In 2022, an Albuquerque man who had been infatuated with 17-year-old Alexia Rael, murdered her and her 16-year-old cousin Mario Salgado-Rosales before committing suicide. The killer had been in a relationship with Rael’s mother and had allegedly abused Rael for years. The mother had filed for a temporary restraining order against Wallin, though a hearing for a permanent order hadn’t yet been held and no permanent order had been issued.
According to the Albuquerque Journal . . .
Albuquerque police soon learned that the gunman, Bradley Wallin, a 52-year-old bank supervisor, was “infatuated” with Rael and had stalked her for weeks, even swapping cars to evade a judge’s restraining order.
Now Vanessa Salgado, Rael’s mother, has filed suit against the Bernalillo County Sheriff for failing to use the state’s red flag confiscation law to take Wallin’s firearms.
Rael’s mother, Vanessa Salgado, alleges in a new lawsuit that Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies ignored a legal requirement that they use New Mexico’s red flag law to seize multiple firearms Wallin was known to possess.
Salgado’s attorney, Carey Bhalla, said that deputies could have taken actions to protect Rael, either by petitioning a judge to seize his firearms, or by arresting him on child abuse charges.
“It’s amazing to me that there were no steps taken to either take this guy’s guns away or take this guy off the street,” Bhalla said in a phone interview with the Journal.
The BCSO investigated Wallin, but hadn’t taken any action in the case when the attack occurred.
Salgado filed a petition in 2nd Judicial District Court on April 4, 2022, on behalf of her daughter, alleging that Wallin possessed two handguns and had sexually abused Rael. A judge issued a temporary restraining order that day.
Deputies “didn’t tell (Salgado) they could file an ERFPO on her behalf,” Bhalla said. “Never once did they advise her that they could do that for her. I think they were required to under the law, and I also think that common sense dictates that they should have.”
Police, of course, have no duty to protect citizens and police in New Mexico are not, in fact, required to disarm individuals until final orders of protection are issued and the court finds the individual “presents a credible threat to the physical safety” of the person requesting protection. That hadn’t yet happened in this case.
What’s more, an order of protection is a piece of paper, one that Wallin had already shown he was willing to violate. Even if his guns had been confiscated, he could have easily purchased another one illegally or used other means to attack Rael. Short of arresting and jailing him, a judge’s order would have done nothing to protect the 17-year-old.
What a mess all around.
It reinforces the point, though, that if someone can’t be trusted with a gun, they also can’t be trusted out on the street without a minder.
Surprised this wasn’t a Sensiba article crying about the deputies not automatically violating someone’s rights at the behest of a hysterical woman.
I don’t understand why you (& a few other peeps on this site and others) go on to rail negativity on Ms. Sensiba.
I have read most of her articles. I am rooted as a conservative. I have yet to find anything that triggers me like the way you have responded here. I may be wrong to quote René Descartes, it may be a different philosopher, but nonetheless… “Show me the proof !”.
What is it about her that sets you off (& others) in a fashion that resembles cancel culture actions?
Inquiring minds want to know…