ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Video from three Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies shows the traffic stop that would lead to Solomon Peña’s arrest earlier this month. He’s the one-time Republican State Representative candidate accused of orchestrating shootings at the homes of four Democrats.

Around 1:30 a.m. on January 3, BCSO Deputy Jonathan Skroch pulled over a driver for an expired registration. “Why don’t you have the new sticker on your registration?” the deputy asked. “Uh, um, this is not my car. I borrowed it,” Jose Trujillo responded.

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Trujillo would later tell the deputy he borrowed the car from “one of his buddies,” Solomon Peña. When Trujillo couldn’t locate his driver’s license or the car’s registration, the deputy took his name and birthday and walked back to his patrol car. Running Trujillo’s name, the deputy found he had a warrant for his arrest.

“Jose, I’m gonna have you step out real quick and talk to me, bro,” Deputy Skroch said. He put Trujillo in handcuffs and explained he had an outstanding arrest warrant because he didn’t show up at a hearing in late 2022. Trujillo is accused in a separate case of stalking his ex-girlfriend.

Walking Trujillo to his patrol car, Deputy Skroch points out, “Did you see how your registration sticker displays a one, and then the rest of it’s covered, so I know it expired before 2020?” Trujillo said he understood.

With Trujillo in custody, BCSO now needed to tow the car he was borrowing from Peña. But before they can, the deputy repeatedly asked Trujillo if he wanted anything out of it. He said no. So, the three deputies took inventory.

And, Deputy Skroch’s reaction made it clear they were surprised by what they found. “Oh s**t,” he said while taking a bag of fentanyl pills out of the car. In total, he and the other deputies found 893 fentanyl pills, hundreds of small baggies, $3,036 in cash wadded up in various parts of the vehicle, ammunition, and two firearms — an AR-15 and a glock outfitted with a drum magazine.

Deputy Skroch walked back to his patrol car to talk to Trujillo about their discovery and it was clear he knew what the deputies found.

Trujillo: I did not condone to any search. I did not…
Deputy: Your vehicle was searched for inventory, so…
Trujillo: No, I did not condone to that. I said no you cannot. I said you could tow it. I did not say you could do inventory on it.
Deputy: I literally have to.

Deputy Skroch explained he came over to tell Trujillo he was under arrest on more charges, “You’re out here in these streets dealing dope. So you’re under arrest for trafficking of a controlled substance. Okay?”

The deputy drove Trujillo to the substation and placed him in a cell for nearly two hours, while he handled paperwork. Then, he transferred Trujillo to MDC. During that drive, this conversation happened:

Trujillo: How do you like the city?
Deputy: Albuquerque? Dude, I really like New Mexico. I just think all of the liberal politics are starting to get in the way of growth here.
Trujillo: Right.
Trujillo: What do you think about these elections? You think they’re rigged?
Deputy: Yes.
Trujillo: All of ’em, huh?
Deputy: 100 percent.
Trujillo: You really think they overthrew Trump?
Deputy: I’m not sure, dude.

When they reached MDC, Trujillo asked if he was being charged for the firearms they found in his trunk. Deputy Skroch responded, “What would you get charged with the firearms? I didn’t see anything wrong with any of the firearms.”

But, testing of one of those confiscated guns would create a big lead in Albuquerque Police’s investigation into the shooting at four politicians’ homes. Casings picked up outside State Senator Linda Lopez’s house matched one’s test fired from the Glock.

It turns out Solomon Peña’s failure to properly register his car led police to him.

APD believes Trujillo was one of four shooters involved in Peña’s plot. He had been charged federally for drug dealing and creating a machine gun with an extended drum. Sources told police Peña was in the car with Trujillo just 40 minutes before that traffic stop when they went together to shoot at State Senator Lopez’s home.