Suspect in 2 murders fresh from prison

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Albuquerque police have made an arrest in a violent and tragic double homicide earlier this week.

Police say 38-year-old Brian Pulliam has a violent past.

Pulliam was taken into custody Thursday morning around 2 a.m. at an apartment in the northwest Albuquerque.

Detectives say they sent out the SWAT team and Pulliam surrendered peacefully.

He is charged in the deaths of 20-year-old Dillon Cearfoss and 36-year-old Kirsten Landeau. Both were found dead Tuesday in a home on Parkview northeast.

The criminal complaint says the two were shot, but Dillon was found with a knife by his body and an ax was found near Kirsten.

Detectives say Pulliam is a self-declared member of the Aryan Nation and a documented gang member in Albuquerque with a lengthy criminal history including attempted murder and armed robbery.

“The background on Mr. Pulliam is he has been arrested and charged with as many as different charges he has an extensive violent history to include arrests in the city of Albuquerque,” Deputy Chief Paul Feist said.

APD says it was flooded with tips and conducted more than 30 interviews in New Mexico and neighboring states and will continue with search warrants and interviews Thursday.

Despite their happy appearance in photographs, Landeau and Pulliam constantly fought, according to family members.  Pulliam often punched holes in doors and walls and tried to track her movements through the GPS app on Cearfoss' cell phone.

According to the criminal complaint, friends said it was well-known that Pulliam had a gun.  After the killings, he came asking for money and told them if they watched the news they would know what he had done.

Another friend who talked to police said Pulliam admitted to her that he killed Landeau after a fight.

Police tracked Pulliam to a home in northwest Albuquerque where they say he gave up without a fight Wednesday night.

Pulliam last got out of prison in November after being in an out of the joint for the last 16 years.  One of those crimes involved him and five other members of the Aryan Brotherhood who stomped a man out celebrating Halloween with friends in downtown Albuquerque in 1996.

The victim, Bryan Patterson, was jumped from behind and kicked in the head and punched with a metal glove.
Patterson was left with permanent brain damage.

He says he has little memory of that night. All he remembers is walking his female friends to their cars to make sure they got home safely.

Pulliam was sentenced to 4 years in prison for the crime after taking a plea deal. He was released in 2000.