Man accused of shooting cop gets new attorneys

Conflict of interest cited in move; trial date also postponed to September

Attorneys representing Andrew Romero, accused of killing Rio Rancho police officer Gregg Benner last May during a traffic stop, have withdrawn from the case over a conflict of interest and have been replaced, according to court documents.

District Court Judge George Eichwald in Sandoval County signed off on an order Feb. 3 noting public defenders Todd Farkas and Stephen Taylor “have a conflict of interest in their continuing representation of defendant.” It says that the two should be allowed to withdraw from the case and a new attorney assigned as quickly as possible.

Farkas in a court filing said “professional considerations require termination of their representation” of Romero, but on Tuesday did not identify the spe- cific conflict.

“We cannot discuss why we are no longer on Andrew’s case,” Farkas wrote in an email to the Journal.

Attorneys Thomas Clark and Cindy Leos are now representing Romero, according to court documents. Clark said in an interview that he periodically handles murder cases for the public defender’s office and said it’s not uncommon for him to take over in the middle of a case.

“Either somebody gets mad at their lawyer or a conflict develops and you have to switch lawyers,” he said, adding that this case is relatively new and the transition has been smooth.

Clark said he requested that the court reset Romero’s trial date because Clark had another trial scheduled to take place at the same time. Eichwald pushed the trial back from its original June date to Sept. 6.

District Attorney Lemuel Martinez said Tuesday he was uncertain what the conflict of interest was for the original attorneys, but he understood the need to reschedule.

“Things happen and we just adjust,” he said. Martinez added that he hopes the court will stick with the September trial date.

Clark said he has no doubt that the case will begin as scheduled.

Jury selection is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Sept. 6 at the Valencia County Judicial Complex in Los Lunas. Eichwald in January granted Romero’s request for a change of venue, citing “public excitement” surrounding the case.