APD officer shot at Walgreens in SE Albuquerque; suspect arrested

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Albuquerque police say the officer who was shot near a Walgreens store in the southeast side of the city Wednesday night is in critical, but stable, condition Thursday morning.

The eight-year veteran of APD underwent two surgeries at UNM Hospital overnight. The department has not released his name to make sure all family members and close friends can be notified first.

APD plans to release more information about the shooting at 2 p.m. Thursday.

The officer was shot around 7:45 p.m. at the Walgreens at Central Avenue and Eubank Boulevard. The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Davon Lymon, was captured just after midnight Thursday, according to APD.

During a 1:30 a.m. news conference, Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said a law enforcement helicopter located Lymon hiding in a yard in the neighborhood north of where the shooting occurred.

Eden said Lymon wouldn’t leave the yard, so a K-9 was used to take him into custody.

The chief said Lymon had a single handcuff on him when he was finally arrested, which led police to believe the officer was in the process of arresting Lymon when he was shot.

Eden said there was evidence the officer had attempted to use his Taser on Lymon as well.

Eden added that officers had another man in custody – though he did not elaborate on him – and said officers were still looking for a woman who was on a motorcycle with Lymon when they were pulled over.

Sources tell KOB the officer was shot in the head and neck during a traffic stop.

LYMON’S CRIMINAL HISTORY

Lymon has an extensive criminal history, as Eden pointed out.

Court records show Lymon has faced four court cases in 2015 alone before Wednesday’s shooting, though many related to the same crime from 2014. In that case, Lymon was indicted by a grand jury and faced felony aggravated battery and kidnapping charges from a December 2014 incident that was nolle prosequied in March.

The case appears to have been refiled in late September with other charges, according to court records, but the charges had been changed to two misdemeanor counts of aggravated battery without great bodily harm.

He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and conspiracy charges in 2002 after he was accused in the 2001 murder of 20-year-old Ronald Chanslor Jr. – the grandson of the founder of Blake’s Lotaburger.

He was sentenced to 11.5 years with 390 days time served, giving him a little less than 10.5 years in prison.

“After sentencing in 2001, I had a heartsick feeling with the way our justice system is set up, that another family would have to go through this type of senseless tragedy. My heart is breaking for the officer’s family. Our justice system is so broken and unless we all step up and do something, we will continue to see these tragic acts of violence,” Dawn Parsons, the mother of Chanslor, said Thursday. “As a community we must all play a role and take the necessary actions to effect meaningful change. It can’t be the responsibility of a handful of people in our government or our police department. This is a concern that impacts us all. I pledge to pray for this family, our officers and our leaders and be available to help solve this problem.”

He pleaded guilty to fraud and forgery the year before in a Tierra Amarilla court.

In 2012, another case for robbery and conspiracy was dismissed without prejudice in Espanola court, but was never refiled.

CHIEF EDEN GIVES EMOTIONAL EARLY UPDATE

“For me, this is a terrible day. A terrible day,” Eden said at a 10:30 p.m. news conference. “I say it every day: all officers go out there and put their lives on the line, and tonight is a classic example of what they do hour after hour, day after day.”

“They put their lives on the line for our community every single day,” Eden continued. “They are the guardians for the city of Albuquerque. I would ask the city to please pray for this officer. Pray for his family, and help us catch this suspect.”

Chief Eden said the officer was undergoing a second surgery at the University of New Mexico Hospital as of 10:30 p.m. Eden said the officer was shot multiple times and was critically injured in the shooting.

“As I told the family as they arrived here [to UNMH] tonight, we are in the best place where a person can be in this officer’s condition,” Eden said.

Eden called the suspect armed and dangerous.

Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies and New Mexico State Police responded as well. Eden said NMSP Chief Pete Kassetas and Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales called him immediately after hearing of the shooting and offered their officers to APD for any help, which Eden utilized.

Traffic was blocked off in the area for hours as a police perimeter was set up from Central north to Copper and from Moon at the west, east to Eubank. Residents in the area were asked to stay in their homes.

Chief Eden urged residents in that area to lock all their doors and windows and to call 911 if they heard or saw anything suspicious.

MAYOR BERRY: “DIFFICULT DAYS”

Mayor Richard Berry also spoke at the news conference at UNMH, saying it has been a “very difficult two days for our city.”

Berry talked passionately about the repeat offenders that have plagued the police department.

“I believe we’ve lost officers in the past to what you might consider previous non-violent offenders, and there’s a frustration with the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department who have to go out every day and maybe arrest people they arrested maybe hours, maybe days, maybe weeks or months ago,” Berry said.

He thanked the community of Albuquerque for its help and support over a difficult past two days, and noted how it has come together over the sobering time.

“I just want to thank our community. This is a great community full of great people,” Berry said. “We grieve together, we fight crime together – come together in times of crisis and when things are good. As a community, let’s hang together through these difficult times and have a serious conversation about what we have to do to keep the streets of Albuquerque, New Mexico safe.”

Berry added that he would have serious conversations with state legislators about trying to find better solutions to combat the violence in the city.

This breaking news story originally appeared at KOB.com. Elizabeth Reed contributed to the report.