State Auditor Wayne Johnson sure likes to go around and tell others how they need to do their jobs, especially any agency involved with the criminal justice system, but he becomes “puzzled” when he is told he is not doing his job himself and not following the law.

On May 23, 2018 New Mexico State Auditor Wayne Johnson with great fanfare announced he would conduct a “special audit” examination of the Bernalillo County criminal justice system.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/state-auditor-wayne-johnson-albuquerque-criminal-justice-system-audit/4920020/?cat=500

Johnson’s special audit includes seven state agencies: the District Court, Metro Court, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Metropolitan Detention Center, the Public Defender’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office.

Wayne Johnson announced he wanted his office do a “special audit” to look into possible “gaps” within the Second Judicial District and the criminal justice system in an effort to combat crime in the Albuquerque metro area.

On June, 26, 2018 it was announced that State District Court officials were seeking Attorney General Hector Balderas’s opinion on whether the state auditor’s plan to examine Bernalillo County’s justice system “exceeds the authority and power” of the State Auditor’s office.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1189607/court-seeks-ags-opinion-on-audit-plan.html

In the letter to Attorney General Hector Balderas, 2nd District Chief Judge Nan Nash and Court Executive Officer Jim Noel said they believe the state auditor’s plan to examine the system through a series of audits “invites needless waste of tax payer money” and may exceed his authority.

The authority of the State Auditor is to conduct both financial and special financial audits review the financial affairs of government agencies, including contracts, purchases agreements and make sure that the government agencies are not engaged in fraud, waste and abuse of government and taxpayer funds.

The State Auditor does not have any prosecutorial authority and when criminal wrongdoing is found in an audit, it is turned over to the appropriate state or federal prosecuting agency.

Johnson got the bright and very mistaken idea that he has the authority to audit and entire criminal justice system, especially judge’s decisions to deny prosecutor’s efforts to detain people in jail pending trial.

It should not come as any surprise that the 2nd Judicial Court is now questioning Johnson’s authority or is empowered by law to do his special audit in that the audit is not a financial audit dealing with the expenditure of taxpayer money which is all that is allowed by law.

Attorney General Hector Balderas has yet to announce or make know his opinion regarding State Auditor’s authority to conduct an audit of an entire criminal justice system.

BALDERAS TAKES JOHNSON TO TASK ON FAILURE TO COMPLETE AUDIT

June 29, State Auditor Wayne Johnson sent a letter to Attorney General Hector Balderas claiming that the Office of the State Auditor was unable to complete audits of the MLK State Commission from 2014 on because documents required remained in the possession of the Office of the Attorney General.

On July 9, Attorney General Hector Balderas took state Auditor Wayne Johnson to task in a letter for not completing audits of the Martin Luther King Jr. State Commission.

Balderas pointed out the Johnson’s office failed to use digital copies of papers, as well as digital images of desktop files, that were readily available and provided to the new executive director of the MLK State Commission as far back as September 2016, as well as in the possession of the independent accounting firm hired to review the documents by the State Auditor.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1194555/ag-and-auditor-go-back-and-forth-over-mlk-commission-audits.html

Balderas made his position clear to Johnson that by not using electronic files to complete the audits, Johnson was in violation of a number of statutory requirements, as well as accounting and financial reporting standards.

Balderas did not mince words with Johnson when he wrote:

“I am concerned that recent public statements and actions by the [Office of the State Auditor] represent a pattern of failure to uphold these statutory duties and result in the public being misled. … Neither the contracted audit firm, nor the current [Office of the State Auditor] administration reached out to the [Office of the Attorney General] to inquire about documents that were claimed to be unavailable, nor did the state auditor inform the state attorney general about concerns regarding “missing financial documentation from an at-risk agency. … the [Office of State Auditor] has failed to ensure that the MLK Commission has been thoroughly examined and audited, which could assist law enforcement in detecting whether any further malfeasance has occurred.”

Rather than responding to the Attorney General directly and in writing , Johnson issued a pathetic statement to the Albuquerque Journal saying:

“[One of my top priorities is] refusing to allow entities to evade audits for years, and also requiring audits of state entities that for many years have not been required to account for their spending of taxpayer dollars. … It’s puzzling that in one breath, the AG suggests using all options available for the OSA to seek missing documentation, then says those documents have already been provided to the (MLK) Commission”.

COMMENTARY

Wayne Johnson may be puzzled with the Attorney General Hector Balderas and what he was told in a letter, but what is not at all puzzling to the electorate is that Wayne Johnson has no business being New Mexico State Auditor and he has no idea what he is doing.

Attorney General Hector Balderas is the former New Mexico State Auditor who served with distinction for 8 years.

Balderas, more than anyone, knows full well the powers and authority of the State Auditor’s office, the position Wayne Johnson has now held for a mere 6 months and who wants to be elected to in November.

Hector Balderas has also served with distinction for close to 4 years as the New Mexico Attorney General and in all likely will be reelected come November.

Wayne Johnson now gets into a very public “tit-for-tat” with the very public official that has real power to investigate and indict on criminal charges as well as the individual who could gut Johnson’s special audit of a criminal justice system he vilifies so much so he can get elected.

Perhaps Johnson should learn how to do his job and stop telling others how to do theirs, but then again he will only be able to use such knowledge for a little more than 5 months.

There was a tremendous amount media coverage about the “Topgolf” development project.

The city was offering to Topgolf a $2.6 million economic development package to help construct a $39 million entertainment complex at the site of the former Beach Waterpark.

The Keller Administrations major concern with the Topgolf project is that it would primarily provide low-wage, part-time jobs and not “economic base jobs”.

According to City’s Economic Development Director Synthia Jaramillo:

“Topgolf is an entertainment venue, therefore it does not qualify as economic-based company. … So, when we’re talking about economic-based jobs, those are jobs or employers that provide higher wage jobs.”

Eight out of nine city councilors expressed strong support for the project and argued it would create 650 jobs, albeit short term and low paying, and that it will be a $39 million investment in Albuquerque’s future.

Notwithstanding the coverage of the project, very little was presented by the media about the difference between economic base jobs and service industry jobs Topgolf was offering.

ECONOMIC BASE JOBS VERSUS SERVICE INDUSTRY JOBS

An economic base job is one created or needed by a business or industry that increases economic growth of a region by increasing exports of manufactured products, goods or services from the local economy or region to another region or economy thereby increasing the size of the local economy with profits and cash flow from outside the region.

The corner stone of the “economic base theory” is that an increase in economic growth of a region or economy is dependent on increase in exports, manufactured goods or services from one region or economy to another region or economy and supplying markets outside the local economy.

A service-based industry is one that offers its products, goods or services primarily within a particular region and does not supply markets outside the region nor increase the economic base of a region.

In general, service base industries offer lower paying or minimum wage jobs not requiring much education or technical skills while and economic base industries provide jobs requiring higher education and higher trained skills.

WHERE HAVE ALL NEW MEXICO’S BRIGHTEST GONE?

According to US Census figures, in 2010, New Mexico’s median age was 36.7.

In 2017 the most recently released data show it was 37.8.

According to labor and census statistics, New Mexico is suffering from one of the highest rates of “out-migration” anywhere in the country.

A major reason for the increase in New Mexico’s higher median age is young people leaving New Mexico in droves, something that has been going on for the last eight years.

According to Jacqueline Miller, a senior research scientist with the University of New Mexico’s Geospatial and Population Studies department, a factor contributing to New Mexico’s increase in median age, is that “out migration among the working-age population and minors”.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1192801/states-population-is-skewing-older.html

According to the Census Bureau, the nation’s Hispanic population is young, with a median age of 29.3 compared with 38.0 for the country as a whole.

In New Mexico, the median age of the Hispanic population statewide was the same in 2010 and was 30.3 years old and was the same in 2017.

A recent Pew Charitable Trusts report shows that New Mexico’s population has grown at the slowest rate in the western United Stated than any other state during the past decade.

Economists estimate 42,000 more people exited the state than entered it from 2011 to 2016.

Between 2011 and 2016 there was an unprecedented exodus of young people leaving the state with the majority being the college educated.

What is happening, millennials are getting their education at New Mexico’s colleges and universities and then leaving the state for employment where the jobs are.

It is estimated that some 17,000 young people with a bachelor’s degree left New Mexico from 2011 to 2016.

Jeff Mitchell, director of UNM’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research states:

“The data clearly indicate that out-migration is occurring at a disproportionate rate in better-educated younger adults and people with bachelor’s degrees” in the state of New Mexico.

NEW MEXICO COLLEGE EDUCATION STILL GOOD BARGAIN

An August, 2017 study found that the average student loan for New Mexico college students was $21,314.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2017/08/11/heres-the-average-student-loan-debt-at-new-mexico.html

It is the second-lowest average student debt of any state in the country.

In LendEDU’s annual student loan debt report, New Mexico was ranked No. 50 in the United States.

Only Utah had an average student loan debt lower than New Mexico, at $18,810.

The LendEDU report also found that 55 percent of New Mexico college students graduate with debt.

By 2020, 65 percent of jobs will require postsecondary education, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

When you are millennial at 22 graduating from a New Mexico college with a debt and there are no jobs where you can use your education, you’re not left with much choice but to move to a state that offers better job opportunities.

Further, if you a millennial lucky enough to have a family that can afford to send you out of state back east or west to more prestigious universities or colleges, there is absolutely no incentive to return to one of the poorest states in the country where there are no jobs.

If you are a millennial coming from a poor family and you want to go to a prestigious school and are forced to go into serious debt and saddled with $100,000 to $200,000 college debt, there are few jobs in New Mexico that are available to help pay an education mortgage debt.

State officials say there is no telling when the out-flow will end.

The New Mexico Higher Education Department reported in 2013 was the first time in state history that New Mexico’s older generation was better educated than the younger generation.

ECONOMIC BASED JOBS NEED A HIGHER EDUCATED WORK FORCE

No city and no state can afford to lose high-quality, educated workers, the key ingredient for any thriving and expanding economy.

The post-recession world demands a STEM-skilled workforce, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for jobs created and made available in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1192873/searchlight-brain-drain-hurts-new-mexico.html

At a minimum, workers need one or two years of education after high school, preferably from a technical or trade school.

Other jobs require an associate, bachelor’s or advanced degree.

When a state or city starts losing its qualified workforce, economies contract, unemployment rises and more people join the out-migration.

Only 71 percent of New Mexico’s high school students graduated on time, the nation’s second worst rate.

New Mexico’s rate of bachelor’s degrees for 25- to 34-year-olds is 22 % and is the second-lowest, according to the U.S. Census.

Youth unemployment in New Mexico is yet another problem.

As of April, more than 20 percent of teens age 16 to 19 were jobless, according to New Mexico labor statistics.

New Mexico has the fourth-highest unemployment rate in the country, while its neighbors and the rest of the nation are in a boom.

In February, 2018 New Mexico’s unemployment rate was 5.8 percent and Albuquerque’s unemployment was 4.2 percent.

The number of jobs is growing to nearly the pre-recession peak and the city’s gross receipts tax collections are increasing.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1190787/abqs-economy-gaining-steam.html

In May, New Mexico had 5.1 percent unemployment, a large improvement over the 6.5 percent unemployment it’s struggled with since 2014.

But New Mexico’s 5.1% unemployment rate was no match for surrounding states.

The unemployment rate for Texas in May 2018 was 4.1%.

https://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemployment/texas/

Arizona’s unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in April as the state’s economy added 5,300 nonfarm jobs, many in leisure and hospitality and construction.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/arizona-unemployment-rate-unchanged-in-april-at-4-9-percent

Colorado’s unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in April, 2018 breaking a seven-month run at 3 percent, according to a monthly update from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/05/18/colorado-unemployment-april-2018/

Utah’s unemployment rate in March, 2018 was 3.1%.

https://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/utahs-low-unemployment-rate-presents-new-problems-for-state-businesses/1048146830

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

On February 19, 2016, it was reported that more than 10,000 people applied for 290 jobs to work at the new Cheesecake Factory location which opened at Coronado Center.

http://www.koat.com/article/more-than-10-000-apply-at-new-cheesecake-factory/5070017

Albuquerque’s employment rate has improved somewhat over the last two and half years, but not that much.

When you do not have a job, you’re probably not interested in hearing economic doublespeak from government officials of creating high paying “economic based jobs”.

Just ask the 10,000 people who applied for the 290 jobs with the Cheesecake Factory a few years ago that opened with all positions hourly pay jobs in the service industry.

As of April, more than 20 percent of teens age 16 to 19 were jobless, according to New Mexico labor statistics, a job pool no doubt that would be affected by the type of jobs offered by a developments such as Topgolf.

For the last 8 years, the prior administration failed to attract a single major corporation or company that offered economic based jobs to relocate to Albuquerque.

Assuming the Keller Administration is somehow successful in attracting and helping businesses that create economic based jobs, with New Mexico’s “brain drain” and mass exodus of educated millennials, the city and state may not have the work force to fill the positions.

The Keller Administration approved budget of $3.9 million for the Economic Development is so a meager as to be an embarrassment given the fact that the city has a total operating revenue and approved budget of at almost a billion dollars at $955,300,000 for fiscal year 2018-2019.

The City Council enacted a one-eighth of a cent tax increase that will generate an additional $55 million a year.

Gross receipts tax revenues from the state are now being reported in excess of what was projected.

The city is seeing a 4% to 6.8% increase in gross receipts tax revenues compared to last year from the state as a result of increase in business activity.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1178079/abq-sees-bump-in-gross-receipts-revenue.html

Candidate for Mayor Tim Keller proposed as a “big idea” creating personal or individual Tax Increment Districts (TIDS), more use of industrial revenue bonds and tax incentives to attract new industry to Albuquerque and create jobs.

As Mayor, Keller proposed no major increased appropriation for the Economic Development Department in the approved 2018-2019 budget.

As far as “economic based jobs”, the Keller Administration has yet to announce anything different, nor fund anything different, then what has been going on at city hall for the last 8 years.

Albuquerque City Government and its Economic Development Department can and must expand and find better ways to use financial incentives for small business development.

Simply put, small businesses create economic based jobs.

The City’s Economic Development Department needs to find a better way to help small business with start up funding.

A good start would be funding a $20 million initial startup fund for new small businesses with claw back provisions and with the program administered by the Economic Development Department.

Albuquerque can and must expand and find better ways to use financial incentives for economic development in the growth industries.

Tax increment districts (TIDS), industrial revenue bonds, and economic development investment programs such as initial startup funding with claw back provisions has always been the traditional approach.

Albuquerque needs to pursue with a vengeance real growth industry like healthcare, transportation and manufacturing, the film industry to diversify our economy.

Public-private partnerships in the growth industries and even small business development where ever possible should be encouraged and developed.

Albuquerque’s taxpayers must be convinced by Mayor Keller and the City Council of the importance of economic development in small businesses and the growth industries and not the service industries with low paying, minimum wage and tip jobs..

Our elected officials and the business community, including the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque Economic Development (AED), the Economic Forum, NAIOP and the banking, finance and development industries, need to think long and hard about finally doing something to help small business development and attract new industry instead of just being satisfied with protecting their own financial interests, bottom lines and membership rosters.

Otherwise, the only jobs for millennials will be employment in old age homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals and funeral homes taking care of the needs of the age group of 60 to 90 or working for the Cheesecake Factory.

For more link to “Race and Equity Report Gives Economic Development Roadmap”:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/06/21/race-and-equity-profile-report-gives-economic-development-roadmap/

“Political damage control” is when an elected official gives extended news interviews to the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board and then makes the rounds to the various news stations or media outlets including doing Sunday news programs on a single controversial topic.

District Attorney Raul Torrez did double time in just 10 days with his damage control to explain the plea agreement he negotiated with the mother of 10-year-old Victoria Martens.

Within a 10-day time span, Torrez has held a press conference covered by all local media news organizations, followed by a meeting with the Journal Editors and reporters 6 days later, has had three front page Journal stories and has been interviewed by Chanel 4 news reporters on the “Eye on Albuquerque” Sunday program on the Victoria Martens murder case and the plea agreement he negotiated.

Torrez can claim “Mission Accomplished” at least for now with the Victoria Martens murder case plea agreement he negotiated.

THE PLEA AGREEMENT

Torrez announced that his office did a two-year investigation and review of the evidence found Michelle Martens falsely admitted to committing the crimes she was charged.

According to Torrez, the forensic evidence revealed Martens and her boyfriend were not even present and did not participate in the murder of 10-year-old Victoria Martens who was raped, murdered, dismembered and then burned in a bathtub of her home.

The plea agreement Torrez negotiated was to one count of child abuse, recklessly caused, resulting in the death of a child under 12 and guarantees a 12 to 15-year sentence and dropping the most egregious charges.

DA Torrez agreed that Michelle Martens’ crime she plead guilty to will not be classified as a serious violent offense, meaning she could see her sentence cut in half for good behavior and serve as little as 6 years if she is sentenced to 12 years.

The probability that Martens will be sentence to 12 years is high.

A pretrial sentence report will be prepared for the judge and given her impaired mental capacity, the fact she has no prior record and she is cooperating with authorities by turning state’s evidence, a recommendation will be made as to her sentence with a reduced sentence within the realm of possibilities.

Michelle Martens will get two years credit for time served because she has been in jail for two years pending trial, so it is possible that Martens could be out of prison in 4 years.

District Attorney Raul Torrez has had tremendous public outcry regarding the plea agreement he negotiated with the defendant Michelle Martens.

In the minds of many people, Michelle Martens was given considerable leniency by District Attorney Raul Torrez for her involvement in one of the most heinous crimes involving her own child

CHRONOLOGY OF DAMAGE CONTROL EFFORTS

On Friday, June 29, 2018 District Attorney Raul Torrez did a late afternoon press conference announcing that he had negotiated a plea agreement with defendant Michelle Martens, the mother of 10-year-old Victoria Martens.

You can read the full story here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1191031/michelle-martens-pleads-guilty-to-child-abuse-faces-12-to-15-years.html

Elected officials often do late Friday afternoon press conferences to announce controversial decisions to reduce negative press coverage.

Late Friday afternoon press conferences are usually not very successful in deflecting negative press with highly controversial decisions such as the one announced by District Attorney Raul Torrez.

ALBQUERQUE JOURNAL DAMAGE CONTROL

On Thursday July 5, 2018, Torrez went to the Albuquerque Journal Center to be interviewed by the Albuquerque Journal Editors and its reporters about the plea and the pending criminal case.

District Attorney Raul Torrez in his interview with the Journal editors shared extensive details and prosecution strategy on the pending criminal prosecution against two other defendants, one identified and one yet to be found.

On Friday July 6, 2018, the Journal reported the details of the July 5, 2018 meeting with Torrez by splashing them on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal.

The banner headline read: “Details emerge in search for 4th Martens suspect”.

The full story can be read here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1193335/details-emerge-in-search-for-4th-martens-suspect.html

Torrez told the Journal editors that DNA samples from 16 men have been found with five of those persons of interest having been eliminated, with forensic test results for 11 still outstanding.

The bombshell is that authorities are seeking to identify a fourth suspect in the Victoria Martens murder.

District Attorney Raúl Torrez reiterated what he said at his news conference that there is no evidence that the girl’s mother, Michelle Martens, was involved in Victoria’s death or dismemberment, or knew the identity of the fourth suspect police are now seeking.

Torrez told the Journal Editors that he hopes Michelle Martens will offer useful information now that she has accepted a plea deal that requires her to provide statements to authorities.

According to Torres:

“She [Michelle Martens] may know who this individual is and not know that this individual [was involved in the crime]. … She may know who this individual is because he was there previously.”

SUNDAY FRONT PAGE JOURNAL COVERAGE

On Sunday July 8, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal published a third front page, banner headline report entitled “VICTORIA MARTENS CASE: ‘We want to make it right for this little girl’ and the full story can be read here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1193963/we-want-to-make-it-right-for-this-little-girl.html

The above Journal headline is a quote from District Attorney Raul Torrez.

The quote could not have been any better for Torrez to deflect the negative press coverage he was getting on the plea deal he negotiated.

The Journal story was published on the front page of the Journal along with a full page and a half story published in the “A section” of the Journal pages, A-4 and A-5 and with a detailed “time line”, no doubt provided by Torrez.

JOURNAL EDITORIAL LAYING BLAME

On Sunday, July 8, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal did its editorial blaming everyone they could for the mishandling of the case, except Raul Torrez who they commended.
You can read the full editorial here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1193938/a-case-of-law-and-disorder.html

A few paragraphs in the Journal editorial are worth quoting:
…
“Then-police chief Gorden Eden declared it “the most gruesome act of evil” he had ever seen in his career.
“I want to assure the public that we will pursue justice and we will make sure that we exhaust every resource into this investigation,” Eden said. He also assured those who lived near the crime scene that their neighborhood was safe and that there were no other suspects in the case.”
“There is no threat to public safety,” he said.
…
“To his credit, Torrez immediately ordered a case review when he took over as DA in January of 2017, four months after Victoria’s death. He said he discovered lapses with how the case was handled, including the failure to fast track the processing of DNA collected from the crime scene. And his office continued to dig as Michelle Martens’ statement began to unravel. Torrez assigned a team that includes two seasoned prosecutors and a seasoned paralegal, and APD contributed two seasoned detectives. They have been focused on this case for more than a year.”
…

One paragraph in the editorial sticks out:

“The manner in which the Albuquerque Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office handled this case – under the leadership of Eden and former DA Kari Brandenburg, respectively – raises serious questions about the two agencies. This was arguably the highest profile case this state has seen in at least a decade, and they botched it.”

With this one paragraph, the Albuquerque Journal editors condemns and places the entire blame for mishandling of the case on former APD Chief Gordon Eden and former District Attorney Kari Brandenburg.

It is hard to understand the Journal’s claim that former DA Brandenburg “botched” the case given the fact that the murder occurred just 4 months before Brandenburg left office with forensic DNA evidence still being tested.

Former Mayor Richard Berry, who was Mayor a full 14 months after the murder, was not even mentioned in the stories nor editorial by the Albuquerque Journal.

Failure to mention Berry in the editorial should come as no surprise seeing the Journal has given Berry favoritism and political coverage for a full 8 years.

CHANNEL 4 “EYE ON NEW MEXICO” EXTENDED INTERVIEW

On Sunday, July 8, 2018, an extended interview by Channel 4 with District Attorney was telecast on the “Eye on New Mexico” program.
You can view the entire program here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/eye-on-new-mexico-da-torrez-reveals-new-information-about-victoria-martens-murder-case/4980894/?cat=500

The Channel 4 interview dove tailed perfectly into the Journal stories and editorial.

The Eye On New Mexico telecast was basically the same information Torrez gave to the Albuquerque Journal in his press conference and the Journal editorial board interview.

COMMENTARY: POLITICAL DAMAGE CONTROL FOR NOW

There is no doubt that District Attorney Raul Torrez can claim “mission accomplished” with his damage control efforts with the Albuquerque Journal and the TV news media outlets, at least for now.

Notwithstanding the successful political damage control by Torrez, the public condemnation with the plea agreement Torrez negotiated will continue to be a source of major political problems for Torrez.

The leniency Torrez showed towards a mother who placed her 10-year-old child in harm’s way and made the child a victim of one of the most horrendous murders in Albuquerque history will be remembered given his own past statements on our criminal justice system and conduct towards Judges.

In 2016, when Torrez was running for District Attorney, he proclaimed that our criminal justice system was broken and that he was the guy who could fix it.

Just a mere year ago, Torrez again claimed that our judicial system was broken stating the decisions by the judges to dismiss cases were “absurd”.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1025697/judges-court-deadlines-arent-to-blame-for-rise-in-crime.html

Torres proclaimed defense attorneys were “gaming the system” to get their clients off.

Torrez claimed he was frustrated with elected District Court Judges blocking his efforts to keep dangerous criminals in jail.

Torrez asserted that the Judges were being too lenient on criminals and went on to blame Judges for our high violent crime rates.

It is hard to reconcile the Albuquerque Journals conclusion that it was then District Attorney Kari Brandenburg office who “botched” the case given the time line involved and Torrez’s own involvement with the prosecution.

The Victoria Martens murder occurred in August, 2016, just four months before Brandenburg left office and before Torrez was sworn in as District Attorney on January 1, 2017.

It was widely reported that District Attorney Elect Raul Torrez was briefed for a full 2 months on major cases before he was sworn in to office on January 1, 2017, no doubt including the Victoria Martens murder case.

For a full 19 months, Torrez was in charge of the Victoria Martens murder case and was calling all the shots, not Brandenburg as implied by the Journal.

Former APD Chief Gordon Eden and former Mayor Richard Berry were in office the first full year of Raul Torrez’s term, yet Torrez made no mention of any contacts with either of them.

Torrez did go out of the way to say he has had extended conversations with Mayor Tim Keller, Chief Geier and the Deputy Chiefs on the case, yet said absolutely nothing about conversations with former Mayor Berry and former Chief Eden.

Mayor Keller and Chief Geier did not attend Torrez’s press conference and they have not commented on the plea agreement.

At least two defendants have been held in custody for two years for the brutal murder of Victoria Martens, a crime they did not commit.

What is extremely problematic is that District Attorney Raul Torrez in his interviews with the Journal and media outlets shared additional details as well as prosecution strategy on a pending criminal prosecution against two other defendants.

Defendant Jessica Kelley will go on trial in January, 2019 facing charges of rape and murder, and one suspect has yet to be identified by the authorities.

You can bet the pretrial publicity in this case generated by Torrez himself with his press conference and making the rounds at the news stations to explain the plea and what happen will have an impact on the case.

The results of Torres’s press contacts could be at a minimum suppression of evidence in the case or worse down right dismissal of the charges pending against the others.

No doubt Torrez has ingratiated himself with the media, but he sure is not helping his cause in seeking justice for 10-year-old Jessica Martens.

Despite what Torrez and the media may think, due process of law and our courts are the only things that will guarantee true justice for Victoria Martens, and not news interviews and media tours designed for political damage control.

You always know when an elected official has taken a very serious public relations hit whenever they make a special trip to the Albuquerque Journal Center and subject themselves to a wide-ranging interview with the Journal Editors and its reporters on a single topic.

It is called “political damage control” usually taken in the wake of a public controversy to make things right with the public and public perception and to salvage and repair a reputation.

A mere six days from the day in which District Attorney Raul Torrez did his late afternoon Friday press conference announcing that his office had negotiated a plea agreement with defendant Michelle Martens, Torrez made a trip to the Albuquerque Journal Center to have a conversation with the Albuquerque Journal Editors and its reporters about the pending criminal case and where the investigation is going.

You can read the full, front page Journal article here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1193335/details-emerge-in-search-for-4th-martens-suspect.html

Originally, Michelle Martens was charged along with her boyfriend Fabian Gonzales and her friend Jessica Kelly for the rape, murder and dismemberment of 10-year-old child Victoria Martens.

According to Torrez, his office’s investigation found Michelle Martens falsely admitted to committing the crimes when forensic evidence revealed she and her boyfriend were not even present and did not participate in the murder.

The plea agreement Torrez negotiated was to one count of child abuse, recklessly caused, resulting in the death of a child under 12 and guarantees a 12 to 15-year sentence and dropping the most egregious charges.

The original charges of rape, murder and body dismemberment are still pending against Jessica Kelly and a fourth yet to be identified individual, and that is what is problematic.

There has been tremendous public outcry over the leniency shown a mother who many feel contributed to the most heinous crimes committed against her own child.

DISCLOSURES MADE TO THE JOURNAL EDITORS AND REPORTERS

According to the Journal report, Torrez says they have obtained DNA samples from 16 men as they seek to identify a fourth suspect in the Victoria Martens murder case with five of those persons of interest having been eliminated, with forensic test results for 11 still outstanding.

District Attorney Raúl Torrez reiterated what he said at his news conference that there is no evidence that the girl’s mother, Michelle Martens, was involved in Victoria’s death or dismemberment, or knew the identity of the fourth suspect police are now seeking.

Torrez told the Journal Editors that he hopes Michelle Martens will offer useful information now that she has accepted a plea deal that requires her to provide statements to authorities.

According to Torres: “She [Michelle Martens] may know who this individual is and not know that this individual [was involved in the crime]. … She may know who this individual is because he was there previously.”

What is very troubling is that Torrez said he hoped they will not have to make a deal with Jessica Kelley, the last of the original trio still facing rape and murder charges, in order to track down that unidentified man when he said:

“We are not prepared to do that yet. … And my hope is that we are not ever presented with that choice.”

According to an amendment to the Fabian Gonzales’ indictment, Gonzales tampered with evidence when he allegedly “removed V.M.’s arms from her body,” and “hid and/or placed and/or wrapped organs,” among other things.”

Torrez told the Journal editors he could not comment on the evidence that supports the charges set forth in the indictment of dismemberment, but he did say there is no evidence that Martens was involved in the process of dismembering her own child.

Forensic evidence such as DNA evidence test results must be turned over to defense attorneys once received by the prosecution, and Torres acknowledged more DNA testing is being done, so it is difficult to understand how Torrez can make the definitive claims.

Further, Torrez’s disclaimer is difficult to accept seeing that no one knows what he actually told the reporters and the Journal editors.

NEW MEXICO CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Torrez is not just another elected official, but is a licensed New Mexico Attorney and the Chief Law Enforcement official for the County.

As a licensed attorney and prosecutor, Torrez is held to strict standards of professional conduct, including being required to swear to and adhere to the Code of Professional Conduct.

The New Mexico Code of Professional Responsibility has a very specific rule that governs attorneys conduct and trial publicity:

“Rule 16-306 Trial Publicity

A. Extrajudicial Statements. A lawyer shall not make any extrajudicial or out-of-forum [or out of court] statement in a criminal proceeding that may be tried to a jury that the lawyer know or reasonably should know:

(1) is false; or

(2) creates a clear and present danger of prejudicing the proceeding.

B. Attorney’s Obligations With Respect to Other Persons. A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to insure compliance with this rule by associated attorneys, employees and members of law enforcement and investigative agencies.”

The New Mexico Rules of Criminal Procedure are also very clear that prosecutors have a very clear ongoing duty to disclose to accused defendants any exculpatory evidence in a case as well as scientific test results in a case before a trial proceeds.

COMMENTARY

The extended interview that Torrez and his lead prosecutor did with the Albuquerque Journal Editors as well as the reporters was no doubt recorded.

Whatever was said in that meeting by District Attorney Torrez discussing the case is problematic not withstanding Torrez’ disclaimer that he could not talk about the evidence.

What is extremely problematic is that District Attorney Raul Torrez in an interview with Journal editors and reporters, along with lead prosecutor Greer Rose, shared additional details as well as prosecution strategy on a pending criminal prosecution against two other defendants, one identified and one yet to be found, that where then splashed on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal.

Another problem posed is that Torrez did discuss conclusions based on the evidence that should be decided by a jury, not the prosecutor in the case.

You can bet the pretrial publicity in this case generated by Torrez himself with his press conference and briefing of the Journal editors will have an impact on the case and at a minimum will lead to suppression of evidence in the case or worse down right dismissal of the charges pending against the others.

No doubt Torrez ingratiated himself with the Albuquerque Journal and the media with his press conference and Journal meeting, but he sure did not help his cause in seeking justice for 10-year-old Victoria Martens.

The “Topgolf” project is one example of not picking your battles wisely and making sure you know how to count votes on the city council.

Mayor Tim Keller has vetoed the $2.6 million economic development package that would help Topgolf in constructing a $39 million entertainment complex at the site of the former Beach Waterpark.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1192145/keller-vetoes-topgolf-economic-development-package.html

It was front page news with an above the fold headline.

This is pointed out only because the Albuquerque Journal published such strong editorials in opposition to the top golf project.

The City Council vote was 8-1 to give the incentives after a 9-0 veto override Keller’s veto of a resolution expressing the city councils support.

You can expect the city council to once again override Keller’s veto.

Mayor Keller has called the incentive’s a “raw deal for taxpayers” which is probably the case.

However, Keller undercuts his own veto message when he says:

“From the beginning, we have expressed our desire to welcome Topgolf, but this project failed to meet our criteria for growing the local economy and creating good-paying jobs. While we were able to improve the deal, we’re still not there yet. … This deal also sends the wrong signal that we are prioritizing out-of-state companies over similar local efforts, and that a company can end-run an independent professional vetting process through a political process. It’s our job to protect taxpayers, and I know that we can do it better. We want to work together and take the time to get it this right.”

Democrat City Councilor Ken Sanchez, a major sponsor of the resolution, for his part said:

“The mayor says that ‘economic base jobs’ make Albuquerque’s economic pie bigger, well, generating more revenue from outside the city than inside is the very definition of growing Albuquerque’s economic pie.”

You can only be a taxpayer when you have money to spend.

When you do not have a job, you’re probably not interested in hearing economic doublespeak from government officials of creating high paying “economic based jobs”.

Eight out of nine city councilors have expressed strong support for the project arguing it will create 650 jobs, albeit short term and low paying, and that it will be a $39 million investment in Albuquerque’s future.

Democratic City Councilors Diane Gibson, Pat Davis, Isaac Benton, Ken Sanchez, Klaressa Pena and Cynthia Borrego will once again vote for the project over the Mayor’s veto proving the point once again that they are Democrats in Name Only acting like Republicans when they should be supporting the position of Mayor Keller so early in his administration.

I cannot recall a single Mayor who has been in office for just seven months where the city council has overridden a Mayor’s veto, especially a city council that has a super majority of 6 from the same political party.

This is one battle that may not be worth fighting over given the amount of the incentives involved.

$2.6 million is a lot of money, but in a $1 Billion-dollar budget, not much at all.

Keller is also going to need the City Council’s help big time when the Federal Transportation Administration does not come through with the $75 million grant for the ART Bus Project and taxpayers are going to be on the hook for the full $135 million.

But then again, the ART Bus project is a disaster of the Democrats own making when they went along blindly with the previous Republican Administration.

Mayor Keller needs to advocate a viable economic development plan the city council is willing to support and fund.

Otherwise we can expect the city council to ignore him and just consider the same old practice of awarding incentives to companies that will not produce economic base jobs.

For more see “Mayor Keller’s Lackluster Economic Development Department:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/06/07/mayor-kellers-lackluster-economic-development-department/

ABQ Reports: Injustice For All: APD Homicide Unit’s Legacy of Shame

July 2, 2018

By Dennis Domrzalski and Dan Klein

The past and present leadership of the Albuquerque Police Homicide Unit are an embarrassment to the citizens of Albuquerque.

Over the past 13 years the unit has amassed a legacy of shame that should shock, disgust and outrage everyone – liberals, conservatives, just everybody – who believes in one of the most basic tenets of human liberty: that innocent people should not be charged with crimes they didn’t commit and that they shouldn’t sit in jail for crimes they didn’t commit.

In those 13 years APD’s homicide unit has complied a shameful legacy of not doing complete investigations, misleading the public, feeding confessions to people with low IQs, getting investigations dead wrong and letting innocent people rot in jail.

The latest bombshell in this shameful legacy came last Friday when Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez said he was dropping murder charges against Fabian Gonzales and Michelle Martens in the horrific 2016 killing and dismemberment of 10-year-old Victoria Martens.

Torrez said witnesses and cell phone technology prove that Michelle Martens and Gonzales were not home at the time Victoria was murdered! Torrez went on to say that Martens has a very low IQ (sound familiar) and that her confession was just a repeating of what APD homicide detectives were telling her.

And then Torrez dropped an absolute nuke on the community and on APD: There is DNA from another person at the murder scene. DNA that does not match anyone in custody. When did Torrez and APD know this? When did the defense know this?

Who figured all this out (APD? DA? or defense attorneys?) When were the defense attorneys made aware? It is suspicious that the charges were dropped just a ten days before Martens was due to go on trial. And why wasn’t the public told of this when the DA first discovered it?

That we weren’t told until Friday shows that everyone in Albuquerque is in danger of being charged with a crime they didn’t commit. In danger because APD’s homicide unit is inept or corrupt, and in danger because the county’s top prosecutor didn’t think anybody needed to know about the inept/corrupt investigation into the Martens case until just days before she was to go on trial.

Two years and just days before trial, before the DA thought to tell the citizens that APD Homicide had gone the wrong direction. Down a rabbit hole of their own making. Management of the APD Homicide Unit was completely absent.

But as we’ve said, APD has a history of ignoring basic human rights. Here are a few cases from not-so-distant past:

– 2005 to 2008 Robert Gonzales, a mentally retarded young man was arrested by APD and charged with the rape / murder of an 11 year old neighbor. Weeks after the arrest DNA evidence confirmed Gonzales was not the offender. Yet APD Homicide and the Bernalillo County DA never turned this evidence over to the court and defense attorneys. Only after Gonzales spent 965 days in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and and only after he was released by the judge was the DNA evidence was exposed. Along with this came the announcement that Gonzales confession was simply him repeating facts that the APD homicide detectives had fed him during the interview. The NM State Supreme court fined the DA $45,000 and in a civil case Gonzales won over a million dollars from Albuquerque taxpayers.

– 2007 to 2011, Michael Lee and Travis Rowley, young men in Albuquerque working as a group of salesmen, were arrested and charged with the murders and rape of an elderly Korean couple. Both Lee and Rowley had below normal IQs. Lee confessed to the murders, Rowley did not. Shortly after the arrests, DNA evidence excluded both men and confirmed that Albuquerque serial killer, Clifton Bloomfield was the offender. Bloomfield subsequently confessed. Yet APD and the DA kept both men locked up for over a year, convinced that they had something to do with the murders even though DNA excluded them and even though the confession was once again found that Lee was just repeating what APD Homicide detectives were telling him. Yes, the city paid out $950,000 to settle with Lee.

– 2015 o 2016, Christopher Cruz and Donovan Maes are wrongly arrested for the murder of Jaydon Chavez Silver. They spent10 months in jail before the Bernalillo County DA reviewed the entire case sent to them by APD Homicide, finding that there was not evidence that Cruz and Maez were involved. APD Homicide is alleged to have fed witnesses information for them to repeat in interviews, threaten witnesses to provide false information.

– 2016 to 2018 Victoria Martens, APD Chief Gorden Eden, his PIO Celina Espinoza and APD Officer Fred Duran, knowingly lied to the public regarding a CYFD call five months before Victoria was murdered. The lies go so far as to put words in Victoria’s dead mouth, words she never spoke, simply to protect people at APD.

An investigation showed that Eden was briefed, and told APD never responded, but he allowed Espinoza and Duran to craft a house of cards lie that finally collapsed upon them in 2017. Eden also went before the TV cameras after Victoria was murdered to tell the public that there were no other other offenders no arrested. That was another big lie. Eden, Espinoza and Duran’s statements may ultimately put APD on trial instead of Jessica Kelly. This did not have to happen, but when the chief of police and his staff knowingly lie they put everything at risk. All for the selfish reason of self-protection. Lying about Victoria Martens is sick.

– 2017 to 2018 This on the heels of APD, at first defending, destruction of DNA-soaked underwear of a 7-year-old girl who was being used as a prostitute by her parents! Wouldn’t we have liked to have that DNA to compare to this unknown DNA from Victoria! But APD tossed it out and a ridiculous bullshit reason. Now Geier and Keller have said they were misled, but were they? We know the outcome of CYFD investigation into this event, but so far APD has only reluctantly started an investigation. Is it just a dog and pony show to get the media and public to go away?

Mayor Keller and Chief Geier need to answer this question. After APD PIO Drobik contradicted what Geier and Keller said (when they reversed course) and Drobik doubled down that it was the right thing to do to destroy the DNA laden underwear, I have my doubts as to whether APD really thinks they did anything wrong. They have had plenty of time to finish their investigation, where is it?

And we haven’t even talked about APD and the DA not arresting people when they have video of them committing murders. The families of Jaquise Lewis and Earl Roybal are still waiting for justice that they will never receive because the criminal justice system in Albuquerque is a joke.

When DA Raul Torrez announced to Albuquerque citizens that “much of what has been reported about the brutal rape and murder of 10 year old Victoria Martens is simply not true!” he handed the defense attorney for Jessica Kelly their game plan.

But it wasn’t Torrez fault. He needed to come clean, although there are a lot of questions still, about the Martens case. In doing so it slapped the citizens in the face with something those in local law enforcement have known for over ten years. The APD Homicide unit is ill-trained, too young, and poorly led. Chief Geier should do a complete house cleaning from top to bottom. Get rid of any deputy chief of police who was in charge of Homicide during the last ten years. Yeah, that guy is still around and making over $100,000 per year.

Until Geier cleans out the crud in the Homicide unit, every one of you could find yourselves sitting in jail for a crime you didn’t commit, or watching your loved one murdered, shot in the back, and the assailant allowed to walk away free.

Mayor Keller and Chief Geier, what are you going to do? Double down and circle the wagons? Or clean house?

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/2018/07/02/Injustice-For-All-APD-Homicide-Units-Legacy-of-Shame