Jury finds Herrera guilty of four murders, other counts on third day of deliberations
Aug. 13—A Santa Fe County jury found Damian Herrera, 25, of Ojo Caliente guilty on all counts Friday, convicting him of murdering his mother, brother, stepfather and a stranger during a 2017 shooting spree spread across two counties.
The jury of six men and six women also convicted Herrera of aggravated fleeing from a police officer, possession of a stolen vehicle, resisting an officer, attempting to disarm an officer, assault on a peace officer, larceny of a firearm and credit card theft.
Herrera sat motionless as state District Judge Jason read the jury's verdict — reached after three days of deliberations following a nearly three-week trial — as family members in the gallery behind him wept.
Prosecutors say Herrera killed his mother, Maria "Brenda" Rosita Gallegos, 49; his brother Brendon Herrera, 20; and his stepfather, Max Trujillo Sr., 55, following an argument at the family's home in La Madera on June 15, 2017.
Later that evening, prosecutors said, Herrera shot a pistol from a car window, killing 59-year-old Manuel Serrano outside Bode's General Store in Abiquiú. Herrera was arrested about 10 minutes later after crashing the vehicle he had been traveling in.
Herrera also is accused of killing 61-year-old Michael Kyte and stealing his vehicle later that day in Taos County. Prosecutors said Herrera ran out of gas in Tres Piedras, and Kyte gave him a ride.
He will be tried separately on a first-degree murder charge in Taos County, but a court date has not been set for that case.
Lidyard ordered Herrera transported to a state prison in Los Lunas to undergo a 60-day diagnostic examination before his sentencing.
