Police are investigating a violent assault on a correctional officer at the Youth Development and Diagnostic Center that occurred over the weekend.
Three suspects, Adrian Brown, Justice Sanchez, and Ezekiel Ullibarri, all 18, have been charged with aggravated battery on a peace officer in connection with the incident. The officer was seriously injured.
Following the attack, all three suspects were transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center.
The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office will file detention motions seeking to keep the defendants in an adult facility as their cases proceed. Each of the suspects had been housed at the juvenile facility prior to the incident, facing charges related to earlier violent crimes committed as juveniles.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman emphasized the need for policy changes regarding the housing of adult offenders in juvenile facilities.
“Eighteen-year-olds are legally adults and should not be housed in the same facility as much younger teens,” Bregman said. “This creates a dangerous environment and poses a serious threat not only to correctional officers, but also to younger detainees.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
In June 2025, Albuquerque police arrested a then-17-year-old Adrian Brown and another teen, in connection with the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Christopher Sturluson, a homeless man found dead in his tent in a Northeast Albuquerque arroyo. Investigators used ShotSpotter data and surveillance video to link the suspect to gunfire incidents the night before, determining Sturluson was likely shot shortly before midnight.
In September 2025, two teens, including 17-year-old Ezekiel Ulibarri, were charged in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Angelo Tafoya during a marijuana and gun deal that turned into a robbery. One suspect admitted to shooting Tafoya multiple times, while both were also involved in stealing vehicles and fleeing the scene in stolen cars.
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[…] The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office will file detention motions seeking to keep the defendants in an adult facility as their cases proceed. Each of the suspects had been housed at the juvenile facility prior to the incident, facing charges related to earlier violent crimes committed as juveniles. More Here […]