Mistrial declared in Pueblo murder case after discovery violation

A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the jury trial of Pueblo man charged with homicide.

James Tafoya, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Anthony Valdez in May 2022, as well as prohibited use of a weapon, vehicular eluding, and obstructing government operations.

Valdez was found dead of a gunshot wound in the late afternoon of May 23, 2022, in a residence in the 1500 block of North Lacrosse Avenue. In its opening statement last week, Tafoya's defense alleged the Pueblo Police Department did not properly investigate the case.

Tafoya's defense filed a motion claiming there was a discovery violation in the case. Discovery is the formal process of exchanging information between parties about the witnesses and evidence they'll present at trial, which is meant to prevent either side from being blindsided and unable to prepare counter-evidence or arguments about the evidence presented.

According to the defense's motion, Pueblo PD Detective Jose Medina failed to disclose phone records to the defense before trial, specifically records pertaining to the contents of Valdez's phone.

On May 30, 2023, during a previous hearing, Medina testified about a narrative report he authored regarding Tafoya's phone download, which the defense noted had not been turned over until a subpoena was issued to Pueblo PD in April for records in Tafoya's case.

"At no time at either motions hearing was Mr. Anthony Valdez's phone number discussed, nor was it referenced in discovery," wrote Tafoya's attorneys, Michael Stuzynski and Beau Worthington, in their motion for a mistrial.

On Sept. 1, the attorneys wrote, during cross-examination by defense counsel, Medina testified that he did have Valdez's phone number in his own file.

The court granted a recess for Medina to look through his files and disclose the phone number if he had it. Just after 2 p.m. that day, Deputy District Attorney George Poland, who represents the 10th Judicial District in the case, emailed defense counsel with a report authored by Medina in which he referenced interviews with Valdez's family members, three phone numbers for Valdez not previously disclosed, and actions Medina took upon learning those phone numbers, according to the motion.

Defense counsel had two major issues with the lack of disclosure. The first, they wrote, is that the defense does not know where this information, which they contended should have been made available to both the prosecution and defense much earlier, had been kept.

"And what other information has he kept separate from the general files, which are supposed to be disclosed to the prosecution and made available to the defense?" the defense asked in its motion. "At this time, given the pattern of discovery issues that have plagued this case, a reasonable inference exists that more information has yet to be provided to the defense."

Secondly, Tafoya's defense counsel contended that a "wealth of information" can be obtained from a person's cellphone, or even the number associated with it, including call logs, text message records, and even geo-location data.

The defense argued that all of that information could potentially be exculpatory to their client and that the defense was now at a "significant disadvantage," having only been provided the information the Friday afternoon before Labor Day.

Due to the timing of the disclosure, the defense wrote they were unable to retain the necessary experts to delve into the issue, and argued that the issuance of further subpoenas would be a "likely prerequisite to conducting the meat and potatoes of the investigation."

In the motion, defense counsel stated they wanted to issue further subpoenas and conduct additional hearings to determine how Medina was able to "secret this information away" from the general Pueblo PD file on Tafoya, as well as "explore forensic options having learned Mr. Valdez's phone number may bolster Mr. Tafoya's claims of innocence."

The defense wrote that this would also require the issuance of subpoenas to the cell phone carrier associated with the three phone numbers.

Specifically, the defense wrote, they would seek records of phone calls between Valdez and two named witnesses, which could bolster a claim by the defense that Valdez told those witnesses he intended to break in and rob Tafoya the night he was killed.

To that end, defense counsel requested a mistrial, stating that even a significant delay to the proceedings of the current trial would not provide adequate time to conduct the necessary investigation. Furthermore, parts of the trial that have already finished, including the defense's opening statement and jury selection questions, would need to be changed in light of the evidence uncovered.

"The attorneys for Mr. Tafoya can only do so much, it is simply impossible to prepare for trial while also investigating," the defense wrote. "Mr. Tafoya's defense has already been weakened by counsel diverting their time away from preparing witnesses and instead engaging in a wild goose chase, essentially doing law enforcement's job for them in locating the evidence."

Tenth Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner stated that his office believed that all discovery had been disclosed. "We found out that it had not at the same time as defense," Chostner said. "We would never knowingly withhold any evidence."

Tafoya's second trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 21.

More Pueblo crime news: Pueblo man to stand trial for second time in shooting death of 73-year-old neighbor

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo homicide trial ends in mistrial due to discovery violation