Magistrate recuses himself from obelisk case
Gallery owner argued judge would not be impartial after incident from decades ago
A Santa Fe County magistrate on Wednesday recused himself from a case involving one of the people suspected of toppling the Plaza obelisk, citing a letter sent to the court that accused the judge of holding a grudge against him from an incident more than two decades ago.
Magistrate David Segura informed local gallery owner Stephen Fox, 72, that he was recusing himself from the case to dispel any questions about a fair trial following Fox’s claims that Segura followed him home while the judge was an officer with the Santa Fe Police Department.
In the letter filed Dec. 29,
Fox claimed Segura said he was not “supposed to be in that neighborhood,” as he walked home from work “22 or 23 years ago.” He added he believed Segura’s judgment would not be impartial.
Segura said he did not remember the interaction and recusals are prohibited under state Supreme Court pandemic guidelines. Segura added, however, he believed it was best that he remove himself from the case.
“If he believes that he cannot get a [fair hearing] from me, he is certainly entitled to move down the hall,” Segura said.
The case was reassigned to Magistrate John Rysanek.
Fox faces two fourth-degree felony charges of criminal damage to property over $1,000 and conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property over $1,000.
He also is charged with unlawful assembly, a petty misdemeanor.
Fox’s Dec. 29 letter was not his first to the court regarding his case.
Magistrate George Anaya Jr. admonished Fox for an email sent to the court Nov. 25 that sought to find an “amicable solution” to his case. That letter was sent to Mayor Alan Webber, Santa Fe police Chief Andrew Padilla and Anaya.
On Indigenous Peoples Day, Native American activists and their allies pulled down the 152-year-old monument following three days of protest on the Plaza. The monument, erected to honor Civil War Union soldiers, had long been decried as racist due to an inscription at the base that once read “savage Indians.” The word “savage” had been chiseled off by an anonymous person decades ago.
Segura also set preliminary hearings for three other people suspected of taking part in the obelisk’s destruction.
Ryan Witt, 29; Lily Sage Schweitzer, 33; and local tattoo artist Dawn Furlong, 46, will return to court Feb. 23 for preliminary hearings.
According to online court records, Melissa Rose, 44, and her daughter, Lauren Straily, 28, will return to court Jan. 20 for preliminary hearings.
All five face similar charges, including criminal damage to property over $1,000, conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property and unlawful assembly.