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CRIME
State calls police, witnesses to stand in Kruse trial
Murder trial to continue Wednesday
Published
BERNALILLO — The second day of Adam Kruse's murder trial Jan. 13 was full of testimony from many officers and detectives as well as two witnesses.
Kruse, 59, of Rio Rancho, is on trial for the first-degree murder of Josiah Yazzie Dec. 10 2024, in Northern Meadows.
Testimony on Tuesday not only covered the scene, a stretch of Dixon Meadows Drive where police found both the victim and suspect, but also witness accounts and the alleged murder weapon.
Officer and detective testimony established the homicide occurred mere feet away from Kruse's backyard. His yard lies west of Dixon, encompassed by a wooden fence. Between the fence and the road, there is a concrete sidewalk. The night of the incident, police responded for to a report of shots fired and arrived within a few minutes.
When the first officer arrived, he saw Kruse lying on the ground on the street side of the fence toward the back end of the yard and a car with Yazzie in the driver seat, already dead. He testified that the passenger window, which was facing the fence, was open and that the driver's side window was up but shattered with several impact holes that appeared to be from a shotgun. Yazzie had a wound to the right side of his head, consistent with a shotgun wound. The officer stated it was consistent with bird shot, a type of shot used in a shotgun.
He also took photos of the scene, which showed the fence had a broken panel near where Kruse was found. The top of the panel was broken toward the yard, but the piece of wood that broke was found on the street side of the fence. He also noted there were blood droplets on the leaves in front of the fence.
Kruse, when police first talked to him, stated he had fallen, later that he had been hit by something and then that he didn't know what had happened. Officers noted he had injuries to his head, his hands and more. They also said they noticed wood "chips" or "chunks" on Kruse's shirt and pants.
Once Kruse had been secured in a police car, officers worked to secure the scene. While they were assessing the scene, they saw a shotgun in Kruse's living room through the sliding glass door. They also noted seeing a shotgun shell in a pile of leaves near the victim's car.
Kruse was taken to the hospital after he was taken to the police station. Photos of Kruse showed he had fresh injuries all over his body but also a longstanding injury that involved nerve damage to his elbow. The photos show that injury prevents Kruse from using his right hand and arm in general.
Police also talked to two witnesses. One woman was the backyard neighbor to Kruse and was called to the stand. She stated she had known Kruse for years, helping him whenever she could because he had health issues.
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On the night of the incident, she said, she called police because she first heard a gunshot and then saw "someone" run through Kruse's yard after possibly opening and closing the glass door. She said she saw them jump the fence toward the street, then "disappear." When she was first interviewed by police in her home, she told them that "someone" couldn't have been Kruse because that person was slender and Kruse can't run because of his condition. However, during testimony she stated, "I didn't want to believe that it was him."
Another neighbor, who lived across Dixon from the woman, testified that he heard two men yelling at each other in the street. He said he heard one of the men tell the other to drive away because he had a gun. He called police as well.
Police, when asked, stated they looked for another suspect while securing the scene but did not locate anyone else. A K9 was called but wasn't deemed usable because the officer had no idea in which direction he should be deploying his dog. He added that it would involve waking each homeowner on the street up to search their yards and at the time, that didn't seem plausible.
One of the defense's arguments was that police didn't perform a gunshot residue test. However, police said that the Rio Rancho Police Department does not have the kits to perform this test. Additionally, when they asked the state examiner to perform the test, they were told that the state of New Mexico does not do that test.
Testimony also noted that residue tests are not reliable because they do not clarify when shots were fired and do not prove that a gun was used in a specific incident by a specific person. The lack of residue does not prove innocence because if a person was wearing gloves or clothing with residue on it, they could have removed those, an officer explained.
The gun itself had rounds loaded into it that officers stated matched the shell found on the sidewalk. Officers also said they found an owner's manual for the gun in a filing cabinet in Kruse's home.
Also, police noted, Yazzie lived only a few blocks away from where he was killed.
The state has two more witnesses to call Jan. 14 before the defense has an opportunity to call back witnesses. After that, closing arguments will be delivered and the jury will be released for deliberation. Judge George Eichwald, who is overseeing the case, indicated the trial was going fairly quickly.
