Aztec Man Shoots Police Drones in 15-Hour Armed Standoff, Taken Into Custody

Jeffrey Schoeller, 61, of Aztec was Tased and taken into custody on County Road 2842 after a nearly 15-hour armed standoff during which he shot a police drone and opened fire on a law enforcement robot, according to a criminal affidavit and pretrial detention motion filed by the San Juan County District Attorney's Office.

The San Juan County Sheriff's Office received the initial shots-fired call at 7:04 a.m. on March 6, after a neighbor reported gunfire directed at their home. Deputies arrived at 8:07 a.m., but Schoeller refused to leave. SWAT teams from the Farmington Police Department and New Mexico State Police responded, and nearby residents were evacuated.

Around midday, Schoeller shot one of two police drones deployed to assess the property, causing approximately $300 in damage. Negotiations continued through the afternoon and into the night. At 9 p.m., state police sent in a camera-equipped robot to confirm whether Schoeller remained armed inside; he fired multiple shots at it.

Schoeller finally exited the home at 11:45 p.m., refused commands, and was Tased by New Mexico State Police before being taken into custody. No officers or civilians were reported injured.

Investigators found 20 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition inside the residence. The pretrial detention motion noted that Schoeller was committed to the state hospital in 2022 after being found incompetent to stand trial on a prior matter, a status that bars him from possessing firearms under federal law.

He faces a fourth-degree felony count of shooting at a dwelling, a misdemeanor count of resisting an officer, two petty misdemeanor counts of negligent use of a firearm, and a petty misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property. Schoeller is being held at the San Juan County Detention Center pending a pretrial detention hearing that had not yet been scheduled.