Detective’s suit raises questions in Chan case
Investigator says she was denied resources in probe of Las Cruces slaying
A Las Cruces police detective has filed a lawsuit alleging her bosses retaliated against her by hindering the detective’s investigation of the homicide of Santa Fe County sheriff ’s Deputy Jeremy Martin, calling into question the integrity of the murder case against Tai Chan, the former deputy charged in Martin’s death.
It’s unclear how the lawsuit will affect the retrial of Chan, now 29, who is charged with first-degree murder in a drunken shooting of Martin, 29, at a Las Cruces hotel in October 2014. The retrial is set to start May 8 in state District Court.
An attorney for Chan described the lawsuit as “pretty explosive.” The prosecutor declined to speculate on how it might affect the retrial.
The first trial of Chan ended in a mistrial June 7 after a jury could not come to a unanimous verdict. Chan, who has been fired from the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office, has claimed he shot Martin in self-defense. The deputies were in Las Cruces on a work-related trip and had been at a bar drinking before they headed back to their hotel room.
Las Cruces police Detective Irma Palos alleges in the lawsuit that her superiors retaliated against her for reporting sexual misconduct by others in the department.
“As part of the retaliation against her, she was denied resources to aid in that [Martin homicide] investigation, including the assistance of a forensic investigator,” the complaint says.
During Chan’s trial, a crime lab technician testified that officers had not sub-
mitted a blood-soaked sheet for DNA testing from a Hotel Encanto room where the two deputies were spending the night. It was the first time that prosecutors and Chan’s lawyers learned the sheet had not been analyzed by a technician.
The city has denied the allegation that Palos was not provided adequate resources.
The Palos lawsuit was filed in District Court in October, but Chan’s lawyers and the state District Attorney’s Office in Las Cruces said they only recently found out about it.
“What she says in her lawsuit is pretty explosive,” said John Day, one of Chan’s lawyers. “And it will directly affect the Tai Chan case.”
Day said he is preparing to meet Palos and question her about the lawsuit in order to prepare for the retrial.
State District Attorney Mark D’Antonio said he didn’t want to speculate on how the lawsuit could change the dynamics of the retrial.
“We’ve been preparing for trial and we’ll continue to do so,” D’Antonio said.
James Martin, Jeremy Martin’s brother, released a statement from the slain deputy’s family Wednesday, saying the news of Palos’ lawsuit “does not change the facts of the case.”
“Deputy Jeremy Martin was shot in the back by Chan as Jeremy ran with every shot hitting him in the back,” the statement says. “It is our opinion that this story released by the defense is merely an attempt to blind the truth and confuse the jury pool. … We are grateful for the work and service of the Las Cruces Police Department, from the first responders to the work of the detective team.”
It’s unclear why Las Cruces police didn’t notify D’Antonio about the lawsuit. A spokesman for the department declined to comment and referred questions to the city’s legal department. Mark D. Standridge, a lawyer for the city, didn’t return a message seeking comment.
“The LCPD has no obligation to tell me what goes on in their department, but when it’s case-related, they have an obligation to tell me,” D’Antonio said in a phone interview. “I was disappointed I was never notified about this.”
The lawsuit, which was first reported by the Las Cruces Sun-News this week, doesn’t name the Santa Fe County deputies. But it does say that in October 2014, when Martin was killed, Palos was assigned as “lead detective on a high profile murder investigation.” Day said Palos was assigned no other homicide case during that time.
The lawsuit says the retaliation began shortly after August 2013, when Palos informed her supervisors about allegations from a high school girl that Detective Michael Garcia, who was later convicted, had raped the student. The retaliation continued after Palos reported to a city attorney sexual misbehavior by other detectives against women in the department, the lawsuit says.
Contact Uriel Garcia at 505-986-3062 or ugarcia@sfnewmexican.com.