In a case that resembles more than a few prosecutions of police officers in Minnesota, a former New Mexico police officer is fighting for his freedom in court. His wife shared details about the Soros-funded attorney general who led the case and the juror accused of lying with Liz Collin on her podcast.
In 2022, Officer Brad Lunsford responded to a call about a stolen beer at a gas station in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The suspect, a man named Presley Eze, wasn’t complying or cooperating, so Lunsford waited for backup to arrive.
But when the other officer arrived, they began to struggle with the suspect. The other officer fell and hit his head. The suspect got on top of the other officer and stole his Taser. That’s when Officer Lunsford—who feared for his life and the life of the other officer—shot and killed the suspect.
All of this was recorded on body camera video. An internal investigation cleared Lunsford of any wrongdoing and he was soon back on the job.
A year later, however, the New Mexico attorney general—who was at one point backed by George Soros and also previously worked in the Obama administration—decided to prosecute Lunsford.
Officer Lunsford’s wife, Lacy Lunsford, explained how he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in February 2025 and some of the details that have come to light with his sentencing looming in the near future.
Lacy told Collin how Brad was at work that day at the Las Cruces Police Department and called with shocking news.
Lacy explained, “He called me that day from work and you could tell he was crying, he was really upset. And my first thought was someone had died. You know, we were never expecting him to be charged and we were flabbergasted that he was being charged. You know, he was cleared, he was back at work, everything was OK. And then for them to drop these charges was just so shocking.”
Unfortunately, they experienced even greater disbelief this past February when the guilty verdict was read.
“The prosecution, the whole trial, it was just ridiculous how incompetent they were. And then we found out stuff later that made everything make sense with the jurors and the foreperson,” Lacy said.
She also explained that “two of the jurors that were alternates were switched for two regulars and they weren’t even switched in order. There was no reason why they were switched. We don’t know. We don’t know why it happened…”
Making the situation worse, Lacy said, “We were later contacted by a person who should have been a regular juror. And they did an affidavit and said they never would have said guilty and no one would have changed their mind. So at the least we would have had a hung jury and a mistrial. But that didn’t come to light until after the guilty verdict.”
Lacy also explained how this information—and even more outrageous details—came to light after the trial: “And then we found out that the foreperson was actually an anti-police activist. They’ve been to different protests. They have all this published work on racism and anti-police and you know white privilege and stuff like that.”
Based on this information, a new attorney will argue for a new trial later this week.
Lacy said, “Right now they’re holding him unlawfully and they’re violating his civil rights and the AG’s office just don’t seem to care. The AG’s office, they’re supposed to uphold the law, the U.S. Constitution, the New Mexico Constitution, and right now they don’t care that they’re violating Brad’s civil rights by holding him because he did not get a fair trial.”
“The AG has set a new precedent for all law enforcement in New Mexico. This is a dangerous new era for policing. If you have to make the decision to save your life, now you can be charged and you can lose your livelihood and your liberty and it’s going to trickle down to the community,” Lacy added.
When asked about how this case has affected her family, Lacy said, “We’re holding up, but our boys, it’s been so tough on them. We have a nine-year-old and a six-year-old, and it’s just been heartbreaking. Our youngest, you know, he’s waking up at night crying for dad, and it just breaks my heart. You know, I can’t fix it. I can’t bring dad home. And it’s just been horrible for our family.”
Former officer Brad Lunsford served a decade with the Las Cruces Police Department. He previously completed two combat deployments in the U.S. Army and is a father of two young boys.
A fund has been set up to help the Lunsford family through this difficult time.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin has been a truth-teller for 20 years as a multi-Emmy-Award-winning reporter and anchor. Liz is a Worthington, Minnesota native who lives in the suburbs with her husband, son and loyal lab.
