of family members was a dispute over a truck. Also, he chose not to shoot his sister and other people who entered the house--only people involved in the dispute initially. Will his mental illness be taken into account in court? IMO, it will not, but we'll see what is determined by a mental exam and how much the results are weighed.

Click to expand...

" “It was learned that Damian had expressed to family members and had made alarming statements that he intended to kill or hurt people for fun,” Webb wrote."

If he told people he wanted to kill for fun, no one reported it???

Jury selection was scheduled to start in January, but Lidyard said the change of venue may change the timeline.

Trial changed to Santa Fe in multiple slayings

Doctors at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas who have been treating an Ojo Caliente man charged with killing three of his family members and two strangers in 2017 say they are "making progress" with the defendant, but will require additional time to ensure he is healthy enough to stand trial.

State hospital reports 'progress' with Northern New Mexico man accused in 2017 killing spree

From March 2020:

Quintuple Murder Suspect to Face Trial

Herrera is set for a June 5 status hearing, and jury selection will begin July 13 for his Rio Arriba trial for four of the five shootings. No trial date has been set in the Taos County case for the murder of Kyte.


Damian Herrera’s lawyers say the 24-year-old is fit to stand trial for the 2017 murders of three of his family members and two apparent strangers.

The former La Madera resident is accused of a five-hour shooting spree in June 2017 that left his stepfather, Max Trujillo Sr., brother Brendon Herrera, and mother Maria Rosita Gallegos dead, as well as Michael Kyte, of Tres Piedras, and Manuel Serrano, of Youngsville.

Jury deliberates in trial of man accused in Northern New Mexico shooting spree

During closing arguments, prosecutor Anthony Wade Long questioned the legitimacy of Herrera’s testimony in the trial.

He said other witnesses’ testimony corroborated with the events of the day and painted a very different timeline from Herrera’s.

Herrera, who initially wasn’t scheduled to take the stand in his own defense, testified earlier in the week and attempted to pin the blame for the shootings on his family members during his testimony, Long said, adding the defendant also offered offered a vague account when questioned about Serrano’s death.


During closing arguments, Long showed a video of the Serrano shooting, telling jurors the victim was filling his vehicle with gas and cleaning his windshield before heading to work.

Long said Herrera was watching Serrano like “prey” before shooting him in the back.

During a brief closing argument, defense attorney Michael Rosenfield implored the jury to consider Herrera’s testimony.

“Like every other witness in this case, Mr. Herrera took an oath to tell the truth,” Rosenfield said. “… I think you didn’t see the testimony of a cold-blooded killer.”

Rosenfield also said the prosecution didn’t provide enough evidence to remove reasonable doubt, and if jurors do believe Herrera fired the fatal shots, they also would have to consider whether the state proved intent, a requirement to find someone guilty of first-degree murder.

Long, standing in front of an evidence table with multiple boxes of ammunition, said the 700 rounds of ammunition Herrera is accused of stockpiling showed intent, calling the evidence “crystal clear.”

Long said Herrera, now 25, didn’t call 911 after the shooting and his “emotionless” testimony lacked remorse or concern.

“He ran, and that seems like a perfectly natural reaction for someone who has just killed four people, stole some credit cards, stole some guns and stole a truck,” Long said. “He kept running and kept fighting.”

Herrera is found guilty of four murders
AUGUST 13TH, 2021

Jurors in Santa Fe found Damian Herrera guilty of four counts of first-degree murder Friday in the 2017 shooting deaths of his mother, brother and stepfather at the family’s home in rural Rio Arriba County, and a fourth victim in Abiquiú.

In all, jurors found Herrera, 25, guilty on 11 felony counts, including aggravated fleeing from law officers, attempt to disarm a law officer, assaulting a law officer, possession of a stolen vehicle and other crimes.