Apr. 23—Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield had been in a crash in his patrol vehicle hours before he was found unresponsive inside the vehicle at his home Sunday morning.
New Mexico State Police on Wednesday released details about Merrifield’s final hours. The 50-year-old had served as sheriff of the northern New Mexico county since 2021.
State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver said in a news release that the agency is investigating “the possibility of the sheriff being under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or drug.” A cause of death for Merrifield has not been released.
This is the latest in a series of sensational events involving a Rio Arriba County sheriff. In 2021, James Lujan received a three-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him of two felonies for helping a friend avoid arrest in 2017. In 2015, Tommy Rodella was sentenced to 10 years and one month for convictions on two federal counts related to a 2014 road rage incident.
Details on Merrifield’s death had been slim before State Police began investigating and found a friend who had been with Merrifield in the hours before he died.
On Sunday morning, the friend told State Police that a woman called him around 3 a.m. and said she was with Merrifield while he was off duty, and they got into a “minor crash” in his patrol vehicle, Silver said.
The friend told police that he found Merrifield’s vehicle about a half-mile from his Abiquiú home, Silver said. The friend said Merrifield told him he was OK.
“The patrol vehicle and Sheriff Merrifield were taken back to his residence,” Silver said, and “Sheriff Merrifield’s friend and the woman left the residence, leaving Sheriff Merrifield in his patrol vehicle.”
Around 10 a.m., the friend tried calling Merrifield several times before going to his home to check on him, Silver said.
“He found Sheriff Merrifield unresponsive in his patrol unit,” the spokesman said. The friend and first responders attempted lifesaving efforts, but Merrifield was pronounced dead at the scene.
Silver said investigators are working to corroborate the account. Meanwhile, an autopsy was performed on Monday and results are pending.