AG agrees to prosecute DWI case against Martinez
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has agreed to take over prosecution of a DWI case against state Sen. Richard Martinez following a request from First Judicial District Attorney Marco Serna, who had cited a potential conflict of interest.
Martinez, D-Española, is accused of rear-ending a Jeep in his Mercedes SUV at an intersection on the north side of Española the night of June 28. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated DWI and reckless driving.
Police said he refused to take a breath-alcohol test and failed field sobriety tests but admitted to officers he had been drinking before the crash.
Balderas agreed to the request from Serna — who was endorsed by Martinez in his 2016 race for district attorney — in a letter dated July 5.
“The Office of the Attorney General is dedicated to ensuring public safety by enforcing the rule of law and will prosecute this case in the interest of the people of New Mexico,” Matt Baca, a spokesman for Balderas, said Tuesday in an email.
Serna, who is now running for the 3rd Congressional District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján, said in a July 2 statement issued through his spokesman that he would ask another district attorney to prosecute the case “to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.” In a July 3 letter, Serna instead asked the attorney general to take over the case.
“I am firmly committed to our communal duty of fulfilling justice in the First Judicial District and believe that this matter should be pursued,” Serna said in the letter.
Three county magistrates in the region — two in Rio Arriba and one in Los Alamos — have recused themselves from hearing the case against Martinez, who served as a Rio Arriba County magistrate for several years before being elected to the state Senate District 5 seat in 2000.
His seat is up for election in 2020.
Neither Martinez, 66, nor his attorney have so far responded to calls for comment on the case, which is scheduled to go to trial in October.
The senator, who has not appeared in court in the case and did not attend a meeting this week of the Legislative Court, Corrections and Justice Committee that he co-chairs, is facing increased political scrutiny after the crash, which sent Martinez and the two people in the Jeep to Presbyterian Española Hospital for treatment of injuries that police said were not severe.
Former U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, who chairs the Republican Party of New Mexico, has called for Martinez to resign.
Members of his own party have been quieter about the incident.
Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has made the boldest statement so far about the senator’s arrest, saying Tuesday he should “think about his position.”
“What message does this send to our community that is besieged by crime related to alcohol and drugs?” she asked, adding that Martinez should be held to the highest possible standard.
The incident led to an internal investigation by New Mexico State Police after video from an Española officer’s body camera showed an officer with the agency, who had stopped to help at the crash scene, ask whether Martinez’s specialty license plate, which bears the number SEN 5, should be covered from public view.
It’s unclear whether state police Officer Lance Pepper has been disciplined for his actions.