Another week, another DWI case against a Rio Arriba County employee gutted because of a key witness from the State Police.
Similar to Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Deputy Isaac Martinez’s DWI case, the State Police officer that arrested County Deputy Treasurer Leo Marquez could not provide comprehensive testimony about Marquez’s DWI arrest during a Dec. 20 jury trial at the Española Magistrate Court.
Unlike Martinez’s Dec. 10 status hearing, court records state State Police officer Ryan Kuehl failed to appear in court on time, causing Los Alamos Magistrate Judge Pat Casados to file a motion to dismiss Marquez’s charges without prejudice.
A log kept by Casados states Kuehl was given plenty of time to make the trial. Casados’s log stated the trial started 45 minutes after the 9 a.m. scheduled time because of a “door problem” at the Court and to allow the jury “to get settled.”
After the prosecution gave their opening argument and Kuehl was still a no-show, Casados granted defense attorney Yvonne Quintana’s motion to dismiss.
Casados’s log states Kuehl arrived at the Court at 10:20 a.m., just as the jury was leaving.
Marquez confirmed Kuehl’s absence from the proceedings and said the dismissal was because of Kuehl’s tardiness.
If Kuehl had shown up, Marquez said in an interview, he and Quintana were prepared to defend his innocence.
“I felt there was some errors in the traffic stop and some errors in the police report,” he said.
Marquez would not elaborate on what those errors were.
The final development in the trial was just the latest in a long-gestating case with a revolving door of judges and district attorneys.
Five days after Marquez’s June 23 arrest, court documents state he requested Rio Arriba Magistrate Judge Alex Naranjo be excused from his case.
Marquez said his request was meant to remove local biases from the case.
“I felt that it was in the best interest of everyone that no one could say there was politics involved,” he said.
Marquez filed a motion requesting a jury trial July 5.
Marquez’s request for Naranjo’s excusal was granted and Rio Arriba Magistrate Judge Joseph Madrid presided over Marquez’s July 8 arraignment, where he plead not guilty.
Documents state Marquez filed a motion to withdraw Naranjo’s preemptory excusal, but a note written on the motion states the motion was denied because Naranjo had already signed the paperwork recusing himself from the case.
Marquez declined to comment on the motion.
As July progressed, the cast of characters surrounding Marquez’s case kept changing.
July 10 saw the departure of First Judicial District Attorney Angela “Spence” Pacheco, who cited “a conflict of interest” as the reason she could not prosecute the case in a notice of conflict and substitution of counsel.
Marquez said it was his understanding that Pacheco had to dismiss herself because Marquez was a former County Sheriff’s employee. Marquez referred further questioning about Pacheco’s recusal to Quintana, who did not return requests for comment.
Pacheco did not return a request for comment on the issue either.
Madrid was the next to leave the case, recusing himself July 16.
Pacheco and Madrid were replaced by Casados and Eighth Judicial District Attorney Donald Gallegos, respectively.
Officials from the Eighth Judicial District Attorney Office did not return a request for comment.
Marquez’s trial came almost six months after his arrest.
Kuehl’s statement of probable cause states Marquez was driving southbound on U.S. Highway 84 near Medanales, when Kuehl observed Marquez failing to maintain his traffic lane.
After Kuehl pulled Marquez over, he observed “the odor of alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Marquez’s facial area” and Marquez’s “bloodshot watery eyes.” Kuehl said he arrested Marquez for DWI and failing to maintain his lane and later put him under a one-hour and 23-minute deprivation period, before Marquez blew a .15 blood alcohol level in a Breathalyzer test.
District 7 State Police Capt. Roman Jimenez did not return a request for comment.
With the DWI charge behind him, Marquez said his last major roadblock to a race for Española’s District 3 City Council has been lifted.
“I’m very confident I can enter the race now,” he said.