Adrian Hedden
Artesia Daily Press
Mark Rommel was shot and killed on Oct. 12, 2023, and a lawsuit filed by his mother blames the Artesia Police Department and Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, alleging the law enforcement agencies failed to protect the life of her son.
Rommel’s mother, Linda Dobbins, filed the suit on Oct. 10, 2025, listing the sheriff’s office and police department as defendants.
The case was assigned to District Judge Lisa Riley, with multiple summonses served to Eddy County, the city of Artesia, Eddy County Sheriff Matt Hutchinson and Artesia Police Chief Kirk Roberts.
The suit demands damages for Rommel’s death, the amount to be determined at trial.
Artesia police Cmdr. Pete Quinones said the department received the complaint and would submit information on the case to the New Mexico Insurers Fund, which would assign an attorney to represent the police.
Shooting leads to murder conviction
Acadio Lucero, 24, was sentenced to life in prison in June for murdering Rommel, 42, on Oct. 12, 2023, in the parking lot of the Artesia Public Safety Complex after an argument erupted when Rommel went there to drop off his infant daughter with her mother.
The complex houses the city police and fire departments. It also serves as a location for “custody exchanges” when estranged couples pick up their children from one another.
Lucero was charged with first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Rommel and found guilty after a four-day jury trial held in Fifth Judicial District Court in Carlsbad. District Judge David Finger handed down the mandatory life sentence, which means Lucero won’t be eligible for parole for 30 years.
The events leading up to the shooting that day at the public safety complex formed the basis of the lawsuit, which argues that law enforcement present at the scene failed to protect Rommel and both the police department and sheriff’s office were liable for his death.
Rommel went to a designated “safe drop-off zone” on the day of his death after being directed there by police, the lawsuit read. He planned to pick up his infant daughter with her mother Jahnika Guajardo.
The drop-off zone is frequently used for quarrelsome couples exchanging children in an area monitored by law enforcement.
Quinones said the safe exchange zone is typically unmanned. It’s located at the public safety complex, which houses the Artesia Police Department and substations for the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police, allowing for a quicker response than other locations in emergencies, he said.
He said the zone allows couples exchanging children through custody arrangements to feel safe and can also be used for people buying items online. Quinones estimated about one custody exchange a day was made at the zone, including weekends.
“There isn’t an officer there all day long waiting for parents to exchange,” Quinones said. “These zones exist all over the country. They’re not manned. Agencies don’t have the resources to man them 24/7.”
‘Justice served,’ police say
Rommel and Guajardo were sent to the zone by police after an argument began at a nearby medical facility where Rommel had taken the child because she was showing symptoms of what he believed was COVID-19. He and Guajardo argued about Rommel’s care of the girl and what led to her illness.
When Rommel arrived at the public safety complex, he was confronted by the mother and Lucero, her boyfriend, police said. As they continued to argue, Lucero went to his truck and retrieved a handgun.
He opened fire and shot Rommel three times, killing him.
Artesia Police Sgt. Christopher Gallegos witnessed the incident from an open-air walkway on the second floor of the complex and shot Lucero one time from about 40 yards away, Quinones said.
This allowed officers to arrest Lucero, and he was treated for a gunshot wound at a nearby medical facility.
“We’re very confident of what we did that particular day,” Quinones said. “It’s already gone to trial and the subject was found guilty of murder. It was a good outcome on that. Justice was served.”
In her lawsuit, Dobbins argues that the law enforcement agencies failed to properly secure the drop-off area, inadequately monitored the zone and did not have any officers at the scene to supervise the drop off.
“Artesia and Eddy County failed in their duties and responsibilities to make the safe zone for the exchange of possession of minor children actually ‘safe’ resulting in the deprivation of life, liberty and immunities secured by the Bill of Rights under the New Mexico Constitution and injuries, pain and suffering and the loss of life of Mark (Rommel),” the suit read.
Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.
