Trial begins for man charged in marijuana robbery
Accused allegedly burst into New Mexico Top Organics, held owners at gunpoint and stole about $30,000 in marijuana
Peter Ferrera laid his cheek on the witness stand and pointed his fingers, arranged in the shape of a gun, at the base of his skull, showing jurors how he was held at gunpoint during an armed robbery in 2013 at his medical marijuana production facility in Santa Fe.
Ferrera was the first witness to testify Tuesday in a state District Court jury trial for Reyes Barela, a Rio Rancho man accused of 12 felony counts, including robbery, aggravated burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, false imprisonment, vehicle theft and tampering with evidence.
Authorities say Barela, 32, is one of three gunmen who burst into New Mexico Top Organics, held the two owners at gunpoint and stole about $30,000 worth of marijuana before fleeing in one victim’s SUV. But he is the only person to stand trial in the case.
This week’s trial is Barela’s second on the charges.
First Judicial District Judge T. Glenn Ellington declared a mistrial midway through the first trial in October because a Santa Fe police detective had given information on the witness stand about Barela’s criminal history after the judge ruled that any wrongdoing in the Rio Rancho man’s past could not be introduced in court.
Judges routinely prohibit the introduction of a defendant’s criminal history to ensure jurors reach verdicts based on the evidence in the case and not on the defendant’s past.
Barela has been charged in several robbery and burglary cases in recent years, including another case pending in the First District Court, in which he’s charged with four counts of armed robbery and four counts of conspiracy.
He also was charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery in a 2015 case that originated in Rio Rancho. That case was dismissed in May.
In July, a Santa Fe jury acquitted Barela in a separate 2015 case, in which he faced charges of aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary and larceny.
Ferrera and his former business partner, Mark Baker, both testified Tuesday that three men had entered their production facility south of Santa Fe through an open back door, threatened them with guns, tied them to chairs, stole about 3 pounds of marijuana and left in Baker’s 2003 Honda CRV.
The men’s voices broke as they recalled the ordeal — which Ferrera said lasted about 15 or 20 minutes but felt like an eternity. They said they feared that day would be their last.
Ferrera and Baker said they got out of the medical cannabis business after the holdup.
“We both have family, and we just didn’t think it was worth continuing,” Fererra said.
State prosecutors told jurors Tuesday that Barela had confessed to the crime. But Mary Carmack-Altwies, one of Barela’s two defense attorneys, disputed that in her opening statement Tuesday morning.
The state has no physical evidence tying Barela to the scene, she said, and has based its entire case on a coerced statement provided by an exhausted Barela after more than an hour of questioning.
“He was manipulated into saying he was there, and we know that because the evidence will show he was not there,” Carmack-Altwies said.
According to court records, Jose Nava, whose name was mentioned in connection with the case, faced charges almost identical to Barela’s until Sept. 21, when the district attorney dismissed them. Nava’s attorney, Stephen Aarons, has said the charges against Nava were dropped after an informant who told police Nava was at the scene recanted that story.
Nava had “a pretty ironclad alibi” that he was at work when the robbery happened, Aarons said.
A third man who police said they believe is connected to the case — and who identified the other suspects in 2015 — does not appear to have been charged in the robbery.
Barela’s trial, expected to last three days, is scheduled to continue Wednesday.