Judge declines request to move murder trial from Rio Arriba County

May 7—State District Judge Maria Sanchez-Gagne on Thursday denied a prosecutor's request to accelerate the trial date in a 2018 murder case, ruling the case will begin in August as planned.

Mark Hice, 24, is scheduled to stand trial Aug. 2 on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Cameron Martinez of Alcalde.

The District Attorney's Office filed a motion in February asking the trial be held sooner, possibly by holding it somewhere other than Tierra Amarilla, where the Rio Arriba County Courthouse is located.

But Sanchez-Gagne ruled Hice has a right to be tried in Rio Arriba County, where the shooting occurred, noting there are no available dates in the Tierra Amarilla courthouse prior to August.

Hice, of Ojo Caliente, is accused of organizing and arming a group of youths police say opened fire on a moving vehicle on N.M. 68 north of Española in October 2018. Martinez, a well-known graduate of Española Valley High School, died and three of his friends were injured in an attack authorities believe was a case of mistaken identity.

Hice's case had been set for trial in Tierra Amarilla in July 2020. But Sanchez-Gagne declared a mistrial during jury selection after Hice's defense attorney, Sheri Raphaelson, told the court she'd had contact with people who had tested positive for COVID-19 less than 14 days before.

In February, after Hice's trial had been reset for August, Chief Deputy District Attorney Blake Nichols filed a motion asking the court for "a more immediate trial setting," even if it meant holding it in a courtroom in Los Alamos or Santa Fe or a gymnasium in Española.

Nichols argued the alleged crime took place just two miles over the county line into Rio Arriba County, and selecting jurors from Rio Arriba County would satisfy Hice's right to a jury of his peers even if the trial was held in one of the neighboring counties.

He wrote in his motion that it appeared newer and less-pressing cases were being prioritized in the Tierra Amarilla courthouse and "the state wishes to avoid any potential speedy trial concerns, even of the defense's own making and even if the Defendant is running out the clock in silence."

But Sanchez-Gagne sided with Raphaelson, who argued Thursday that state statute requires trials be held in the county where the alleged crime occurred. The judge ruled that unless Hice was willing to waive that right, his trial would be held in Tierra Amarilla in August as planned.

Raphaelson said Thursday she wasn't sure why the state was still pushing the issue with the scheduled trial date just a few months away in a case that is nearly 3 years old.

"Even if the judge were to agree to set it sooner, I don't know that we could get [a different setting] in the next two months," she said. "I guess he's just very concerned about being blamed for the amount of time it's taking to get this case to trial."

After the hearing, Nichols said he preferred to try the case sooner because "we need to get some closure for these victims and their families, we need to get this case to trial, and that's what we've been trying to do all along."

There is no specific time period that triggers speedy-trial issues in New Mexico — only general time frames when a case should begin based on its complexity.

A case like Hice's — a first-degree murder charge, along with several other charges that will likely include numerous witnesses — would likely be categorized as complex, Nichols and Raphaelson said. They said guidelines indicate the case should be brought to trial in about two years.

The case turned 2 years old in October.

Given pandemic-related court delays, Raphaelson said it's likely that in a speedy-trial analysis, the court would determine it "reasonable" for the trial to be held in August.

Nichols insisted that Hice — who appeared by video from the jail in Tierra Amarilla — tell the court himself that he did not wish to have the trial in another county, even if it meant having it sooner.

Raphaelson objected to her client being compelled to speak, but Sanchez-Gagne said she wanted it on the record that Hice understood his options in case of any future appeals.

The judge offered Raphaelson five minutes to consult with Hice, but Raphaelson declined because she said Hice and is well briefed on his case.

When the judge asked Hice if he was aware of his options, the defendant answered he was and that he wanted his trial in Rio Arriba County.

"Me and my attorney have talked about this a lot," he said.