Recent arrests of juveniles accused of murder rattle Roundhouse as session nears end
Several lawmakers cited the case Thursday in discussion of a youthful offender bill that critics say does not go far enough to address a recent increase in violent crime involving juveniles.
"It's really disappointing to me this is all we could come up with," said Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho. "This can't be the answer."
Even the bill's Senate sponsor, Democrat Antonio "Moe" Maestas of Albuquerque, acknowledged it had become a "political football" after a House committee added monthly stipends of up to $2,000 for former juvenile delinquents.
Those stipends, which had been referred to as "homicide scholarships" by some GOP lawmakers, were stripped out of the bill late Wednesday by a Senate committee.
During Thursday's debate in a different Senate committee, Maestas said he was only made aware of the stipends after they had been added to the bill.
But he said the measure, House Bill 255, would still make improvements to the current juvenile code, including extending the length of probation for released underage defendants from 90 days to six months.
"This gives more flexibility and strength to judges' discretion," Maestas said of the legislation, which still faces several more hurdles in order to make it to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's desk before the session ends Saturday.
While the bill advanced to the Senate floor late Thursday, more sweeping proposals to crack down on juvenile crime have stalled during this year's 60-day session.
That includes a bill backed by Bernalillo Country District Attorney Sam Bregman that would have expanded New Mexico's criminal code for violent juvenile offenders. That bill, House Bill 143, stalled in a House committee amid concerns about the rehabilitation of youthful defendants.
However, supporters of such legislation have expressed alarm over a recent increase in juvenile crime in New Mexico, even as overall violent crime and property crime have decreased statewide.
Specifically, a top deputy in the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office recently told lawmakers there was a 57% increase in cases involving juvenile criminal defendants from 2022 to 2023.
Those figures have taken on different dimensions this week, after Albuquerque police officers arrested three juveniles in connection with the May 2024 death of 63-year-old Scott Habermehl in Northeast Albuquerque.
Habermehl was biking to work when he was struck by a stolen vehicle. The three boys arrested in the case allegedly recorded a cellphone video in which they discussed intentionally hitting Habermehl.
An Albuquerque Police Department spokesman said this week the juveniles — a 16-year-old, 13-year-old and 11-year-old — were identified after detectives learned about the video, which had been posted to social media.
The governor and Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller both condemned the incident, with Lujan Grisham saying lawmakers' refusal to seriously address juvenile crime during this year's session was "unacceptable."
On the Senate floor later Wednesday, Sen. Nicole Tobiassen, R-Albuquerque, read the names of victims killed by juvenile offenders and asked colleagues to observe a moment of silence.
That included Bennie Hargrove, whose 2021 death on the grounds of Albuquerque's Washington Middle School prompted lawmakers to approve a firearm storage law.
"This is something we need to remember in this body as we're passing legislation," Tobiassen said.
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