Six arraigned in fatal robbery case
All are charged with same eight counts, including first-degree murder
Six of seven suspects accused of participating in the armed robbery of an Edgewood gas station in February — when an attendant was shot to death as the thieves made off with $49.20 — were arraigned Thursday in the state District Court in Santa Fe.
The suspects, four women and two men from Albuquerque and one Edgewood man, are all charged with the same eight felony counts: first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, three counts of tampering with evidence and a count of conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence.
One defendant, Daniel Joseph Martinez, 30, also faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Most of the defendants — who range in age from 29 to 46 — face a maximum penalty of life in prison plus 32 years. Two of them also are subject to habitual-offender sentencing enhancements, which could increase their prison time by years if they are convicted.
Veronica Martinez, 30, could face an additional 28 to 56 years, according to Assistant District Attorney Kent Wahlquist, depending on whether all three of her prior felony convictions apply in the case; one might be too old.
Daniel Joseph Martinez could face another eight years because of one prior conviction.
The robbery, which resulted in the death of 62-year-old Michael Pelkey, a 12-year-employee of Smith’s, took place at the company’s Fuel Center in Edgewood on the afternoon of Feb. 11.
According to New Mexico State Police, two of the suspects, Veronica Martinez and Eileen G. Sandoval, watched the gas station attendant’s booth from a car in the parking lot. When they saw that the booth was unlocked, they called in their alleged accomplices.
Around 4 p.m., police say, the five others pulled up in a truck: Daniel Joseph Gonzales, 29; Morgan Stacey Ramirez, 30; Misty Nevarez, 29; Donald H. Gregory, 46; and Daniel Joseph Martinez. Gonzalez entered the booth wearing a red bandana around his face and wielding a Tec-9 semi-automatic handgun, according to police.
Police believe Gonzales grabbed cash from the register while Pelkey had his back turned, speaking with a customer.
But Pelkey, realizing the theft had occurred, followed Gonzales into the parking lot, police say, and Daniel Joseph Martinez fired the fatal shot at him from the truck before the group fled.
Gonzalez was not arraigned Thursday. He previously had waived his
arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.
The other six defendants pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Four of them were returned to the Santa Fe County jail. A judge ruled in previous hearings that they will be held there without bond while the charges against them are pending.
Navarez, the only defendant in the case who appeared out of custody Thursday, was released on a personal recognizance bond. She will remain on house arrest with an electronic monitor while her case is pending.
Ramirez also will be released on house arrest, with electronic monitoring, until her case is resolved.
Public Defender Brad Kerwin, who represents Gregory — the oldest defendant and the only one from Edgewood — argued that his client uses a wheelchair and should be released from jail because of his health condition.
“According to the evidence,” Kerwin said, “he’s not complicit in what is being alleged,” and “he’s obviously not a flight risk.”
But prosecutor Wahlquist opposed Kerwin’s request, saying no new evidence has been discovered since a Feb. 27 hearing, when Gregory was found to be a
danger to the community and a flight risk, so there was no basis for reconsidering his release.
Kerwin said he’ll raise the issue again in a written motion.
Morgan Wood, who heads the the Public Defender’s Office in Santa Fe, said Gregory is the only defendant in the case being represented
by an employee of her office.
The other suspects are receiving publicly funded defenses, Wood said, but they are being handled by contract attorneys to avoid any conflict of interest that could arise out of the office representing co-defendants in the case.
Contact Phaedra Haywood at 505-986-3068 or phaywood@sfnewmexican.com. Follow her on Twitter @phaedraann.