Witnesses and friends have questioned the motives of law enforcement officials after Farmington residents Brandon Roe and Breanna “Bree” Wilkerson were shot dead Wednesday along with a terrier mix puppy.
The injured puppy, who witnesses say was “not aggressive,” was taken to the Farmington Regional Animal Shelter, where it was euthanized, according to San Juan County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Rebekah Click.
According to a news release from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Roe, 37, and the puppy were in a vehicle reportedly driven by Wilkerson, 25.
The release stated that Wilkerson was driving toward officials from the U.S. Marshals Service when the marshals opened fire on her. Witnesses disputed the claim.
“They were trying to leave, not run them over,” said Ellay Douglas, who lives at 4004 Copper Ave. “The car was parked, and they were trying to leave, and the cops just shot them.”
Douglas and others at the scene said no one in the vehicle was armed, and according to the news release from the Sheriff’s Office, no law enforcement agents were injured.
Witnesses and friends told the Tri-City Record on May 8 that Wilkerson and Roe will be missed.
“She was like a little sister to me,” Douglas said of Wilkerson. “She had just barely started her life. She had plans to go to college. She lit up our lives.”
Lucas Gallegos, a friend and witness, called Wilkerson a “sweetheart.”
Sarah Irvin, a friend and witness, added that Roe “wasn’t a violent person. He had a really kind soul.”
Wilkerson did not have a criminal record, other than petty misdemeanor traffic violations cleared July 5, 2023, by San Juan County Magistrate Court.
The U.S. Marshals Service, with assistance from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, was serving warrants on Roe. He was wanted for failing to appear in court for 2022 charges of aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer, a fourth-degree felony. Additionally, there was a warrant for failure to comply for a 2022 charge of fourth-degree felony commercial burglary.
The Tri-City Record made an Inspection of Public Records Act request on May 9 to the U.S. Marshals Service seeking copies of the warrant or warrants issued for the apprehension and detention of Roe.
A request to the U.S. Marshals Service also was made for any correspondence and emails regarding the warrants, apprehension, detention and shooting deaths of Roe and Wilkerson. The date range for the emails was Feb. 20, the date the warrant was issued, to May 9, the day after the Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into the shooting.
“I’m sure (Roe) was trying to get away. He didn’t want to be caught,” Irvin said. “He knew what he was getting into; she did not.”
Gallegos said, Wilkerson “was worried about him taking off in her car.”
According to reports from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Roe was attempting to get in the driver’s seat when U.S. Marshals fired at the vehicle.
Douglas said she believes she heard “18 shots” that night. “It sounded like a firework going off,” she said.
“They shot the whole car,” Irvin said.
“It was pretty brutal,” Gallegos said. “I feel like they came for blood.”
Crystal Cooper, another friend of Roe’s, claimed in a Jan. 29 statement published online at OpenPR that the Sheriff’s Office was “hunting down” Roe, and that “if anything happens to Brandon Roe, the Sheriff’s Office is responsible.”
“Nobody here was aggressive,” Gallegos said, adding, “They put all of us in handcuffs.”
“They treated us really cruel,” said Gallegos, who recently had open-heart surgery. “They could have treated us different.”
The Tri-City Record made an IPRA request to the Sheriff’s Office for incident reports, investigatory documents, in-car video, photographs and body-cam footage with regard to the shooting deaths of Roe and Wilkerson.
Cooper believed that Roe was being targeted because of his alleged involvement with a Region II Narcotics Agent and because he was “advocating for the inmate population” at the San Juan County Detention Center.
Cooper mentioned in the online post that detainee Bryan Harris “nearly died” after being left without water in his cell for three days.
She said also Roe had “pictures of moldy and spoiled food being served to a friend,” inside the facility, and the jail administrator was contacted and “gave his promise to resolve any issues.”
The Tri City Record made an IPRA request for documentation of any verbal or written complaint made by Roe or Harris against the staff, management and food service of the San Juan County Detention Center, as well as any general complaint made by the two individuals against the detention center.
Any emails or correspondence between county officials, staff and management at the San Juan County Detention Center concerning detainees Roe and Harris also was requested.
Cooper, however, in her “release” made incorrect statements, claiming the detention center is a “privately owned jail,” and it is not. The jail is run by San Juan County.
Cooper also claimed that Roe had “all charges dropped, cases dismissed without prejudice and probation terminated,” which according to court records, was not accurate.
Roe was on probation for the 2022 charges, yet his 2023 charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of a controlled substance and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer were dismissed Dec. 30, by Assistant District Attorney Jules Grandjean, who wrote in the court record, it was “in the best interest of justice.”
