Murder trials delayed for years

 

 LAS CRUCES There have been five murders so far this year, and none of them is ready for trial. Though five other murder cases from 2005, 2007 and 2009 have resulted in convictions and sentences so far in 2011, more than a dozen Do a Ana County men are awaiting trial on murder charges some from as far back as 1998. And if past timelines are any indication, the accused killers of 18-year-old Jerry Zamarripa, 57-year-old Julian Pena, 22-year-old Julian "J.T." Melendrez, 35-year-old Jenny Kay Bates and 62-year-old Jack Hadley might not make it to trial for years. Judge Fernando Macias, one of the only three judges who primarily take criminal cases, says there are just too many cases for too few prosecutors, defense attorneys, and support staff. "It is somewhat frustrating and even embarrassing that you're handling what is although it may be a felony-level case, it is not that complicated a case, and basically presenting the case to a jury where the incident happened two years ago," Macias said. "You know, it is frustrating and I do think all of the parties have tried to look at making efforts to facilitate the (process), because I think the question is legitimately raised: Is the system working sufficiently to handle the load?" Eight trials are scheduled every day before Macias, so that if the first isn't prepared to go, the second can proceed, and if the defendant in the second case enters a plea deal, the third scheduled case can begin, for example. But if an Advertisement attorney is scheduled to be in court in a federal or magistrate level case, or a law enforcement officer needed as a witness has to be in training, the entire trial can sometimes be postponed, Macias notes. Were a judge to force the issue and order trial continue anyway, legal precedent would invariably reverse the outcome and send it back to begin the trial process anew, he said. Everyone within the system has to figure out new ways to be efficient in order to show the public that justice is truly being done, Macias said. "The system is contracting, in my opinion," he said. "Throughout the entire process, there's too much demand on the medical examiner's office, getting transcripts of interviews, finding free time to address some of the motions all of that process is there and people say the only solution is hiring more judges, hiring more public defenders, getting more prosecutors available, having more law enforcement available, but that's not going to happen." District Attorney Amy Orlando shares those frustrations. "There are only three judges (handling criminal cases) (Lisa) Schultz, Macias, and (Douglas) Driggers, and on top of those (criminal) cases they also have, Driggers has civil and Macias has a juvenile docket," Orlando said. "So trying to handle our criminal cases in the mix with these other cases they have set already, it's not like we can drive the docket completely by ourselves and say, "We're going to get all these tried in this amount of time.'" The courts have been confronting the overload for years as state budgets have shrunk staffs at the district attorney's and public defender's office, and lessened the possibility of hiring the 3.5 judges the state deemed necessary for the local caseload. But since April, it's been especially difficult because Judge Michael Murphy is off the bench pending a bribery investigation and Judge Jim T. Martin has been assigned away from criminal cases because he is a witness in the Murphy case. Still, Orlando says that justice is being served just slower than anyone would like. "With the number of cases we have and three (criminal) judges, you have to think: Monday is arraignments, which takes out one judge," Orlando said. "Tuesday is children's court, which takes out one judge. Friday is mental commitments, which takes out one judge. Wednesday and Thursday are the only days that all three judges could, technically, take cases ... So the fact that we're not seeing more motions to dismiss shows that the system is working, and it's working in a culture of everybody doing more with less. That is the reality of it. But we're doing it. We're not declining cases or turning cases away or (saying) "No, we're not going to take (a case) because we don't have the resources. But we all can only do as much as the judges can handle." Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462; follow her on Twitter @AshleyMeeks. Awaiting trial • Mario Mendez, 24, who is charged with shooting a Realtor to death during a home burglary on Sept. 23, is likely to be indicted by a Do a Ana County grand jury before the case can proceed in state District Court. No further hearings have been scheduled. • Horace Carlos Solomon Jr., 39, who is charged with stabbing his ex-wife to death early the morning of Aug. 20, entered a plea of not guilty Sept. 27. No further hearings have been scheduled. • Eric Marquez, 27, who is charged with shooting a rival gang member at an East Mesa convenience store March 10, had a status hearing in his case Friday in state District Court. No further hearings have been scheduled. • Homero Avalos, 19, Myles Calderon, 18, and 17-year-old Johnny Ray Vallejos, who are charged with the mistaken revenge killing of a Vietnam War veteran on Feb. 21, had a pre-trial conference in the case Aug. 3. No further hearings have been scheduled. • Andrew Garcia "Tuna" Martinez, 25, who is charged with fatally bashing a teenager in the back and skull early the morning of Feb. 20, which later killed him, received a reduced bond in June and is awaiting trial. No further hearings have been scheduled. • Tony Garza, 33, who is charged with the April 30, 2010, shooting of a 44-year-old man over an argument about a drug debt, had a status conference in his case in July. Witness lists were submitted to the courts in September, but his three-day trial has been postponed. • Eugene "Gino" Ferri, 49, who is charged with the April 14, 2010, killings of his three former business partners, has had witness lists entered in his case this July. However, no trial date has been scheduled. • Richard Scott Zikmanis, 42, who is charged with shooting his sister during a drunken argument March 27, 2010, has not yet had his trial re-scheduled. Trial has been postponed twice due to a disagreement over whether testimony about the victim's autopsy could be included. • Jorge Murillo, 20 and Javier Orozco, 17, are scheduled to begin trial Feb. 20, 2012, in the robbery and shooting of a San Antonio college student Jan. 4, 2010. Irvin Ramirez, 18, the shooter, was convicted of his part in the killing this summer and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for 30 years. • Oswaldo Corral, 33, Lawrence Chavira, 23, Ernesto J. Pena, 23, Jimmy Ray Martinez, 37, Gabriel Sanchez, 31, and Eric Ontiveros, 38, are charged with the robbery and murder of a Mesilla Park man on Nov. 17, 2008, but Corral's whereabouts are unknown. A two-week jury trial has been re-scheduled several times, but is currently on hold. • Ricky Joe Juarez, 22, and Jesus Adam Herrera, 23, charged with the shooting death of a 16-year-old after an argument Sept. 26, 2008, are scheduled to begin a five-day trial Dec. 5. • James Russell Bogart, 33, who is charged with the March 15, 2008, shooting death of his housemate during an argument, is scheduled to begin trial March 12, 2012 almost four years to the date since the shooting. Charges against Bogart have been thrown out and re-filed several times due to problems with jury instructions, resulting in part of the delay. • Larry Joe Lujan, 33, charged with the stabbing deaths of a Chamberino couple in 1998, is scheduled to begin a five-day trial Dec. 5. Trial was postponed because Lujan was charged in federal court for the slaying of a teenager in 2005 in Anthony, N.M. Lujan was sentenced Oct. 4 to life in prison for the 2005 killing. Cases closed • In September, Ronald Ralph King, 40, entered a plea agreement that resulted in a 12-year sentence for kidnapping and killing 25-year-old Heather Lynn Eiche, whose body was found Feb. 16, 2001. King admitted to the killing in 2009 while serving a rape sentence in Virginia. • In August, Isaac Mark Ramirez, 25, was sentenced to 26 years in prison and Benjamin Joel Tapia, 30, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking part in the Sept. 8, 2007 killing of 36-year-old William Lucero at a party. Ramirez and Tapia accepted plea deals in the case and testified against the shooter, Moises Menchaca, 27, who was sentenced in August to life plus 21 years in prison. • In June, Carlos Preciado, 30, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for the hit-and-run death of 68-year-old pedestrian Alvin Moore during a high speed police chase July 25, 2005. • In March, Luis Daniel Alvarez Macias, 31, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years on probation as part of a plea deal the day before trial was set to start in the stabbing and beating death of fellow homeless man Mark Cobb, 49, on Jan. 29, 2007. • In February, following a jury conviction, Hector Flores Serna Jr., 28, was sentenced to life in prison plus five years for shooting 49-year-old George Vargas on July 5, 2009 during a drug deal. On the run • Oswaldo Corral, 33, is charged with the Nov. 17 robbery and murder of 30-year-old Steven Apodaca in of Mesilla Park. Corral is 5-feet 8-inches tall, weighs about 150 pounds and has tattoos on his hands, left arm, right arm and neck. He was last seen driving a black four-door car. Corral, an affiliated gang member who was born in Mexico, is considered armed and dangerous. • Eduardo Garcia Estrada, 37, is charged with the attempted rape and murder of 31-year-old Emely Corina Howard-Ianni, whose body was found near N.M. Highway 213 on Nov. 6, 2006. Estrada is 5-feet 3-inches tall and weighs 140 pounds and has scars on his left hand and arm. He was last seen in El Paso driving a green 2000 Mazda Protege with Texas license plates, a vehicle that was later recovered in Juárez, where he is believed to be living.

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