Doña Ana County Jury Convicts Eddie Joe Valdez of Attempted First-Degree Murder, Tampering with Evidence

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A Doña Ana County jury returned a guilty verdict Thursday, convicting Eddie Joe Valdez of attempted first-degree murder for the February 2024 shooting of Derrick Whitehead.

Following a trial in the Third Judicial District Court, jurors found that on the night of Feb. 26, 2024, Valdez drove Whitehead to a developing residential area south of Peter Hurd Road, where he beat Whitehead, shot him in the head with a small-caliber firearm, left him on a dirt road, and subsequently took steps to conceal evidence of the attack.

Construction workers discovered Whitehead the following morning, unconscious and in critical condition. Responding deputies from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office rendered aid before Whitehead was transported for emergency neurosurgery at University Medical Center in El Paso. Whitehead survived the attack with severe, life-altering brain injuries requiring prolonged rehabilitation.

During the trial, the State presented digital surveillance records, physical evidence recovered from the scene, and testimony establishing that Valdez drove Whitehead to the isolated area and later admitted to the shooting.

“This verdict reflects the careful attention of the jury and a thorough presentation of the evidence in court,” District Attorney Fernando Macias said. “Mr. Whitehead suffered catastrophic, permanent injuries from an act of extreme violence in our community. I commend prosecutors Tomas Medina and Anne Swank, along with the investigators at the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office, for their diligence in seeing this complex case through to a verdict.”

“Presenting a case built on complex digital timelines, medical findings and witness testimony requires piecing together every available detail for the jury,” Deputy District Attorneys Tomas Medina and Anne Swank said in a joint statement. “We are deeply grateful to the jurors for their careful deliberation and to the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office for the investigative work that allowed us to bring the full truth of what happened to Mr. Whitehead into the courtroom.”

Deputy District Attorneys Tomas Medina and Anne Swank prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of New Mexico, following an investigation led by the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office. A sentencing hearing before the Honorable Douglas R. Driggers has not yet been scheduled. Under New Mexico law, Valdez faces up to 17 years in prison at sentencing, comprising a nine-year basic sentence for attempted first-degree murder, a three-year basic sentence for tampering with evidence, and a mandatory five-year firearm enhancement.