Ronchetti continues to hammer Lujan Grisham over release of prison inmate

Oct. 31—Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti unleashed another attack ad Monday against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham that continues to highlight the case of a man who killed his ex-girlfriend four days after he got out prison.

The ad features Eddy County Sheriff Mark Cage, who opens the hard-hitting campaign commercial by accusing Lujan Grisham of lying about a murder.

"I know the truth 'cause we slapped the cuffs on that coward right over there," Cage says while standing in front of the spot where his agency arrested Christopher Beltran for the killing of Dominique "Monique" Gonzales.

"The governor released Beltran from prison early twice, then four days later, he killed Monique," Cage says in the ad. "That's the truth."

The truth, however, has been clouded by conflicting statements, although a public records request has shed new light on the case.

At issue is whether Beltran should have received nearly five months of good time, as the New Mexico Corrections Department contends.

Under state law, "a prisoner confined following revocation of parole ... for absconding from parole" is eligible for "up to a maximum of four days per month of time served during the parole term following revocation."

Beltran, who has since pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, was arrested for absconding from parole in October 2020. The Adult Parole Board revoked Beltran's parole in Jan. 6, 2021, and he was released from prison June 22, 2021.

The Corrections Department maintains its good time calculation of four months and 29 days is correct, while the Republican district attorney whose office prosecuted Beltran says he wasn't eligible for so-called earned meritorious deductions at 30 days per month pursuant to state statute.

Carmelina Hart, a Corrections Department spokeswoman, said state law requires the department to create rules to implement state statute. As it relates to determining good time for a parole violator, she quoted department policy, which states: "Absconding from parole is determined by the Adult Parole Board finding that the inmate shall not receive parole credit for some or any period of time that inmate was on parole based upon the violation of parole conditions."

"... In this case the Adult Parole Board — an independent agency — did not find that the inmate should not receive parole credit for some or any period of time that inmate was on parole based upon the violation of parole conditions. Based on this, the Corrections Department calculated the time served in this case in accordance with [policy] that has stood for 23 years starting under [former] Gov. [Gary] Johnson," she wrote.

But Dianna Luce, district attorney for the 5th Judicial District in southeastern New Mexico, said the Corrections Department cannot overside state law.

"I stand by my statement that Mr. Beltran was an absconder and should not have received good time credit," she wrote Monday in an email.

Documents obtained by The New Mexican under a public records request show an "absconder notification form" for Beltran was filed Oct. 7, 2020 — a day after he was ordered to report to the Adult Probation/Parole Office or an arrest warrant would be issued.

Beltran had been released from custody 12 days early in September 2020 under an executive order Lujan Grisham signed in April of that year. The order was part of an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19 among inmates inside the state's correctional facilities during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

A "public risk assessment instrument" dated Oct. 29, 2020, put Beltran, who had been arrested as a juvenile and had two or more prior revocations in the previous five years, at the highest risk level.

Hart said the form is used to help determine the frequency of contact with an offender while they're on supervision.

"It is very common for people released from prison on parole to be placed on the highest level of supervision during their first year," she wrote.

According to court documents, Beltran was supposed to be paroled to the New Mexico Men's Recovery Program after he completed his sentence. But he was released into the community when he got out 12 days early under the governor's executive order.

Beltran violated the conditions of his parole almost immediately.

He had been placed on a "remote breath monitoring device" for compliance with alcohol use.

"Beltran only managed to complete two tests before stopping use of the parole board ordered Remote Breath device," documents state.

Beltran's parole officer tried to contact him by phone multiple times without success. When he reached Beltran's mother by phone, she told him she didn't know his whereabouts. Beltran continued to miss his scheduled remote breath tests, documents state.

"I also got two phone calls from people in the community who stated that [Beltran] had stolen their Ruger 9mm pistols," his parole officer wrote in the report, adding he was unable to locate Beltran at the home he had listed as his place of residence.

Efforts to reach Beltran's parole officer, Jesse Lack, were unsuccessful.

Hart said Lack immediately searched the home where Beltran was staying when he received reports of allegedly stolen firearms.

"No firearms were found," Hart wrote. "The parole officer also alerted local law enforcement of the reports of theft."

Beltran was apprehended on a parole violation Oct. 26, 2020 — 20 days after he failed to report to his parole officer — and sent back to prison for a 2 1/2 -year sentence.

The Corrections Department said Beltran served the entirety of his sentence, not early and not under the governor's COVID-19 executive order, after he was arrested for violating the conditions of his parole.

He was released June 22, 2021, or about eight months after he was sent back to prison.

Four days later, he was arrested in connection with the slaying of Gonzales, who he had threatened over the phone while still in prison.

In a statement, Ronchetti insisted Beltran was released early not just under the governor's executive order in 2020 but after he absconded from parole.

"The latest documents uncovered by The New Mexican remove all doubt that Governor Lujan Grisham and her administration arrogantly broke state law to release a criminal from prison early, even though they were informed he was stealing guns and presented a clear danger to society," he said. "No matter how badly this governor and her parole board want to empty our prisons and release criminals early, they don't get to ignore state law in order to do it."

In response to the latest attack ad involving Beltran, who has also been featured in Ronchetti's mailers, Delaney Corcoran, spokeswoman for Lujan Grisham's reelection campaign, called Ronchetti a "Trump-endorsed" gubernatorial candidate New Mexicans cannot trust.

"His latest ad is no exception," she wrote.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.