Albuquerque Man Cops to Walmart Armed Robbery

Albuquerque’s streets got a little safer today as 23-year-old Henry Lujan was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for his role in the armed robbery of a Walmart store in Bernalillo County on October 29, 2014. The heist, carried out by a six-man crew packing heat, netted a safe stuffed with cash and valuables—all under the cold glare of surveillance cameras and terrified employees.

Lujan, who admitted in court to aiding and abetting the interstate commerce robbery, stood before the judge after pleading guilty on August 3, 2016. The feds didn’t back down—prosecuted under a federal anti-violence initiative targeting ‘the worst of the worst’—Lujan will serve nearly seven years, followed by three years of supervised release. This wasn’t a crime of opportunity; it was a calculated smash-and-grab by men who knew the risks.

The original January 2015 indictment named five others: Raymond Castillo, 27; Reyes Lujan, 27; Daniel Maestas, 36; Johnny Ramirez, 31; and Frank Gallegos, 31. All were nailed on Hobbs Act and federal firearms charges. A superseding indictment in May 2015 added Reynaldo Marquez, 26, and two new counts—one involving a 7-11 stickup on December 7, 2014, where Marquez allegedly fired his weapon into the air.

The charges were stacked like prison bunks. Count 2 hit Lujan hard—interfering with interstate commerce via robbery. Count 5 nailed him and three others—Ramirez, Gallegos, and Reyes Lujan—for aiding and abetting firearm use during the crime. Castillo and Maestas faced more severe charges: brandishing and carrying a firearm, respectively, during the violent act.

Sentences came down swift and brutal. Reyes Lujan got 71 months. So did Gallegos and Ramirez. Marquez? 120 months. Castillo—the ringleader in prosecutors’ eyes—took the longest fall: 216 months, nearly 18 years. One defendant still sits in lockup awaiting sentencing, the gavel yet to fall.

The case was cracked open by the ATF’s Albuquerque office and the Albuquerque Police Department, a joint effort that turned surveillance, ballistics, and street intel into ironclad convictions. Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Norman Cairns and Samuel A. Hurtado, the case underscores a federal crackdown on violent repeat offenders—especially in Bernalillo County, where crime doesn’t sleep and neither do the feds.

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