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A Ribera man has been arrested for murder, among other charges, after allegedly shooting his wife in the head while driving to Rio Rancho Tuesday, April 3.
According to a release from the Rio Rancho Police Department, Pablo Padilla, 35, and Desirae Lussow, both of Ribera, were driving to Rio Rancho with their three children (ages 15, 3 and 1) when an argument escalated. Padilla allegedly grabbed an AR-15 rife that he stores next to the driver's seat and shot her in the head. He then drove to Sandoval Regional Medical Center for treatment, arriving around 5:05 p.m., where Lussow died.
According to the criminal complaint, the family was driving to Rio Rancho to retrieve a vehicle that had been impounded by RRPD last week when the 15-year-old, descibed as Lussow's son, drove here without a license to see a friend and fled from police when they tried to stop him. The teen said when they got to Bernalillo, Padilla began yelling at him about getting the vehicle impounded and hit him in the face. Lussow tried to stop the fight "and began striking" Padilla. Padilla pulled over near the intersection of Paseo del Volcan and Camino de Encatadas in Rio Rancho as the physical altercation continued. Padilla, the teen said, then retrieved the gun stored to the right of the driver's seat, loaded a round, pointed it at Lussow's head, said some words to her, and pulled the trigger. At this point, there was a struggle between Padilla and the teen over control of the gun, and a second round fired.
Padilla's version of events was similar, though he said he never struck the teen but admitted to "making threatening physical gestures toward him." He said Lussow responded by saying "Don't ever hit my kid!" and began striking him around Paseo del Volcan and NM 550. When turning onto Paseo del Volcan, Padilla said he saw the gun "rise up," not identifying who picked it up, and the three began fighting over it. During the struggle, he said, the gun went off, shooting Lussow in the head.
At that point, both said Padilla took control of the gun, put it on safe, and drove to the hospital while the teen administered aid to Lussow.
The criminal complaint states that during the search of the car, an unfired round was collected from the driver's side floorboard, indicating the charging handle had been pulled prior to being fired. It notes that between that and the restricted space inside the vehicle cab, "it would have been unlikely for (the teen) to gain control of the weapon such that it would have been able to shoo the back of Desirae's head."
Police, when searching Padilla for weapons at the Rio Rancho Police Station before his interview, also found a small bag of methamphetamine in is pants pocket.
Padilla has been charged with murder, reckless driving and possession of a controlled substance. He is currently in custody at the Sandoval County Detention Center.
The incident also prompted police to lock down the emergency room during the investigation, according to a statement from SRMC. The hospital continued care, but visitors were not permitted in the ER. Ambulance traffic was diverted to other area hospitals until shortly after midnight.
"All other areas of the hospital remained in normal operations, and patient care continued uninterrupted," the hospital said. "At no time were any staff, providers, patients or visitors in any danger.
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"This incident is a very rare occurrence for SRMC and the Rio Rancho community. We are grateful to our teams who worked together ensuring patient care, despite these unusual circumstances. We’re also appreciative to the Rio Rancho Police Department and Rio Rancho Fire Rescue for their collaboration and assistance," it added.
All areas of SRMC have resumed operations, according to the release.
