Los Alamos Reporter

NMSP Arrests Two Men In Shooting And Kidnapping Investigation In Rio Arriba County: Kidnapping Victim Jeanette Salazar Remains Missing

NMSP NEWS RELEASE

Rio Arriba County, NM – Agents with the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau have arrested two men following a shooting and kidnapping investigation that began during the early morning hours of Thursday, July 9, 2026.

At approximately 2:37 a.m., New Mexico State Police received a report from a male, who stated he had been shot in the arm during a carjacking and that his girlfriend, Jeanette Salazar, was inside the vehicle when it was taken.

Investigators learned that on the evening of July 8, 2026, the male went to Danny Trujillo’s residence in Rio Chiquito to purchase narcotics. After returning home, his girlfriend, Jeanette Salazar, asked whether he had collected money she was owed for a bracelet. The two then returned to Trujillo’s residence to collect the payment. Once there, a confrontation ensued between Salazar and Trujillo’s girlfriend. During the altercation, Trujillo then came to the door, accused the male of stealing a dirt bike, and fired a weapon at him as he sat inside his vehicle, striking him in the arm. He then got out of the vehicle after being shot. Trujillo told him to leave the keys in the vehicle, Marcos Romero then exited the residence and forced Jeannette Salazar into the vehicle. Romero, Trujillo, and their girlfriends then left the area with Salazar still inside the vehicle.

The victim’s vehicle was located unoccupied and abandoned later that morning in Cordova.

On July 9, 2026, the NMSP Tactical Team arrested Danny Trujillo without incident at his residence in Cordova.

Trujillo is charged with the following:

  • Aggravated Battery (Great Bodily Harm)
  • Assault with Intent to Commit a Violent Felony (Intent to Kill)
  • Kidnapping
  • Shooting at or From a Motor Vehicle (Resulting in Injury)
  • Criminal Damage to Property
  • Unlawful Taking of a Motor Vehicle

Marcos Romero was also located and taken into custody without incident at his residence in Chimayo by the NMSP Tactical Team with assistance from the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office.

Romero is charged with the following:

  • Kidnapping
  • Unlawful Taking of a Motor Vehicle

This incident remains under investigation by the NMSP Investigations Bureau. Jeanette Salazar is still missing. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is urged to contact the New Mexico State Police at 505-425-6771.