A mobile unit that creates images of shell casings will be in Albuquerque for 60 days to help area law enforcement to help solve crimes.
The mobile National Integrated Ballistics Information (NIBIN) unit system is being provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and is only one of four mobile units in the country, per KRQE.
Markings on a shell casing are unique to the gun from which it was fired. Shell casings left at crime scenes are put into a NIBIN system, which creates images of the casing from various angles with different lighting. The detailed images are then sent to an ATF analyst for comparison with other casings previously collected to see if there’s a connection.
APD Chief Harold Medina wants law enforcement agencies in the surrounding areas to bring their shell casings to the mobile unit for analysis.
“We want to be the center of where shell casings come in the metro area,” Medina said, per KRQE. “We intend to continue to work with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department. We want to reach out to the Sandoval, Valencia County sheriff’s departments. We want to make sure that all our tribal partners have a place to bring their shell casings.”
There are currently three permanent NIBIN units in the state; two at APD and one with the New Mexico State Police in Santa Fe. The unique markings on shell casings can be used to tie a gun to a crime or series of crimes. NIBIN was used in two recent high-profile cases in Albuquerque.
Jose Trujillo was pulled over on Jan. 3 by a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BSCO) deputy and arrested on an active warrant for stalking his ex-girlfriend and for having nearly 900 fentanyl pills, more than $3,000, and two guns. Trujillo, according to KRQE, told police he borrowed the car from failed GOP candidate Solomon Peña. Bullet casings from one of the guns were examined and matched the casings found outside the home of Senator Linda Lopez, who reported shots fired at her home. Pena was subsequently arrested.
NIBIN also played a role in solving the murders of three Muslim men in Albuquerque in 2022.