By Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Special to the SUN

A Mexican national whose prosecution was taken over by federal prosecutors pleaded guilty to a immigration charge.

Lucas Gomez-Lopez, also known as “Pajaro,” 38, pleaded guilty on March 18 to a single charge of re-entry of a removed alien.

A federal grand jury indicted Gomez-Lopez on Oct. 7 on charges of alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition and re-entry of a removed alien, for a deadly incident on Aug. 18, 2024 that left one man dead.

Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office investigators accused Gomez-Lopez of fatally shooting Marcelino Herrera, 41, on Aug. 18, 2024 in Cuarteles.

Federal prosecutor Chris Schultz dropped the alien in possession of firearm and ammunition charge in the plea deal

According to the plea deal, Gomez-Lopez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on the re-entry after removal charge. While prosecutors agreed to where his baseline sentencing guideline level is, his sentence will be up to the sentencing judge.

It’s unknown what the suggested sentence per the sentencing guidelines is, as it has not yet been calculated by the federal probation office.

After serving his sentence, he will be deported to Mexico. No sentencing date has been set.

Per the plea deal, federal prosecutors won’t bring any criminal charges “arising out of the facts forming the basis of the present indictment.”

Prosecutors with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office dropped their charges against Gomez-Lopez following an Oct. 14 hearing, writing that the dismissal was “in deference to Federal Prosecution.” The First Judicial District covers Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Los Alamos counties.

Santa Fe County Sheriff’s detectives initially filed charges of first degree murder on Nov. 22, 2024. The charge was then dropped to shooting at a vehicle resulting in death, following an agreement with local prosecutors to waive a preliminary hearing.

The case

In court documents, some witnesses outlined what appeared to be a case of self-defense, telling investigators that Gomez-Lopez and Herrera were involved in some kind of conflict following a drug deal. One witness told investigators that Herrera put a gun in his back pocket, got in his truck and drove toward Gomez-Lopez, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Detective Orlando Lopez wrote in court documents.

In a separate state court case, Gomez-Lopez was facing charges of armed robbery and six other counts for allegedly taking back his phone from his ex-girlfriend and ramming her car while she was in it. Prosecutors dropped that case on Jan. 5 after “the victim has become uncooperative.”

Two other cases

Two other people were charged in Herrera’s fatal shooting.

Arthur Quintana, 47, of Española, was charged with tampering with evidence for throwing Herrera’s gun into the bushes after the shooting and before medics arrived. Prosecutors dismissed that case a few months after it was filed in magistrate court.

Leticia Doherty, also known as Leticia Atencio, 42, was initially charged with harboring a felon after she was spotted driving around with Gomez-Lopez while he was wanted on the murder warrant.

She pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor disorderly conduct in January 2025 and received 182 days of probation and 20 hours of community service. That plea was a step down from the charge she initially faced of harboring a felon.