81-year-old man who had murder charge dismissed subject of negligence complaint

Suit stems from 2018, when a man was found dead with three bullet wounds

A murder charge filed against Ben Noverto Martinez in 2018 was dismissed a year ago and hasn’t been refiled.

But the 81-year-old Santa Fe man now faces a negligence complaint filed by the daughter of the man he was accused of shooting, saying he shouldn’t have had an unsecured firearm in his home.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office filed murder charges against Martinez in 2018 after his daughter’s boyfriend, 57-year-old Tomas Trujillo, was found fatally shot on the floor of Martinez’s home just outside Santa Fe city limits on the morning of July 1, 2018.

Martinez, Trujillo and Martinez’s daughter, Felicia Valencia, had been hanging out at Martinez’s home the night before, according to a criminal complaint.

Valencia told police she had gone home after the men started drinking, thinking Trujillo would follow her later, but he never did.

The next morning, family and friends found Trujillo’s body with three bullet wounds and a .22-caliber revolver belonging to Martinez on the floor next to him in Martinez’s home.

According to an affidavit, when police asked Martinez what happened to the younger man, he said, “To be

honest, I don’t know.”

Martinez was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and tampering in the case.

But Santa Fe County Magistrate George Anaya Jr. dismissed the charges a few months later, saying the state had failed to prosecute the charges stemming from the incident.

However, the dismissal was “without prejudice,” meaning the charges could be refiled.

District Attorney Marco Serna said at the time that he hadn’t expected the evidence would be available “within the 60-day rule set for preliminary hearings” and anticipated that in the interim, the Magistrate Court would dismiss the case.

“As soon as my office gets all of the evidence for this case, we will evaluate and charge appropriately,” Serna said at the time.

A spokesman for Serna’s office issued a similar statement Friday, saying in an email: “The case is still pending investigation, but we anticipate presenting charges in the near future.”

Authorities reported at the time that Martinez’s daughter said her father had posttraumatic stress disorder and wasn’t used to having guests and that she speculated the shooting had been accidental.

Trujillo’s daughter, Maria Trujillo Ruiz, says in a civil complaint filed Wednesday in state District Court that given Martinez’s condition, he shouldn’t have invited guests over to drink with him when he had an unsecured firearm in his home.

According to the complaint, Martinez, Valencia and other family members “knew or should have known of the unguarded or unsecured firearms … and knew or should have known” that they had a duty to warn others about Martinez’s “potentially dangerous behavior.”

Ruiz seeks an unspecified amount of damages plus legal costs.