'Boss' woman sentenced in drug cartel-linked dismemberment killing of El Paso man

An El Paso woman was sentenced to 55 years in prison in the drug cartel-linked killing of a man whose dismembered body was found on Fort Bliss land six years ago. 

Erlinda Lujan was sentenced by a jury Friday in 243rd District Court after she was convicted of charges of organized crime and tampering with evidence involving a corpse in the death of 33-year-old Anthony "Lazy" Trejo in 2016.

"We hope the sentence assessed by the jury will bring a sense of peace to the Trejo Family and allow them to begin the healing process," El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales said in a statement.

Lujan was reputed to work for La Linea crime organization, also known as the Juárez drug cartel.

Lujan was among a group of seven men and another woman arrested and accused of taking part in Trejo's death and its attempted cover-up.

According to a police criminal complaint, Trejo was on a cartel "blacklist" to be killed along with other drug users seen as a liability.

On Sept. 12, 2016, Trejo was hit on the head with a metal dumbbell and brutally beaten and stomped by a group of men at a home in the 8900 block of Ortega Court in the Ysleta area of the Lower Valley, according to the complaint document.

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"I'm the (expletive) boss," Lujan allegedly yelled at Trejo before he was placed in the trunk of a vehicle and taken away, witnesses told investigators, according to the complaint.

After being bludgeoned near the point of death, the critically injured Trejo was taken to an Alameda Avenue apartment and placed in a bathtub, the complaint states.

Before Trejo's remains were found, witnesses had previously told police that they believed his body had been dumped in Mexico.

On Oct. 3, 2016, a driver, who was part of a three-vehicle caravan that took Trejo's body into the desert, led detectives to Trejo's dismembered remains, which had been left in several trash bags in the desert at the edge of Northeast El Paso, documents state.

Trejo was found in a shallow grave on Fort Bliss land about 2 miles east of the 11700 block of Railroad Drive, police officials said.

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Lujan's trial was delayed for years due in part to the court closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and legal issues over the reading of her Miranda rights and whether her interview by police was admissible as evidence.

While incarcerated awaiting trial, Lujan was accused of beating two female inmates in arguments over "housing issues" at the El Paso County Jail Downtown. The assault cases were later dismissed.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

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