Sept. 4 – A deal with prosecutors will allow a Santa Fe man accused in the 2021 fatal shooting of a radio DJ to spend an additional year and three months under supervised release in exchange for a plea of no contest to a charge of voluntary manslaughter.
Edwin Anaya, 37, accepted the plea deal during a hearing Wednesday in state District Court. He was sentenced to a total of five years of supervised probation for the January 2021 murder of KSFR DJ Pete Gurule, 40, but received credit for about three years and eight months he had already served.
A jury trial in March 2023 ended in a mistrial, with the jury acquitting Anaya of second-degree murder and not reaching a verdict on the lesser charge of manslaughter.
The jury voted 8-4 in favor of a guilty verdict on the charge of manslaughter.
Prosecutors and law enforcement officials alleged that Anaya shot Gurule in the early morning hours after the two had been drinking at Gurule’s Santa Fe home. Anaya left the home after the shooting and called 911. Police found him lying on the sidewalk, bloodied and drunk, court documents said.
Anaya claimed he shot Gurule in self-defense. He alleged that Gurule had sexually assaulted him and that the two had been arguing.
Anaya’s request Wednesday also included a weapons aggravated charge, Deputy District Attorney Anthony Long noted.
If the case were to be tried a second time, Long told the court, prosecutors would prove that Anaya unlawfully killed Pete Gurule during an argument “without malice” and “in a fit of rage.” If Anaya violates the terms of his probation, he could face up to six years in prison, Long said.
Several family members of Gurule addressed the court on Wednesday, expressing their grief over the loss of Gurule, the father of two young boys, and their desire for a harsher sentence.
Long said the settlement came after “careful consideration” and discussions with Gurule’s family, who he said “did not want to go through another trial.”
Anaya spoke at the end of the hearing.
“I feel sorry for the events of that night and I apologize to the family,” Anaya said. “This is something I have to live with and they have to live with, and I’m sorry for that.”
This is a developing story. Check back later for more details.
