The District Attorney’s office filed a notice Sept. 23 asking the state Court of Appeals to overturn a ruling suppressing key evidence in the case of a Velarde man accused of being responsible for his 2-year-old son’s drug overdose death.
Prosecutors had to file the appeal after stopping the trial of Joe Martinez, 28, part way through testimony of its first witness Sept. 22 in state District Court in Tierra Amarilla. Martinez is charged with child abuse resulting in death for the May 8, 2008, death of his son, Dion Martinez.
Martinez’s attorney Tony Scarborough had objected to the introduction of toxicology test results that show Martinez’s son died from an overdose of cocaine and other drugs, arguing the prosecution should have called the scientists who conducted the testing as witnesses. The prosecution had called the state Office of the Medical Investigator doctor who signed off on the tests
State District Court Judge Stephen Pfeffer sustained the objection, dealing a serious blow to the prosecution’s case against Martinez.
Assistant District Attorney Lara Sundermann has until Oct. 23 to file a docketing statement that explains the facts of the case, she said. She will argue that the toxicology test information should have been allowed into evidence based on the witnesses the prosection had called.
There is no deadline to which the Court of Appeals is held in returning an opinion. But Pfeffer warned the prosecutors that a lengthy appeals process could derail the case, as the jurors will have to avoid media coverage of the case and refrain from discussing the case throughout the time period.
Dion Martinez’s mother, Rose Garcia, is also facing a charge of child abuse resulting in death, but her trial is scheduled for next year.