BCSO Deputy Fired After Lying About Stolen AR-15 Involved in Homicide

Albuquerque –

During an hour long press conference, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen announced he has fired Deputy Jacob Zamora for not reporting that his department issued AR-15 was stolen.

Sheriff Allen stated that Zamora’s AR-15 had been stolen from his personal vehicle, where it was allegedly left unsecured, and that he did not report the theft to his superiors or to law enforcement. Allen revealed Zamora replaced the missing rifle with his own personal AR-15.

“I was notified by the ATF that a lower receiver matched the serial number on one of our department issued rifles, which is a firearm that we issued to all of our deputies. The lower receiver was found to be connected with a homicide that the Albuquerque Police Department is investigating immediately,” said Sheriff Allen.

The lower receiver of an AR-15 is is the serialized, legally defined “firearm” component that houses the trigger group, safety, magazine release, and bolt catch.

“It was used in the commission of a homicide. I there’s no explanation for. That’s not acceptable,” said Sheriff Allen.

We reached out to the Albuquerque Police Department public information staff on what case this was related to. They said The homicide case was the murder of Alexander Wilson (12/17/2000) which happened on Jan. 1, 2026 at 713 Gold Ave SW. Officers heard the gunshots and saw one of the suspects, Peyton Reagan (10/31/2007) running with a rifle. They took him into custody with the rifle and some gun magazines. A second suspect, Dominic Martinez (7/18/2003) was later arrested for his role in the homicide.

According to the criminal complaint, an AR-15 pistol was used in the shooting with 10 shots fired at the victim. The suspects tried to carjack the vehicle where the victim was inside of. The complaint goes on to say the gun was purchased online through an illegal sale.

The lower AR-15 part seemed to be converted to an AR-15 pistol by some nefarious characters.

Zamora was on probationary training and graduated from the BCSO Academy in 2025. He was fired on March 4th, 2026.