Lawyer: Auditors fail to find missing evidence

Auditors who examined the Santa Fe Police Department’s evidence in a pending murder case did not turn up the victim’s fingernail clippings, a hair taken from her body or other evidence identified as missing in the case, a defense attorney who requested the inspection said Thursday.

Jennifer Burrill represents Christopher Garcia, 28, who is accused of stabbing his then-girlfriend, 21-year-old Selena Valencia, more than a dozen times in an apartment they shared at Vista Alegre Apartments in southwest Santa Fe on June 22, 2017.

After the examination of the evidence in the case was completed Thursday, Burrill who was present for some of it, said in an interview said that while fingernail clippings and hair were collected into evidence, there is no documentation of what became of the items.

“They were not found and it’s very concerning because clearly that evidence if tested would show if she dug her fingernails into her attacker,” Burrillsaid.

Burrill said the auditor’s report, which was not yet completed Thursday, should also have information on whether the department followed it’s own policies and procedures in handling evidence in the case.

State District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ordered an independent audit at Burrill’s request after the police department acknowledged it couldn’t find some evidence in the case. Burrill has filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the charges against Garcia on the basis of the missing evidence. A hearing on that motion is scheduled to take place next month.

While Sommer’s Aug. 9 order for an audit was limited to evidence in the Garcia case, Burrill said she thinks the city should audit its entire evidence room and related polices to maintain the public’s confidence.

Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said he couldn’t comment on the results of Thursday’s audit because he hadn’t been fully briefed on it and was not present.

But he said an independent audit of the department’s evidence room and polices was “something we already had planned” before evidence was discovered missing in the Garcia case.

Valdez said the city is still in the process of procuring a firm to conduct the audit but intends to complete the audit

in “the next couple of months” and “will be happy to share the results with the public.”

Valdez said the department began discussing an audit of the evidence room and a revamping of its policies after an August 2018 evaluation identified areas where the department could improve, and has already budgeted money for such an audit and scheduled related training for staff.

“We want to make sure we maintain the integrity and the confidence in the evidence room,” he said. “We have to make sure the public knows it’s something we take seriously.”

District Attorney Marco Serna has not responded to repeated requests over several days for comment on the evidence room issue.

Deputy Chief Robert Vasquez, who over saw the department’s evidence room, announced last week that he is retiring at the end of the month after 21 years, but said his retirement had nothing to do with the evidence room.

Valdez confirmed Detective John Boerth, the lead detective on the Garcia case, has also retired, effective Thursday.

Valdez said Boerth’s departure had been planned for some time and was unrelated to the missing evidence in the Garcia case.