Española senator files not guilty plea in DWI case
State Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Española, has agreed to waive his arraignment next week in state District Court on charges of aggravated DWI and reckless driving, choosing to file a plea of not guilty rather than appearing in person for the hearing, court records show.
Martinez, 66, had been scheduled to appear in court Monday in Tierra Amarilla.
The waiver, filed Thursday in First District Court in Rio Arriba County, says Martinez also agreed to abide by his prior conditions of release pending the resolution of the case, which include not possessing or consuming alcohol and not entering establishments that sell alcohol.
The longtime senator was arrested the night of June 28 in Española after police said he rearended a Jeep in his Mercedes SUV at a north-side intersection.
Police said he refused to take a breath-alcohol test, failed field sobriety tests and admitted to officers he had been drinking before the crash.
The office of state Attorney General Hector Balderas agreed to prosecute the case after First Judicial District Attorney Marco Serna, citing a potential conflict of interest, recused himself.
Martinez previously had waived his appearances in Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court and, following his arrest, was a no-show at a hearing of the Legislative Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, which he co-chairs.
A retired Magistrate Court judge who was elected senator in 2000, Martinez also is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Democratic Party leaders have remained largely quiet about the senator’s arrest; although, on July 9, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called on him to “think about his position.”
“What message does this send to our community that is besieged by crime related to alcohol and drugs?” the governor asked, adding that Martinez should be “held to the highest possible standard.”
Neither Martinez nor his attorney, David Foster, responded to calls for comment on the case.