Mescalero Man Pleads Guilty to Child Abuse

ALBUQUERQUE – A Mescalero man pleaded guilty to child abuse after firing a weapon near two young children and placing them in a situation that endangered their lives.

According to court documents, on August 26, 2025, Emilio Morales, 24, a non-Indian, while intoxicated, fired a handgun multiple times near two minor children and threatened to kill himself while holding the firearm in front of them. When police arrived with weapons drawn, Morales held one child and demanded that officers shoot him. Both children are enrolled members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

Morales pleaded guilty to abuse of a child. At sentencing, he faces 6 to 12 months imprisonment followed by a one-year term of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackson K. Dering V is prosecuting the case.