'I can't read his name.' Man accused in Las Cruces shooting released as judge takes issue with absent detective
LAS CRUCES - A judge dismissed a motion Friday that would've held a man accused of shooting at a woman in jail.
Since the case's detective did not show up to the hearing and because the judge couldn't read the detective's name, the pretrial detention motion against Paul Anthony Leavy, 21, was dismissed and Leavy was set to be released from jail.
Leavy is one of two men charged with shooting at a woman near Foster Road on Feb. 22. Leavy and Dominic Gallegos, 22, were arrested on Tuesday and charged with shooting at or from a motor vehicle and resisting arrest.
According to an affidavit written by Las Cruces Police Detective Kenneth Davis, police responded to the 800 block of Foster Road in Las Cruces after residents reported hearing gunfire in the area. Davis stated in the affidavit that when police arrived they discovered a lone vehicle with Gallegos and Leavy inside.
Davis stated that when officers went to approach the vehicle, a black sedan, the car fled southbound on Esperanza Street toward Montana Avenue. The quick car chase ended when Leavy and Gallegos hit a dead end and surrendered, Davis wrote. Police believe that Leavy was the driver of the vehicle, according to Davis' affidavit.
Davis also said that police found a 9mm handgun and multiple shell casings in the vehicle and on the road.
But none of the information and allegations in the affidavit was presented in court on Friday. Shortly after Leavy's case was called up, 3rd Judicial Judge Douglas Driggers accepted Leavy's attorney's request to dismiss the motion.
"Since I can't read his name and since he's not present to testify, I find that there is no evidence presented," Driggers said after looking over the prosecutor's motion for pretrial detention.
It's not clear why Driggers could not read Davis' name. Inside the motion for pretrial detention submitted by prosecutors, Davis' name is printed underneath his signature in full. It is also printed on the criminal complaint.
Gannett
Embedded content: https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2022/02/25/PNM2/72fd5340-1df5-40a5-b57b-cdb74ee9766d-Davis_who.PNG
A screengrab from the affidavit contained within the statement of facts on Paul Leavy's case.
Detectives commonly, but not always, appear to testify for pretrial detention hearings. Typically, their testimony is identical to the affidavit while giving defense attorneys an opportunity for cross-examination.
Driggers ordered that Leavy be released from the Doña Ana County Detention Center. He was not given a bond. Gallegos, the other man accused in the shooting, remains in jail awaiting a pretrial detention hearing in front of a different judge next week.
Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.
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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Man accused in Las Cruces shooting released as judge takes issue with absent detective
