Sheriff denies corruption claims, calls them ‘unethical’
Lawyer ‘grandstanding’ in letter, Gonzales says
Sheriff Manuel Gonzales denied allegations of corruption against him and his undersheriff Friday, calling the attorney behind the claims “unethical” and saying a bar association should hold him accountable.
Gonzales responded to a letter from attorney Sam Bregman to state and federal law enforcement agencies, asking that they investigate and charge Bernalillo County deputy Joshua Mora in the death of Martin Jim, 25, who was shot while he was the passenger in a suspected stolen vehicle.
Bregman is representing Jim’s girlfriend in a civil case against the county.
In his letter, he accused Gonzales and Undersheriff Rudy Mora, who is Mora’s father, of corruption for allowing Mora to pass the police academy and become a deputy despite multiple signs of troubling behavior.
Bregman said several current deputies — including one who quit “in disgust” after the Mora shooting — are willing to work with investigators.
“He’s grandstanding, and I believe he’s unethical,” Gonzales said. “I believe that the fact he’s called a deputy a murderer is not transparent with his due process, so I think there’s violations in terms of where he is with the defense attorneys’ bar, and I hope they hold him accountable.”
Gonzales made his comments about Bregman’s letter, which was sent Wednesday, on Friday at a news conference describing an unrelated shooting by a sheriff’s deputy.
Gonzales suggested he was asked about the letter because it is “sweeps week,” a reference to the monthlong period in which Nielsen ratings are calculated for television stations. He also said it was a “politically charged” letter.
Gonzales is a Democrat, and Bregman is the former chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.
“They are accusations, and I’m sure we’ll be cleared,” Gonzales said. “I support my deputies 100 percent … and based on the responses I get from the public, they greatly appreciate their services.”
Bregman on Friday night doubled down on his letter.
“Deputy Mora murdered Martin Jim,” Bregman told the Journal. “The bottom line is (Gonzales’) deputy and his department need to answer for the craziness that is going on in the sheriff’s department. People are dying who don’t need to be dying at the hands of his deputies.”