Trial of Ribera teen accused of shooting classmate moved to Guadalupe County
Oct. 12—A state district judge in San Miguel County agreed Wednesday to move a Ribera teen's January murder trial to Guadalupe County after his defense attorneys argued it would be difficult to find local jurors who are unaware of the case.
Joaquin Sanchez, 17, is accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old Joshua Vigil, a West Las Vegas High School classmate and a fellow member of the football team, during a New Year's Eve party.
Defense attorney Alan Maestas noted in a virtual court hearing Wednesday the case has drawn publicity. He cited the Justice for Joshua Facebook page and a billboard on Interstate 25 calling for justice as reasons to change the venue.
"My concern is that we end up spending an awful lot of time trying to get a jury and can't find enough people that are unaware of the incident that we can get a fair jury," he said.
State prosecutor Sherri Trevino said a change in venue might not be effective, as social media posts and other communications about the shooting can cross county lines.
"We're talking about an incident that occurred at, basically, a house party on New Year's Eve with teenagers," Trevino said. "The ones who spread the majority of social media are teenagers."
Still, Judge Michael Aragon granted Maestas' motion for a change of venue and ordered supplemental questionnaires for potential jurors.
Trevino at one point during the hearing accused Sanchez's attorneys of engaging in ex parte communication, or communicating directly with the judge about the case without the other parties' knowledge.
Defense attorney Day Thornton said he had requested a hearing to address disagreements with the state on Sanchez's conditions of release. Each side drafted an order amending the conditions, but Thornton said he disagreed with some of the wording in the prosecutors' version and found their order to be redundant and possibly confusing.
While Trevino was aware of the disagreement, she said Wednesday she had not been notified of Thornton's request for a presentment hearing.
Thornton told Aragon he didn't send it to her.
"I told her if she didn't change the language, I didn't approve of it," he said. "She submitted it, I drafted the request for presentment [in response]."
Trevino called his action "inappropriate."
"Any sort of communication should have been sent to the state, as well as to the court," she said.
Aragon said he took "a little offense" to Trevino's accusation, which also implicates the court.
After checking online court documents, however, the judge determined there had been no ex parte communication because Thornton's request was available online to view early this month.
"I'm going to just remind everyone of our ethical responsibilities," Aragon said. "This is a contact sport, but that does not override our responsibilities and negate our responsibilities as professionals. ... Moving forward, well, I hate to use this term, but play nice in the sandbox. Otherwise there will be consequences."
