Alamogordo, NM (KKOB) – The state’s highest court has upheld an Alamogordo man’s convictions of first-degree murder and evidence tampering in the death of a police officer in 2023.
The Court unanimously concluded there was sufficient evidence for Dominic De La O’s convictions for the fatal shooting of Alamogordo Police Officer Anthony Ferguson, who was chasing De La O on foot after the defendant crashed a car following a traffic stop and high-speed pursuit in the community.
The court also rejected other arguments in the appeal, including that the district court should have declared a mistrial because of certain witness testimony.
On appeal, De La O argued that the evidence failed to show he had the required criminal intent for willful and deliberate murder and that his conduct instead represented second-degree murder because the fatal shooting was a rash and impulse act. The court disagreed.
De La O received a life sentence without possibility of parole or release
