The retrial of an El Rito man accused of fatally shooting former Tierra Amarilla Courthouse raider Baltasar Martinez in the back May 10, 2007, began with opening statements and state’s witnesses Tuesday in state District Court in Tierra Amarilla.
In a May trial, Herrera, 64, was acquitted of both first- and second-degree murder for Martinez’s death, but the jury was hung on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Herrera is now on trial for only the voluntary manslaughter charge.
Ten of 12 jurors in the last trial voted to acquit Herrera of voluntary manslaughter as well, according to the District Attorney’s office. Now the same prosecutor, Tim Hasson, and the same defense lawyer Tony Scarborough, are at it again with the same witnesses and same arguments — but, the state hopes, a different outcome.
“I don’t see any reason to do anything differently,” Hasson said, noting that in a retrial, it can be tricky to remember in which trial a witness made a given statement.
The state’s argument in the first trial was that two witnesses saw Herrera shoot an unarmed Martinez from a distance of about 20 feet. The defense last time claimed Herrera had reason to be angry, believing Martinez was attempting to sell Herrera’s tractor, and felt threatened by Martinez.
During the first day of the retrial, the court heard from Adam Drake and David Cassidy, the two eyewitnesses who saw Herrera shoot the 64-year-old Martinez in the back on the El Rito property where he was living with Corrine Archuleta, Martinez’s girlfriend and Herrera’s former wife. Drake and Cassidy were on the property looking at a tractor that Herrera considered his; Herrera found out about it, shooed Drake and Cassidy away from the tractor, and shot Martinez as he exited the house to confront him, according to statements made in court.
Cassidy, who admitted to being 98.2 percent deaf, testified Martinez “was not threatening at all” when he exited the house, contradicting Herrera’s statements to police he was acting in self-defense.
Archuleta described opening the door to the house just as Martinez fell at her feet, and seeing Herrera drive off laughing and making a shooting motion with his hand. Scarborough’s cross-examination largely consisted of asking Archuleta whether she remembered making statements she allegedly made at the last trial, in an attempt to show it was Martinez’s idea to sell the tractor.
A civil suit filed in state District Court in April 2007 disputes the ownership of the El Rito property (including the tractor) where Martinez and Archuleta lived. Archuleta filed a complaint stating Herrera took her off the property deed. Herrera claimed in response that Archuleta was never a co-owner of the property, documents state. Archuleta still lives on the property. The civil case remains open, and details of its status won’t be discussed in the criminal trial, Hasson said.
Testimony resumed Wednesday (11/5) with the testimony of State Police crime scene investigator Joe Schiel and state Office of the Medical Investigator Dr. Michelle Barry, both of whom testified at the previous trial. The trial is scheduled to conclude Nov. 7.
Herrera, who had been out of custody on house arrest pending trial, was arrested Oct. 23 after he was seen at Big Rock Casino in Española Sept. 29, Hasson said. He is now being held at Rio Arriba County Jail on no bond, according to Jail staff.
As with the last trial, Martinez is well represented by friends and family watching the trial, hoping for a conviction this time.
“My uncle died for a piece of property,” Martinez’s niece Patricia Salazar said Tuesday. “Every time we go through this it’s like losing him all over again — we hope justice is served this round.”