By Wheeler Cowperthwaite
Special to the SUN
Shockwaves rippled through Rio Arriba County Sunday morning after Sheriff Billy Merrifield was found dead at his home. The cause of his death is unknown at this time and is being investigated by New Mexico State Police.
According to a NMSP press release sent out on April 23, “Investigations Bureau agents learned through interviews that on April 20, 2025, at approximately 3:00 a.m., a friend of Sheriff Merrifield received a phone call from a woman who stated she was with Sheriff Merrifield, and they were involved in a minor crash in his government issued patrol vehicle while he was off-duty.
“According to the friend, he located Sheriff Merrifield’s patrol unit approximately half a mile from his residence. When the friend spoke to him, Sheriff Merrifield stated he was OK. The patrol vehicle and Sheriff Merrifield were taken back to his residence. After they arrived at the residence, Sheriff Merrifield’s friend and the woman left the residence, leaving Sheriff Merrifield in his patrol vehicle.
“The friend told investigators that later that morning, around 10:00 a.m., after several unsuccessful phone call attempts, he went to Sheriff Merrifield’s house to check on him. When he arrived, he found Sheriff Merrifield unresponsive in his patrol unit. He called 911 and began CPR until paramedics arrived on scene and took over lifesaving efforts, which were unsuccessful. Sheriff Merrifield was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Office of the Medical Investigator.”
Merrifield, 50, was elected sheriff in 2022, after being appointed to replace James Lujan at the end of 2021. He beat five other candidates in a Democratic primary for the position.
At a special meeting on Monday, the Rio Arriba County Commission named Lorenzo Aguilar, who is a major in the Sheriff’s Office, as interim sheriff.
Remembrances pour in
Aguilar said he has been working at the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office for 15 years and 10 years ago, in 2015, Merrifield joined the force.
“We were on different shifts at first but for the majority of the time, we were on the same shift,” Aguilar said. “Then he started to climb the ranks and I was there behind him.”
Merrifield was Aguilar’s supervisor for much of the last decade.
In a press release, First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies wrote that she worked well with Merrifield.
“His leadership, integrity, and dedication will be deeply missed, both professionally and personally,” she wrote.
Merrifield was a skilled investigator and “deeply invested in the well-being of the community he served,” she wrote.
County Commissioner Alex Naranjo said Merrifield’s death came as a surprise.
“It’s sad,” Naranjo said of Merrifield’s unexpected death. “I was very proud of Billy.”
New sheriff
The three County commissioners voted on Monday to name Aguilar as the sheriff.
He will hold the post until at least the end of Merrifield’s term, which will be up during the general election in June 2026, County Manager Jeremy Maestas wrote in an email.
Commission Chairman Brandon Bustos did not return calls requesting comment and his voicemail box was full.
Naranjo said he made the motion to appoint Aguilar as interim sheriff because he’s known him for about eight to 10 years and he’s always been “a professional and a dedicated young man.”
“He has 24 years of experience with county government,” Naranjo said. “He’s a major with the department, those were his qualifications.”
When asked why he didn’t move to appoint Undersheriff Monica Salazar, Naranjo said it didn’t enter his mind because Aguilar was well qualified.
“That’s why I voted in his favor,” he said.
It’s no secret Naranjo and Merrifield were often at odds during public meetings when Merrifield went to the commission advocating for more positions in his department. Naranjo said they had a difference in opinion when it came to staffing numbers.
“Billy and I had discussions on the way I see things and the way he sees things in reference to the population of the county and how many deputies we should have in the county,” Naranjo said. “There’s nothing wrong with having discussions.”
Sheriff’s vision
Merrifield and Aguilar “were in agreement” with the same vision for the Sheriff’s Office, Aguilar said.
“I want to continue some of his vision,” he said.
Salazar, the undersheriff, the number two position, will continue to be Aguilar’s pick.
Merrifield’s vision includes seeing a new public safety complex and providing the best law enforcement coverage they can for the county, as the Sheriff’s Office seeks funding for more positions.
“I think we’ve done a lot of great things, and I want to keep that momentum going,” Aguilar said.
Merrifield moved the Sheriff’s Office forward “leaps and bounds” from where it had been, Aguilar said.
He said he started his career at the Sheriff’s office 15 years ago under the tenure of former sheriff Joe Mascareñas.
Managing Editor Jennifer Garcia contributed to this story.