Questa man’s trial in youth firearm access case delayed
TAOS — Attorneys have decided not to move forward with a March trial scheduled for William Brown, a Questa man charged with negligently making a firearm accessible to a minor who is accused of fatally shooting a 13-year-old girl.
The court delayed the case to June 17, arguing the trial would fall too close to the murder trial of his son, Porfirio Brown. The boy was released from custody last week after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the case, in which he was accused of fatally shooting his friend Amber Archuleta using one of William Brown’s firearms.
At a pretrial hearing last week in the 8th Judicial District Court, Judge Emilio Chavez recommended delaying William Brown’s trial. While Brown’s defense attorney, Aaron Mitchell, said he was ready to proceed, he and prosecutor Lucas Helper agreed it would be best to postpone the proceeding.
William Brown is the first person in New Mexico to be charged with negligently making a firearm accessible to a minor, a misdemeanor enacted last year under the Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act.
Brown was charged in July after his 14-year-old son allegedly shot Archuleta earlier that month at their residence. The weapon was never recovered.
Porfirio Brown’s trial only lasted four days before ending with a hung jury. It’s unclear whether the District Attorney’s Office will refile the case.
Mitchell has argued William Brown’s case should be dismissed, claiming his client was denied due process rights following a flawed police investigation — a claim Porfirio Brown’s attorney also made throughout his trial.
According to Mitchell, the Questa police officers who responded to the shooting failed to collect certain evidence, cordon off the scene and secure witnesses.
Two other juveniles were present during the July 28 shooting and were seen with bloody clothing that was never collected into evidence, Mitchell said. He further argued the juveniles were allowed to freely enter and exit the crime scene.
Chavez denied Mitchell’s motion to dismiss.
Although officers found around 50 firearms in Brown’s residence during a search, they have yet to find the weapon used in the shooting. The bullet so far has not matched any of the firearms tested by ballistics experts.
Just before Porfirio Brown’s trial, another ballistics report came back negative for a revolver handed over to law enforcement. This revolver matched descriptions provided by witnesses and even belonged to an empty container found in William Brown’s residence.
Mitchell has filed a motion attempting to separate William Brown’s case from his son’s. The attorney has argued all photos related to the shooting — including images of the crime scene, bloody clothing and the victim — are irrelevant to Brown’s case and should not be presented as evidence before a jury.
He also argued against showing of any images of the revolver previously thought to be the firearm used in the shooting.
“The state cannot simply replace a missing firearm with a screenshot of a random revolver from an internet search in an attempt to meet their burden at trial,” the motion states.
This story first appeared in The Taos News, a sister publication of The Santa Fe New Mexican.