Democrats rally against gun violence in Albuquerque

Oct. 21—ALBUQUERQUE — A former state district attorney added her voice Thursday to the furor in the governor's race over a man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend four days after being released from prison.

At a Democratic Party news conference, Diana Martwick, who served as 12th Judicial District Attorney from 2008 to early 2015, said Republican efforts to paint Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as soft on crime over the Christopher Beltran case exclude "key elements" to the story, and that the fault for his early release lies with the actions of 5th Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce's office.

Martwick, a self-described "lifelong Republican," said Luce's Roswell-area office could have charged Beltran with more serious felonies based on his previous criminal history, which includes charges of auto theft and a conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

When Beltran was charged with being in possession of a firearm outside the home of his girlfriend, Domonique Gonzales, in April 2019 "it should not have been difficult to prove he was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm," Martwick said, reading from a letter she said she sent to Luce that asked for more details in the case.

Instead, Martwick said, Luce's office dismissed that charge.

In an email Thursday, Luce fired back — asserting the claims by both Martwick and the state Democratic Party are "completely false. Holding a press conference to claim my office is soft on gun laws instead of taking responsibility for releasing an inmate from prison early twice is a shame."

Luce said Beltran violated probation on a gun charge.

"Beltran was serving time for having a gun in his possession while on probation, and the governor released him early under her COVID emergency order," Luce wrote.

Gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti, a Republican, has pointed to Beltran's story as an example of what he calls Lujan Grisham's weakness on crime.

Beltran got out of prison 12 days early in September 2020 under an executive order the governor issued in April of that year as officials tried to stop or slow the spread of COVID-19 inside the state's correctional facilities. Beltran was arrested the following month for violating the conditions of his parole and sent back to prison for a 2 1/2-year sentence.

He served about nine months of that stint. Four days after his release in June 2021, Beltran shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in Roswell. He has since pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and faces up to 12 years in prison.

Questions remain about why Beltran was released early the second time. Luce has said the governor's administration miscalculated when it came to awarding Beltran good time for his sentence. The Department of Corrections contends he was released after completing the entirety of his sentence, which included a reduction of nearly five months for good time.

Martwick, whose district included southern and central portions of New Mexico, left the news conference, held outside the Bernalillo County Courthouse, shortly after reading the letter. Delaney Corcoran, spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham's campaign, wrote in an email after the event that Martwick was not "open to questions at this time."

Some members of a New Mexico branch of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots organization formed to address gun violence, also spoke at the event in support of Lujan Grisham, saying the governor has signed several bills into law to reduce gun violence.

New Mexico Moms Demand Action spokeswoman Arielle Giddens said Ronchetti was "soft on crime" because, among other reasons, he has not called for a ban on the sale of automatic weapons.

In her email, Luce fired back.

"Chris Beltran was released early twice for the same reason — this governor is committed to emptying our prisons," she wrote.

A former state district attorney said during a Democratic Party news conference on Thursday.