New Mexico needs to stop letting inmates out of prison before they finish their sentences – or at the very least needs to overhaul the state’s early release program and institute safeguards to prevent violent criminals from being turned loose to terrorize our communities.
A step in the right direction would be for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to summon to a meeting prosecutors, representatives of law enforcement, officials from the Department of Corrections, and ACLU, among other groups.
The latter groups will almost assuredly argue for even more lenient standards than those being enforced today.
Two recent cases right here in our backyard argue for more stringent rules on prisoner releases and would indicate that at the very least prisoners should be made to complete the sentences they are given at the time of conviction.
The prime suspect in the August 16 Española murder of a Blake’s Lotaburger employee, 22-year-old Cypress Garcia, is Ricky Martinez, Jr., 31.
Why Martinez was released early should be examined closely. Clearly, he should not have been out on the streets. As of the first of the week he had not been formally charged with the murder but is a suspect in a string of area armed robberies, many in the last few weeks.
Consider these facts:
Martinez was released from federal prison on March 15 and almost immediately accused of violating conditions of his release and a federal warrant for his arrest was issue in July.
He had been serving a 48-month sentence after a 2019 indictment in U.S. District Court. He was convicted of a count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury but, according to a report in the Albuquerque Journal, had been charged with:
-Assault with intent to commit murder.
-Assault with a dangerous weapon
-Assault resulting in serious bodily injury
These charges resulted from a 2017 court case on tribal land involving a Native American man, according to the Journal.
In July of 2018, according to published reports, he was convicted of escaping from the Rio Arriba County jail.
He got out of prison early, in March of 2022, and is now back in prison on charges of:
-Three counts of armed robbery
-One count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
-One count of shooting at a dwelling or occupied building
-One count of possession of a firearm while a felon
All of these relate to the Dandy Burger armed robbery on August 9, a Shell gas station incident on August 10, and another incident on Aug. 11 at a Walgreens.
Published reports also indicated that in the past he had been convicted of burglarizing a car; robbery; aggravated assault on a peace officer; and shooting at or from a motor vehicle.
And on March 15 this menace to society was released early from prison.
Explain that decision to the public, but more importantly to the loved ones of Cypress Garcia.
In another shooting close to home the Taos News reported on the August 21 shooting of the boyfriend of the daughter of Adel Jesus Valdez, who has not been charged but is accused of the shooting.
The Taos News reported: “according to New Mexico State Police, Adel Jesus Valdez turned himself in to agents at a state police office in Española after he was accused on Sunday (Aug. 21) of shooting his daughter’s 23-year-old boyfriend in the face.”
Here is how the News described the accused: “According to police, Valdez has a criminal history, including charges for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, homicide by vehicle, forgery and possession of a controlled substance.”
Our story on this incident appears on A3.
But, again, we ask: why is this guy is out on the street?
An editorial in the Albuquerque Journal in June of 2021 raised a number of questions about the early release of prisoners and in it reported the following: “Recidivism has been a problem that won’t be fixed by letting people out of jail. In fiscal 2017, half the inmates were back in prison within three years of release, according to a legislative analysis. And the staff of the New Mexico Sentencing Commission told lawmakers in 2018 that a larger share of N.M.’s inmates were in for violent crimes and drug offenses than in the rest of the country, while fewer were incarcerated for property crime and public order offenses.”
The numbers do not lie. We are letting violent prisoners out of jail, often early, and it is having murderous results.
Gov. Grisham must call in all of the resources necessary — local, state and federal — and craft new rules on who should be released from jail early — or ever.