Prosecutor: Suspect in officer’s murder was a robber
‘Uncharged bad acts’ prompt filing
Less than eight hours before Rio Rancho police officer Gregg “Nigel” Benner was shot and killed, the man charged in his death was robbing a Taco Bell in southeast Albuquerque, according to prosecutors.
And just seven hours after Benner was shot, Andrew Romero was at it again, they said, this time robbing a Shell gas station on Rio Grande near Old Town.
A recently filed notice of intent asks state District Judge George Eichwald to allow prosecutors to present evidence of “uncharged bad acts” at Romero’s murder trial, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 6. Those alleged acts include two robberies, an attempt to evade police after the shooting, threats to kill police officers and a probation violation.
The notice, signed by prosecutor Barbara Romo, alleges that surveillance video footage shows Romero robbing a Taco Bell on Gibson SE at 1 p.m. May 25, 2015. His accomplice waited outside in the same Dodge Durango that Benner stopped around 8 p.m. the same day. At 2:39 a.m. May 26, 2015, Romero robbed the Shell Giant gas station on Rio Grande, according to the document.
Romo reported that Romero committed a series of armed robberies in the Albuquerque area over a two-month span “using the same modus operandi” and sometimes the same Dodge Durango.
Romo argues that jurors should see evidence and hear testimony regarding the alleged robberies in order to establish his motive and intent.
“Otherwise, the jury might be persuaded to believe that the defendant was in Rio Rancho for some innocent, noncriminal purpose,” Romo wrote in the notice. Prosecutors hold that Romero was in Rio Rancho at that time “to seek out locations to commit armed robberies.”
Romero was on probation at the time and should not have been in Sandoval County, Romo writes in the notice.
Additionally, prosecutors want to present evidence that Romero eluded police by driving erratically through the metro area before abandoning the Durango and asking his cousin for a ride.
They also want jurors to hear testimony from corrections officers who reportedly heard Romero say that, if he were ever released from custody, he would “kill as many APD pigs as he could.” Romo argued that the statement shows a “lack of accident or mistake in the killing of officer Benner.”
Romero’s attorney, Tom Clark, said he would file a motion to exclude prior bad acts.
“The theory, of course, is if bad things about a defendant are allowed into evidence, a jury is more inclined to convict them in a present case based on their bad history,” Clark said.
Lemuel Martinez, district attorney for the 13th Judicial District, said that Eichwald will likely hold a hearing at which prosecutors and defense attorneys will explain why the evidence should or should not be allowed.
“Both sides will present their sides,” he said. “Why they want it in and why they don’t want it in.”
Eichwald will determine what’s admissible and what’s not. Martinez said the goal is to get decisions on what is or is not permitted beforehand to save time at the trial.