EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Former Las Cruces Police officer Brad Lunsford’s attorneys are requesting a new trial, claiming that there was improper juror substitution during the trial last month.
Lunsford’s attorneys filed a motion on Wednesday, Feb. 26, stating that there was improper juror substitution during the trial and are asking for Lunsford’s release from custody.
The motion says that jurors were replaced by alternates during closing arguments and the jurors were reportedly told by the court that they were not allowed to deliberate.
The motion also claims that after the trial, one of the alternate jurors contacted the defense because they were “shocked” by the guilty verdict as the juror believed that Lunsford acted in self-defense.
A motion hearing is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. on March 21 and a sentencing hearing is also scheduled for April 4.
As we previously reported, Lunsford was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter on Wednesday, Feb. 12, for shooting and killing Presley Eze at a gas station in 2022 in Las Cruces.