Sheriff appoints new Doa Ana County under-sheriff
Doña Ana County Sheriff Enrique “Kiki” Vigil appointed Liliana McDowell-Schnell as the new undersheriff.
McDowell-Schnell, a retired FBI agent, is currently the Otero County Undersheriff, where she was appointed by Otero County Sheriff Benny House in 2016.
“I am excited to have Liliana on board,” said Vigil. “Her leadership in civil rights and crisis prevention will greatly benefit our border county. Her remarkable career, experience and leadership with the FBI and her work with the DEA, ATF, and IRS will bring a wealth of knowledge to our office that will serve the residents of Doña Ana County well.”
McDowell-Schnell will assume her duties effective Monday, April 30, 2018, Vigil said. While working for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, McDowell-Schnell’s work focused extensively in civil rights and human trafficking investigations. She also worked as a crisis negotiator in the El Paso and Albuquerque divisions of the FBI for 18 years.
“Working in Doña Ana County is like coming home,” said McDowell-Schnell. “I worked with many DASO employees while I was with the Bureau. I have great respect and affection for them and the department.”
McDowell-Schnell was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at El Paso. She has more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement, serving in supervisory positions that focused on training and personnel development.
In February 2018, Vigil fired his undersheriff, Ken Roberts, in the wake of sexual harassment and misconduct allegations. Records obtained by ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom state several employees within the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office filed complaints against Roberts in recent years, alleging racial and sexual discrimination.
Vigil said an internal affairs investigation was conducted by an independent investigations firm and the findings he received “were substantiated in one of the complaints.” At the time, the sheriff told ABC-7, “I cannot condone this type of behavior under any circumstances, and will do all that I can to ensure that the sheriff’s office is free of sexual harassment or any other type of misconduct.”
