DA blasts system after suspect in alleged road-rage killing released until trial

Sep. 23—A state District Court judge has denied a request by the District Attorney's Office to order a Santa Fe man jailed without bond until his trial on a charge of first-degree murder and other counts in a Sept. 10 killing on Rufina Street that police have described as a road-rage attack.

First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said her office plans to appeal Judge T. Glenn Ellington's decision, which led to the release Tuesday of Eleazar Flores-Torres, 47.

Flores-Torres is accused of running over 32-year-old Joaquin Martin three times amid a dispute on a busy roadway in central Santa Fe. Both men had children in their vehicles at the time of the killing, court records show.

The judicial system is "crying out for reform," Carmack-Altwies said in a statement after the ruling.

"I'm not blaming our judges in Santa Fe, but our law is travesty if we cannot hold people charged with first-degree murder," she added. "The [New Mexico] Supreme Court must reform this process immediately or we will continue to see escalating crimes and violence in our communities."

The District Attorney's Office also cited the recent denial of its request for the pretrial detention of Richard Archuleta and Danny Romero, who are accused of shooting a man panhandling near the intersection of Zafarano Drive and Rodeo Road on Aug. 22. The two initially were charged with attempt to commit first-degree murder, but the charge was dropped to aggravated battery. They also face two counts each of shooting from a motor vehicle.

Both were released this month on electronic monitoring programs.

Under New Mexico law, prosecutors must provide evidence to a judge that a suspect accused of a violent crime poses a danger to the community or a flight risk if they are not held in jail without an option to post bond until their case is resolved.

Ellington ruled Tuesday the state had not presented sufficient evidence that Flores-Torres posed a risk.

He was arrested by Santa Fe police Sept. 11 on suspicion of running over Martin at least three times with his Jeep Cherokee, according to a statement of probable cause filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court. Martin was taken to a local hospital but died from his injuries.

The incident began when Flores-Torres was traveling west on Rufina Street the evening of Sept. 10 with his wife and 1-year-old child. He attempted a U-turn to avoid a line of traffic and cut off two drivers coming from the opposite direction, including Martin, the statement said.

Martin got out of his vehicle and began arguing with Flores-Torres. The argument escalated, according to the statement, and Flores-Torres ran over Martin several times before fleeing from the scene.

Flores-Torres faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery, abuse of a child, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to give information and render aid.

According to the state's motion seeking pretrial detention of Flores-Torres, Martin's 10-year-old son was in his car during the incident and witnessed his father's death.

Prosecutors have filed a motion seeking a competency evaluation for Flores-Torres, which his defense attorney supported. Flores-Torres and his wife said he suffered "brain injuries and has cognitive issues," according to the motion, filed Wednesday.

He was released on an electronic monitoring program under conditions that prohibit him from driving and consuming alcohol, court records show.

Public Defender Julie Ball said Ellington's decision allowing his release may seem "counterintuitive" but is supported by facts.

"All the research shows us that people facing a murder charge who are released very rarely get charged with anything again while on release," Ball wrote in an email Wednesday.

According to a new study by the University of New Mexico, 95 percent of felony defendants in Bernalillo County who were released from jail before their trials were not arrested for a violent crime between July 2017 and March 2020.

But prosecutors and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham took issue with the 5 percent of defendants in the study who were accused of new violent crimes.

Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki told the Associated Press last week it "can still be utterly devastating to a family or a community" when felony defendants are arrested for a violent crime on pretrial release.

Ball noted all defendants are presumed innocent under national and international law until proven otherwise.

"That's especially important because, as we have seen lately in several not-guilty murder trials, not everyone who is charged with murder is guilty," Ball said. "Holding innocent people in jail for sometimes years waiting for trial is the real travesty."