Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, New Mexico
End of Watch: Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Age: 38
Tour of Duty: 13 years, 6 months
Badge Number: 251
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: March 22, 2006
Weapon Used: Handgun; 10 mm
Suspect Info: Sentenced to 43.5 years
Deputy Sheriff James McGrane was shot and killed while making a traffic stop on Highway 337 at 12:46 am.
Unknown to Deputy McGrane, the driver of the vehicle was connected to a 2005 murder. As he approached the vehicle, Deputy McGrane was shot twice and died at the scene from his wounds.
Within minutes of Deputy McGrane calling in the stop witnesses in the area called 911 to report hearing two gunshots and seeing a white pickup flee the scene.
The suspect was a parolee who had previously served at least six years in jail on unrelated charges. The suspect was apprehended in Juarez, Mexico, on April 3rd, 2006. On June 4th, 2010 the suspect was found guilty of the killing of Deputy McGrane, tampering with evidence, and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to 43-1/2 years. On August 4th, 2012, he was convicted of the 2005 murder and sentenced to 28 years to be served after the expiration of his first sentence.
Deputy McGrane had served with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department for three years. He had previously served with the New Mexico State Police and United States Postal Inspection Service for a total of 10-1/2 years. He is survived by his wife, parents, and sister.