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Two deputies from the Bernalillo County Sheriff鈥檚 Office will be fired for what Sheriff John Allen described as 鈥渋rresponsible and reprehensible鈥� actions 鈥� one of which included a deputy鈥檚 rifle being stolen and used in a homicide earlier this year.

While the two were scrutinized for their actions, another deputy was fiercely defended by Allen for what he said was a 鈥渟mear campaign鈥� against the man after BCSO鈥檚 hiring standards were called into question.

Allen said Deputy Bryan Lassley, who is accused of excessive force, remains on administrative leave 鈥減ending a decision from the (District Attorney鈥檚) Office on possible criminal charges.鈥� He said Deputy Jacob Zamora had been fired after failing to report his rifle had been stolen 鈥� the gun later being used to kill a man in Downtown sa国际传媒官网网页入口. 

鈥淭hese two cases are not tough for me to make a decision on at all,鈥� Allen said to a plethora of news outlets gathered at BCSO headquarters. "It's just irresponsible and reprehensible and it鈥檚 not going to be tolerated and it鈥檚 not going to happen here in this agency.鈥�

Deputy James Walker will keep his job, Allen said, after he was featured in an investigative piece by KRQE-TV that accused the former Edgewood law enforcement officer of lying and keeping drug evidence while working in the East Mountains. 

A stolen rifle and New Year鈥檚 killing

The theft of a deputy-issued AR-15 rifle was unknown to BCSO for months until the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traced the gun from a Jan. 1 homicide investigated by the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Police Department.

鈥淒etectives determined through an E-Trace with the ATF that the firearm was purchased by BCSO,鈥� said APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos in a statement to the Journal.

Zamora, who was hired on April 7, 2025, never reported the theft to Allen or any other leadership with BCSO. The ATF connected the gun鈥檚 serial number to the shooting that left 25-year-old Alexander Wilson dead.

The rifle, which was issued to Zamora on Aug. 4, 2025, had been stolen from his personal vehicle sometime between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, Zamora later told BCSO.

Allen did not detail how the weapon was stolen or why it was in a deputy鈥檚 personal vehicle. He did say, however, that the rifle was not properly secured, nor was it supposed to be in a personal vehicle in the first place.

鈥淭his case absolutely baffles me. You鈥檙e always supposed to secure your firearm no matter what, even if it鈥檚 in your personal vehicle,鈥� Allen said.

The sheriff ordered an internal affairs case to be opened against Zamora and he was put in field training until he was fired on April 7, exactly one year after he was hired. 

鈥淚 will not have him serve our community nor cause more harm, which he did, to our community,鈥� Allen said. 

Possible criminal charges against Zamora would be determined by APD and the Bernalillo County District Attorney鈥檚 Office, Allen said.

Excessive force incident

On Dec. 3, Lassley was called to assist after a 16-year-old girl had allegedly gotten into a fight with a court security guard at the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention and Youth Service Center. 

The girl had been detained by other deputies just before Lassley arrived, according to lapel camera footage shared by BCSO. The teen had allegedly bitten one deputy鈥檚 hand and scraped another鈥檚 in a scuffle.

Another deputy asked the teen, who was handcuffed in the back of a patrol vehicle, if she was comfortable with being photographed by Lassley for evidence.

He then asked if she was going to try and fight deputies if she got out of the vehicle, according to the body camera footage.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to regret it if you do,鈥� Lassley said.

The teen replied with, 鈥淚 have no more fight left in me,鈥� before exiting the vehicle.

Lassley began to take photos of the teen and her injuries. He told her she needed to stand up straight while he took pictures, according to lapel footage. 

The teen told Lassley she was trying in-between tearful gasps and Lassley told her she needed to try harder.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to find any sympathy here,鈥� Lassley said. 

The teen, who was still handcuffed, could be seen in the lapel footage walking toward Lassley while calling him a "pig." Lapel footage showed Lassley shove the teen by her face and throat back into the patrol vehicle.

The video shows Lassley grab the girl by her hair and slam her into the floorboard of the vehicle before another deputy said, 鈥淎lright, Lassley," and separated the two. The teen can be heard on video crying while asking the other deputies if they saw what happened.

BCSO spokesperson Jayme Gonzales said the teen was not hospitalized for her injuries.

鈥淥nce I saw the video鈥� I was pretty pissed and I was appalled,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淚f you can鈥檛 be held at a higher standard and control yourself, don鈥檛 come into law enforcement.鈥�

Allen said that BCSO had opened an internal affairs investigation on Lassley before it was paused and turned over to the DA鈥檚 Office for a criminal investigation.

He was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 10 and remains on paid leave pending a decision from the DA鈥檚 Office.

鈥淚 really don鈥檛 care, on this case specifically, what the district attorney finds,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淚 will be going to terminate him. More importantly, he needs to be more worried about criminal charges than me terminating him.鈥� 

Allen said he has requested that the FBI look into the case for any civil rights violations. It is not the first time Lassley鈥檚 on-duty actions have been under scrutiny. He had been with BCSO since Dec. 19, 2019.

In 2024, Lassley crashed into a car going 45 mph over the speed limit after an attempted traffic stop. His vehicle rear-ended 43-year-old Alexandria Girard鈥檚 vehicle and she died from her injuries.

Credibility questioned

After the credibility of Walker was called into question, Allen defended BCSO鈥檚 hiring process and grilled the media on their tactics and motives. 

A states that while Walker was an officer with the Edgewood Police Department, he had been keeping drug evidence collected from suspects, among other allegations.

Allen said the story had caused Walker and other BCSO deputies to receive multiple death threats. Allen stood firmly on his decision to hire Walker and denied any allegations about his credibility. 

The Edgewood Police Department launched an internal affairs investigation into the incident, but Walker allegedly refused to sign the complaint and left to work with BCSO, according to KRQE.

Allen said he had 鈥渞easonable doubt鈥� that EPD had done a credible, unbiased investigation into Walker and said the department was retaliating against him.

When asked about his skepticism, Allen said he had been the subject of retaliation himself but said there were other reasons that he could not disclose because it was 鈥渃loser to being on the criminal side.鈥�

鈥淚 believe in Deputy Walker's character, and the reason I say that is I see a lot of holes and problems with that internal affairs investigation and the retaliation that came from the Edgewood PD,鈥� Allen said.

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.