By Gregory Hasman
Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
MESCALERO, N.M. — An Otero County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been charged in the shooting death of a boy outside Mescalero in June.
Jacob Diaz-Austin , 28, of Las Cruces is being charged with an open count of murder by the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office in the June 2024 fatal shooting of Elijah Hadley, 17, Bernalillo County DA’s Office spokesperson Nancy Laflin said Monday.
Diaz-Austin’s attorney could not be reached for comment, but Hadley’s family issued a statement through their attorneys — The Spence Law Firm NM LLC and Dodd Law Office, LLC — saying the DA’s decision to charge “is a step toward justice.”
“Elijah was a son, brother, uncle, nephew, friend, student, artist, and a good person,” according to the statement. Some of the shots came after Hadley was laying on the ground, unarmed and bleeding, the statement points out. “We demand accountability, and we will not stop until justice is done,” the statement reads.
The Otero County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request regarding Diaz-Austin’s employment status. It is unclear if he is still employed by the sheriff’s office.
“Last July, prosecutors with the 12th Judicial District conflicted out this case and asked our office to accept it and determine whether prosecution was appropriate,” Laflin said.
At about 10:45 p.m. June 25 , Diaz-Austin responded to a call of a welfare check on a teen walking in the median on U.S. Highway 70 near mile marker 240 outside Mescalero.
When Diaz-Austin arrived, he approached Hadley, a member of the Mescalero Apache tribe, who “presented what appeared to be a firearm” at the deputy, a June 27 New Mexico State Police social media post states. Diaz-Austin then fired at least 19 shots at Hadley, who was pronounced dead at the scene, the Journal previously reported.
“Agents later learned the object that Hadley presented at the deputy was an air soft gun,” according to police.
“Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and Chief Deputy District Attorney Natalie Lyon spoke to the Hadley family this afternoon and informed them of the decision to charge Deputy Diaz(-Austin),” Laflin said Monday.
Bregman and Lyon will prosecute the case. Laflin said the DA’s Office would not comment further.
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