Attorney General's Office to review shooting by Chaves County deputies
Jun. 17—The state Attorney General's Office announced Friday it will review the case where two Chaves County sheriff's deputies shot and killed an unarmed man who had gotten into the driver's seat of a cruiser and was behaving erratically.
David Aguilera, who worked in the oil fields and had several children with his long-time girlfriend, was shot a couple blocks from his home outside Lake Arthur, south of Roswell, on March 27. The 34-year-old died at the scene.
On Wednesday, the 5th Judicial District Attorney asked for Attorney General Hector Balderas' office to review the cases since her office has a conflict.
The AG's office accepted it and a spokeswoman said the office will independently review the investigation and determine if criminal charges should be brought against deputies Benjamin Conklin and Joshua McKelvey.
District Attorney Dianna Luce said her office is working with the AG's Office to ensure that the case "receives the full attention it deserves."
"Nobody is above the law and we are confident that this will be fully evaluated at the Attorney General's office," Luce said.
The investigation into the shooting was conducted by the Roswell Police Department and New Mexico State Police.
Lapel camera video released to the Journal earlier this year showed deputy McKelvey yell commands at Aguilera and instruct deputy Conklin to move before he began shooting. Conklin also fired, striking Aguilera.
A policing expert who reviewed lapel camera footage of the incident told the Journal that it raised questions about why deadly force was necessary to stop Aguilera.
Jerri Mares, a spokeswoman for the AG, said since 2015 the office has prosecuted six law enforcement officers — including correctional officers — for homicide, assault and other criminal acts. Two of those officers were convicted and have been sentenced and four others are pending trial. The office is still in the process of reviewing the case of a woman who was shot by Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies in July 2019 and has provided assistance in eight other cases.
"The AG's office is the smallest prosecutorial office in the state, with only nine prosecutors conducting over 700 prosecutions annually, and the Legislature has not provided primary or concurrent jurisdiction and no specific funding for our office to prosecute such complex, costly, and expert-intensive cases," Mares said. "However, we have always sought to assist the local District Attorneys by offering numerous resources in the form of victim advocacy, funds for expert witnesses, and general prosecutorial assistance, including our own office caseload of officer misconduct cases."
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