AG’s ex-employee pleads no contest to DWI
Baca will perform 24 hours of community service and be on probation for about a year
Former Attorney General’s Office spokesman and chief counsel Matt Baca pleaded no contest recently to driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs as part of an agreement with city prosecutors.
“He has taken responsibility in this matter and is working with his family and the community to move forward,” Baca’s attorney Kitren Fischer wrote in a message Tuesday.
The Dec. 1 plea deal — which resolves charges related to Baca being found sitting in his vehicle, which had crashed into a parked car on Garcia Street, in October — calls for Baca to be on supervised probation for 364 days and to perform 24 hours of community service within 60 days, according to court records.
Baca had been charged with aggravated DWI — as well as careless driving and failing to maintain his lane — because he refused to submit to a breath alcohol test, which automatically results in a charge of aggravated DWI. That charge was downgraded and the related charges dismissed under the terms of his plea agreement.
Since Baca took responsibility for the DWI, the city agreed to drop the aggravated DWI charge in exchange for the guarantee of a conviction, city of Santa Fe prosecutor Kyle Hibner said in an email sent by a city spokesman.
“Matthew Baca was treated similarly to other first time offenders that are charged with DWI in Santa Fe Municipal Court,” Hibner said.
Baca, who was placed on administrative leave following his arrest in October, has also apparently lost his job.
“Matt Baca is no longer employed with the Office of the Attorney General,” Attorney General’s Office Communications director Jerri Mares said in an email Thursday.