Officer Gregg Anthony Nigel Benner, 49, was killed during a traffic stop in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, on May 25, 2015. Benner stopped a Dodge Durango at about 8:15 p.m. near Pinetree and Southern Roads for a suspicious license plate. The vehicle was driven by Tabitha Littles with Andrew Romero as a passenger, who falsely identified himself as Albert Fresquez.

After the Durango accelerated away, Benner pursued it and caught up. Romero shoved Littles out, took control of the vehicle and then, when Benner approached the driver’s side, fired four times, fatally wounding the officer. Romero fled but was arrested after a separate robbery early the next morning; a nine-millimeter Beretta later linked by DNA was recovered and Romero had the Durango keys.

A grand jury indicted Romero on ten counts on June 11, 2015. A jury convicted him on seven counts on October 3, 2016, and the court imposed life without parole plus sixty years; an appeal left those convictions intact except for one count vacated on double jeopardy grounds.

If anyone knew Officer Benner, the Durango’s occupants, or saw the stop that night, please share information.