Suspect in officer shooting pleads not guilty

LAS CRUCES — The man accused of fatally shooting Hatch police officer Jose Chavez pleaded not guilty to federal firearms and carjacking charges Wednesday.

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque returned an indictment charging Jesse Hanes, 38, with multiple counts connected with the Aug. 12 incident that left Chavez dead, including two charges not previously contained in the criminal complaint.

Hanes pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces to attempted carjacking; brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence; carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury; discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Hanes, who was discharged from an El Paso hospital last week after apparently shooting himself in the groin during the Aug. 12 incident, arrived to the courtroom in a wheelchair.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Carmen Garza determined Hanes to be a “flight risk and a danger to the community” and ordered him to remain in detention.

Garza said U.S. District Judge Robert Brack will set Hanes’ trial.

Hanes, a fugitive in an Ohio murder case, was driving a 1991 Silver Lexus sedan when Chavez stopped the vehicle in Hatch on a Friday afternoon. In the car, Hanes was joined by another fugitive suspected in the Ohio murder, James Nelson, and a hitchhiker named Tony Jones.

Hanes shot Chavez through the passenger-side window, according to state court documents.

State prosecutors have charged him with murder and drug trafficking charges, and Hanes has not yet entered a plea in that case. A preliminary hearing is scheduled in state Magistrate Court on Sept. 2.