Father sues shooter, cop, state over son's death

The father of a teenager shot to death two years ago in a south-side parking lot is suing the teenager convicted of the fatal shooting, the state police officer whose gun was used and the state.
Chris Aguayo, 18, died after he was shot in a parking lot outside Santa Fe Place mall on July 8, 2010.
Less than an hour after the shooting, police arrested Michael Trujillo, now 17, who was in possession of a .357-caliber handgun that he admitted taking from Trace Spoonhoward, a state police officer living with Trujillo's mother, Marla Perez.
Trujillo, who was reportedly jealous over a girl, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year. It is not clear from online records what kind of sentence he is serving.
Last week, lawyer Matthew L. Garcia of Albuquerque filed a complaint for damages in state District Court on behalf of John Aguayo Sr., the father and personal representative of Chris Aguayo's estate, against Trujillo, Spoonhoward, the state Department of Public Safety and New Mexico.
According to the complaint, Trujillo and his girlfriend, Brittany Lopez, traveled to Santa Fe Place mall on July 8 to meet with Aguayo because Trujillo was angry about telephone calls between Lopez and Aguayo. Once there, Trujillo pulled out the pistol and shot Aguayo four to five times, then moved closer and continued firing until the gun's ammunition chamber was empty, the complaint says.
The complaint also says Spoonhoward knew or should have known Trujillo posed a danger to others, yet failed to store and secure his service firearm as required by Department of Public Safety regulations.
Perez had called police three days before the incident to say her son had been missing for 24 hours and might be with friends who were "gang oriented," according to the complaint. It goes on to list three other incidents involving Trujillo dating back to 2006, including taking a pellet gun to school.
"Because Officer Spoonhoward was acting within the scope and course of his deputies as an employee of [the Department of Public Safety] and the State when he failed to properly secure his service weapon, DPS and the State are liable," the complaint says.