Chan’s lawyer asks court to drop case
Motion also seeks to dismiss prosecutor from murder trial over detective’s lawsuit
A lawyer for a former Santa Fe County deputy charged with murdering a fellow deputy is asking a state District Court judge in Las Cruces to dismiss the lead prosecutor in the case and to drop the case altogether.
The two motions, filed Wednesday by Tai Chan’s lawyer, John Day, came shortly after defense lawyers and prosecutors learned that a Las Cruces Police Department detective has filed lawsuit claiming her bosses hindered an investigation into the shooting of Santa Fe County Deputy Jeremy Martin, 29, at a Las Cruces hotel in October 2014.
“At this point, Mr. Chan is caught in the crossfire and faces a massive due process violation that cannot be remedied a month away from his retrial,” Day said in one of the motions.
Chan’s first trial in the case ended in a mistrial in June after a jury could not come to a unanimous verdict. His second trial is scheduled to start May 8.
Prosecutors accuse Chan of firing several shots into Martin’s back during a drunken rage over a work-related dispute. The two deputies, traveling together for a work assignment, had returned to the hotel after a night of drinking shortly before the shooting occurred. Chan, who has been fired from the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office, is charged with first-degree murder. He claims he shot Martin in self-defense. Day argues in the two motions filed Wednesday that District Attorney Mark D’Antonio has a conflict of interest in the case because of Detective Irma Palos’ lawsuit, filed in October, which claims she “was denied resources to aid in that investigation, including the assistance of a forensic investigator.”
Day also argues that because of the accusations of mis-
conduct against the Las Cruces Police Department, the case against Chan should be dropped.
Day cites a letter D’Antonio sent to Las Cruces police Chief Jaime Montoya in early April as proof that the prosecutor should be disqualified.
The letter accuses the police department of maintaining a culture of disrespect toward the District Attorney’s Office. “I will not allow internal strife at LCPD to undermine the DA’s office in putting the best case forward in a case involving a dead police officer,” D’Antonio said in the letter.
Day also argued in one of the motions that police withheld potential evidence found on Martin’s cellphone, including sexually explicit text messages and pictures of him wearing women’s underwear. Day said the text messages and pictures could have helped find witnesses that would have shown Martin in a different light. The District Attorney’s Office declined to comment Wednesday evening, saying the prosecutor had not yet thoroughly reviewed Day’s motions.
“Since there is ongoing litigation in this case and since the trial is still pending, it would be unethical for either Mr. D’Antonio or any attorney in this office to comment upon any matters yet unheard,” said Damien Willis, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office.
“We will always hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards in our exchanges with the court as well as with opposing counsel,” Willis added. “To do less would be a disservice to the family of Jeremy Martin, to the court and to the people of Dona Aña County.”