Daniel Bustamante

Valencia County Sheriff's Office — Los Lunas, NM

Felonious

End of Watch May 25, 1898

Age 33

The Vigil Panel 14 ›

Gender Male

Incident Service The Sacrifice Department 6

Incident

Deputy Sheriff Daniel Bustamante and Deputy Sheriff Frank Vigil were shot and killed about 20 miles west of Santa Rita while attempting to arrest a group of men who had robbed a Santa Fe Railroad train in Belen.

The two deputies, along with two Native American trackers, trailed the men and located their campground. As they attempted to arrest them the men opened fire with Winchester rifles, killing both deputies and one of the trackers, whose name is not known. The remaining tracker retrieved their horses and returned to Magdalena where he sent a telegram to the sheriff.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier: BO-US-NM-E54BF15D
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Added to badge.nw: April 2, 2026
Last updated: July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

128 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Deputy Sheriff Bustamante served with the Valencia County Sheriff's Office.
Thank you for your service to the Los Lunas community. Gone but never to be forgotten.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Department Valencia County Sheriff's Office

Location Los Lunas, NM

Platform Identity vcso.valencia.nm.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch May 25, 1898

Age 33

Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Felonious

Cause Detail Gunfire

Weapon Rifle; Winchester

Deputy Sheriff Daniel Bustamante is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In NM, 123 of 193 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 63.7% of this state's fallen. That is 9.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.

At Valencia County Sheriff's Office, 5 of 7 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 71.4% of this agency's fallen.

Valencia County Sheriff's Office

of 7 officers

71.4% Felonious

NM — Statewide

123

of 193 officers

63.7% Felonious

Nationwide

17,623

of 32,508 officers

54.2% Felonious