Teens Investigated For Stealing Guns From Politico's Corrales Home

Five firearms were stolen from the Corrales home of former Secretary of State candidate Audrey Mendonca-Trujillo, a conservative who last year drew national attention for promoting a gun raffle to raise campaign funds.

According to Corrales police reports, the guns may have been stolen by friends of Mendonca-Trujillo’s teenage daughter, who snuck out of the house to attend a party with friends the night of the theft.

Mendonca-Trujillo, who ran mostly on the issue of election integrity, lost to Democratic incumbent Maggie Toulouse Oliver in November's general election, garnering 43% of the vote to Toulouse Oliver’s 55%.

Officers responded to a call at Mendonca-Trujillo’s home the morning of March 11 after her husband reported that he discovered the door open to a gun closet and five firearms missing.

Surveillance video from the home shows two male juveniles had entered through an unlocked door of the home and left with the weapons.

According to Corrales police, the matter is an ongoing investigation and the department is working with Albuquerque Police Department and Albuquerque Public Schools on the case.

Reached by text message, Mendonca-Trujillo declined comment, citing the active investigation.

While the rest of the family was asleep, the daughter snuck out to go to a party in southeast Albuquerque around 10:30 p.m., according to a Corrales police report. She left the party an hour later with four other juveniles: two males and two females. 

The two males later arrived at the Corrales home with the girl and were caught on home security footage walking out of the house with the guns, the report says.

The two males entered through an unlocked backdoor that the girl left open so she could "sneak back in," the report states. 

The weapons that were stolen were a .35 caliber Ruger M77, a .270 caliber Thompson Center Compass, .22 caliber Browning semi-automatic, a Ruger M77/243 Winchester rifle, and a lever action rifle/22 magnum. 

Police were provided with serial numbers for two of the guns.

Audrey Mendoca-Trujillo

On March 12, Corrales police followed up with the family and received copies of a text message conversation between the daughter and one of the juvenile girls she was with the night of theft. 

The sender of the text wrote that a male "sold all the guns to someone already."

Photos posted to social media show one of the male suspects brandishing the gun on a street in Albuquerque. A caption on the post reads, "Y'all ain't about no sniper," and "My sh** boom." 

Another post, by one of the females, shows a gun on a table next to bottles of alcohol and someone holding a magazine filled with bullets. The caption reads, "Red tips gang." Followed by, "Don't play it." 

Police are investigating a possible connection between the two female juveniles and a 13-year-old female who was attacked and severely beaten at an Albuquerque park earlier this month.

Last week, social media posts circulated online showed injuries the girl had sustained. 

Albuquerque police records contain screenshots of the video and depict two females that resemble the juveniles involved in the Corrales burglary.

Two arrests were made related to the attack, but it is unclear if those individuals are the same ones connected to the burglary. 

However, another text sent to Mendonca-Trujillo’s daughter on March 17 from one of the female juveniles said, "So [I guess] the house got raided and they took all the guns and to JDC (Juvenile Detention Center)... if is in jail y'all are mad some guns she ain take that's  fu**ed.” 

APD Communication Director Gilbert Gallegos would not confirm a connection between the two cases, saying the investigation is still active.

"One of our detectives has been in touch Corrales PD, which is in charge of the burglary case. Because this is an ongoing investigation, I can't comment further," Gallegos said.

Audrey Mendonca-Trujillo is a 2020 election denier and purveyor of conspiracy theories that have brought her national attention. Her candidacy received endorsements from MAGA celebrities like Gen. Michael Flynn, Steve Bannon and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, according to her campaign website.

Last September, a campaign flier bearing her image announced that a 12-gauge, semi-automatic shotgun would be given away the following month as part of a fundraiser. Only 200 tickets were to be sold to qualify for the giveaway at a cost of $100 apiece.

Mendonca-Trujillo quickly called off the raffle when it was realized the giveaway qualified as a raffle, which is prohibited by campaign financing rules.