LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – News 13 is following the latest developments in a high-profile case out of Las Cruces, the former police officer convicted for shooting a man in the back of the head for stealing a beer at a gas station, appeared before a judge Friday for the shooting death of 36-year-old Presley Eze.

This past February, a jury convicted Brad Lunsford of manslaughter after the former Las Cruces police officer shot and killed Eze while responding to a shoplifting call in August of 2022. Lapel video shows officers pulling Eze out of a car. The incident escalated within minutes, ending with Lunsford shooting Eze in the back of the head.

Eze's family is calling out the police department for this senseless act of violence, "God knows he wasn't a saint, but he was a very good man… A g

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