Latest news with #2ndJudicialDistrictCourt
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Lawsuit filed in fatal police shooting of man cuffed in Albuquerque officer's vehicle
Jun. 11—The fatal shooting by Albuquerque police of Matthew "Solo" Garcia while he was handcuffed in the backseat of an officer's SUV in October prompted a tense protest outside the Central Avenue motel in the hours after the killing. Garcia's family on June 2 filed a lawsuit alleging that the Albuquerque Police Department and city officials failed to follow the law and their own policies throughout the encounter on Oct. 18, 2024. "We want our officers and our department — specifically APD — to comply with our constitution," said Taylor Smith, an attorney who filed the suit. "Had that been the case from the outset, I think we would have a drastically different situation, and probably not a wrongful death lawsuit," he said. The shooting occurred after APD and city officials arrived at the Tewa Lodge to enter apartments and evict tenants, the suit alleges. The action violated the state's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act and city policies that regulate tenant evictions, it alleges. The lawsuit contends that officers had no right to enter Garcia's room at the Tewa Lodge on Central, just east of San Mateo, without a search warrant or to detain him without cause. It also alleges officers had ample time to search Garcia for a weapon after they cuffed him and placed him in a police vehicle. The 37-page lawsuit, filed last week in 2nd Judicial District Court, seeks undisclosed compensatory and punitive damages and costs. It names the city, APD Chief Harold Medina and three officers and others as defendants. Spokespersons for the city and APD declined Wednesday to respond to the lawsuit. "On APD's side, we will be prepared to respond to the allegations in court," APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in a statement. Garcia had a loaded handgun on his person at the time he was placed into the police SUV. APD officials shared lapel video showing officers Precious Cadena and Zachary Earles firing 11 bullets through the open doors of the vehicle as a third officer wrested the gun from Garcia. "Another important aspect of this case is the fact that the officers were able to get the firearm from Mr. Garcia before they began to shoot him," Smith said. "And there was no communication between the officers when they removed the firearm." APD Chief Medina acknowledged at a news conference that Garcia was placed into the SUV without a pat-down search. An officer had put on gloves to perform a search when Garcia began banging his head against the vehicle, lapel video showed. Officers placed Garcia in the car "in an attempt to calm the situation down," Medina said. The lawsuit alleges that police had ample time to complete the pat-down search in the 40 minutes after Garcia was handcuffed but failed to do so. "It's a good amount of time in which they could have (searched Garcia) while he was being cooperative with officers," Smith said. The lawsuit also contends that the code enforcement operation police and city officials conducted violated city laws and policies and Garcia's constitutional rights. City officials intended to evict all the residents of the Tewa Lodge when they entered the property and began removing tenants from the units without warrants, it alleges. Throughout the interaction, officers "made clear that Mr. Garcia was not free to terminate the encounter and was not free to leave constituting a de facto arrest without reasonable suspicion or probable cause," the suit alleges. Smith said residents in hotel rooms have constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure. "You can't just summarily evict somebody because you believe there may be drugs on the property," he said. "You still have to go through the criminal process."
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Lawsuit filed in fatal police shooting of man cuffed in Albuquerque officer's vehicle
Jun. 11—The fatal shooting by Albuquerque police of Matthew "Solo" Garcia while he was handcuffed in the backseat of an officer's SUV in October prompted a tense protest outside the Central Avenue motel in the hours after the killing. Garcia's family on June 2 filed a lawsuit alleging that the Albuquerque Police Department and city officials failed to follow the law and their own policies throughout the encounter on Oct. 18, 2024. "We want our officers and our department — specifically APD — to comply with our constitution," said Taylor Smith, an attorney who filed the suit. "Had that been the case from the outset, I think we would have a drastically different situation, and probably not a wrongful death lawsuit," he said. The shooting occurred after APD and city officials arrived at the Tewa Lodge to enter apartments and evict tenants, the suit alleges. The action violated the state's Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act and city policies that regulate tenant evictions, it alleges. The lawsuit contends that officers had no right to enter Garcia's room at the Tewa Lodge on Central, just east of San Mateo, without a search warrant or to detain him without cause. It also alleges officers had ample time to search Garcia for a weapon after they cuffed him and placed him in a police vehicle. The 37-page lawsuit, filed last week in 2nd Judicial District Court, seeks undisclosed compensatory and punitive damages and costs. It names the city, APD Chief Harold Medina and three officers and others as defendants. Spokespersons for the city and APD declined Wednesday to respond to the lawsuit. "On APD's side, we will be prepared to respond to the allegations in court," APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said in a statement. Garcia had a loaded handgun on his person at the time he was placed into the police SUV. APD officials shared lapel video showing officers Precious Cadena and Zachary Earles firing 11 bullets through the open doors of the vehicle as a third officer wrested the gun from Garcia. "Another important aspect of this case is the fact that the officers were able to get the firearm from Mr. Garcia before they began to shoot him," Smith said. "And there was no communication between the officers when they removed the firearm." APD Chief Medina acknowledged at a news conference that Garcia was placed into the SUV without a pat-down search. An officer had put on gloves to perform a search when Garcia began banging his head against the vehicle, lapel video showed. Officers placed Garcia in the car "in an attempt to calm the situation down," Medina said. The lawsuit alleges that police had ample time to complete the pat-down search in the 40 minutes after Garcia was handcuffed but failed to do so. "It's a good amount of time in which they could have (searched Garcia) while he was being cooperative with officers," Smith said. The lawsuit also contends that the code enforcement operation police and city officials conducted violated city laws and policies and Garcia's constitutional rights. City officials intended to evict all the residents of the Tewa Lodge when they entered the property and began removing tenants from the units without warrants, it alleges. Throughout the interaction, officers "made clear that Mr. Garcia was not free to terminate the encounter and was not free to leave constituting a de facto arrest without reasonable suspicion or probable cause," the suit alleges. Smith said residents in hotel rooms have constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure. "You can't just summarily evict somebody because you believe there may be drugs on the property," he said. "You still have to go through the criminal process."
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Jury hits Presbyterian with $40 million verdict in medical negligence case
Jun. 4—A jury this week awarded more than $40 million in damages to a couple who argued that personnel at Presbyterian Healthcare Services failed to diagnose a condition that resulted in brain damage to their infant child. The couple argued in a lawsuit that Presbyterian personnel failed to diagnose the infant's low blood glucose levels after the child's birth in April 2019, resulting in permanent developmental effects. The award included $15 million in punitive damages against Presbyterian. Jurors also awarded nearly $25 million to the child, now 6, and a total of $825,000 to the boy's parents, Samantha and Patrick Leonard. Jurors also found that the conduct of four Presbyterian personnel, including two physicians and two registered nurses, showed "reckless or wanton" behavior on the part of the health care system, 2nd Judicial District Court records show. Jurors handed down the verdict on Monday following a two-week trial before state District Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd. Presbyterian called the judgment "excessive" in a statement issued Tuesday. "While we respect the judicial process, we have serious concerns about this outcome and the unprecedented size of the damages awarded," the statement said. "We intend to pursue legal options to address what we consider to be an excessive judgment." "Presbyterian is committed to providing safe, high-quality care to our communities," it said. The verdict comes about six months after a Bernalillo County jury awarded nearly $17 million in damages to a woman who carried a 13-inch metal instrument in her abdomen for two months following a 2019 surgery at Presbyterian Hospital. That Jan. 14 verdict included $15 million in punitive damages against Presbyterian. Earlier this year, lawmakers failed to approve a bill that sought to counter the shortage of health care providers in New Mexico by changing the state's Medical Malpractice Act, including limiting attorney fees in medical malpractice cases. Senate Bill 176 died in committee after drawing strong opposition from trial lawyers and patients injured by medical malpractice. Supporters of the bill argued that New Mexico's medical malpractice laws have made the state a magnet for out-of-state attorneys and discouraged doctors from practicing here. In 2022, New Mexico had the highest medical malpractice insurance loss ratio in the country, according to a recent Think New Mexico report, meaning insurers paid out 183% of the premiums they took in. Indeed, New Mexico was one of only seven states where insurers lost money, making it much more expensive for them to function in this market. Lisa Curtis, an Albuquerque attorney who represented the Leonard family, said jurors awarded $15 million in punitive damages as a warning to Presbyterian. "It's clear they were just trying to send a message — take better care of our children," Curtis said Tuesday. An attorney for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Colleen Koch, did not immediately return phone messages Tuesday seeking comment. The boy, who was born about three weeks prematurely at Presbyterian Hospital in April 2019, had undetected hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, due to high insulin levels, according to the 2022 lawsuit. The boy was discharged from the hospital two days after birth. Seven days after discharge, the boy became "fussy and febrile with less active feeding" and was readmitted to Presbyterian. Eight days after the boy's birth, his brain and heart shut down, Curtis said. "They started testing his blood sugar after that," she said. "His blood sugars were super low. They figured it out in a day once he had crashed and they tested him." Presbyterian violated its own policies that require blood-sugar testing for all babies born prematurely within 24 hours of birth, Curtis argued. The boy "suffered undetected hypoglycemia with subsequent seizure activity and respiratory arrest when he was only (8) days old," the lawsuit said. The boy "is suffering the long-term consequences of developmental delay/sensory disorder, abnormal vision and behavioral effects."
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ruling: East Central bookstore must remove encampment or face hefty fine
May 1—A hearing officer ruled that Quirky Used Books must remove a homeless encampment from its parking lot in two weeks or pay a fine of $1,500 to the city of Albuquerque. In the written ruling issued Thursday, City Hearing Officer Ripley Harwood stated he would only impose fines tied to one of several ordinance violations brought against the bookstore, that which prohibits camping on public property, including the use of tents. Harwood dismissed the other violations, which involved weeds and litter and outdoor storage. The dispute dates back to July 2024, when Quirky Used Books began allowing 18 unhoused people with 12 tents to stay in the store's back parking lot at 120 Jefferson NE, just north of Central. After the city received various 311 complaints — at least one from a neighboring business — Code Enforcement issued the violations, leading to an administrative hearing on Monday. Gillam Kerley, owner of Quirky Used Books, said he was "disappointed" the hearing officer could not rule on whether the violations aligned with the New Mexico Constitution. Harwood said, in his decision, that he considered constitutional arguments "to be outside the scope of my review." In his ruling, Harwood said the case is not about the rights or risks of homeless people occupying public property, but rather "a case about the limits of the rights of private property owners to the allowable uses of their property." Kerley said he will be seeking a stay on the enforcement of the ruling pending an appeal to the 2nd Judicial District Court. He said they were appealing to get a ruling "on whether the New Mexico Constitution's right to seek and obtain safety and the right to preserve one's property essentially outweigh the language of the zoning code." The bookstore owner added that he does not expect the decision to be reversed during the appeal. The city's Code Enforcement Department said they were pleased with the ruling. "We're happy with the decision because it moves Quirky Books towards remediation, which is what we always wanted," said Tim Walsh, public information coordinator for the city of Albuquerque Planning Department. "We just want them to come into compliance and hopefully this will get them there." The city plans to stay in contact with the bookstore to ensure they come into compliance. Code Enforcement has another hearing pending with Quirky Used Books over similar violations, but said they will drop the case if Quirky Used Books comes into compliance in the next two weeks. A hearing on that matter has not been scheduled yet. Kerley said he was glad the hearing officer did not agree with a majority of the proposed violations, including the accusation of litter and filth in the parking lot. In his ruling, Harwood left a glowing review of Kerley's character, calling him an "altruistic idealist." "Were the world full of idealists such as Gillam Kerley, humanity would likely solve the broad-based societal problems without the need for the blunt instrument of government," Harwood wrote. "The reality is that Quirky Books cannot solve the enormous public problem of the homelessness and in trying to do so, they have merely caused other harms. The homeless problem is for governments to solve."
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jurors find Albuquerque man guilty of three counts of second-degree murder in 2023 triple homicide
Apr. 30—Prosecutors told jurors Wednesday that Thomas Clark fatally shot three people with the intention of stealing a car containing at least $90,000 worth of fentanyl. Clark, 34, testifying in his own defense this week, told jurors that he fired the fatal shots in self-defense because a group of drug dealers had planned to kill him and dispose of his body on the West Mesa. Jurors on Wednesday found Clark guilty of three counts of second-degree murder in the Aug. 31, 2023, shooting deaths of Jonathan McGaughy, 31, Genea Oliver, 35, and Randy Lovett, 40. But jurors rejected the more serious charges of first-degree murder in each of the three killings. Jurors deliberated for two hours following an eight-day trial in 2nd Judicial District Court before Judge Clara Moran. Clark faces up to 60 years in prison at sentencing. That hearing has not been scheduled. Clark's attorney, John McCall, said in closing arguments Wednesday that a group of "big money" drug dealers had accused Clark of stealing and were openly discussing plans to kill him. McGaughy was a major drug dealer, McCall argued, who moved 30,000 fentanyl pills a week and had a large number of people working for him. "This is a drug dealer, a serious drug dealer," McCall said of McGaughy. "These are the people around him, the people who will kill people who steal from them because it's bad for business. Thomas Clark was not in that circle of trust." McGaughy had summoned at least a half-dozen of his people to a parking lot in Southeast Albuquerque at 4:20 a.m., which McCall described as "an attempted kidnapping and murder" of Clark. "Everybody is talking about killing him," McCall told jurors. Clark "was exercising self-defense and he did understand that his life was in danger." Clark and others testified during the trial that Clark was in the back seat of a Mitsubishi Gallant at about 4:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted. Prosecutors relied on ShotSpotter gunshot detection recordings to argue that Clark fired nine gunshots in less than six seconds with a 9mm handgun. "This case starts and ends in less than six seconds," Assistant District Attorney Christine Jablonsky told jurors on Wednesday. "Less than six seconds ended the lives of three human beings." Albuquerque police found the three victims lying close to the Mitsubishi in a parking lot outside an apartment building in the 300 block of Rhode Island SE. Jablonsky rejected Clark's self-defense argument and suggested that he may have intended to steal 30,000 fentanyl pills located in the trunk of the car. She estimated the value of the pills at between $90,000 and $300,000 depending on their sale price. "It seems as though he was climbing into that front seat in order to take the car," Jablonsky told jurors. Prosecutors also argued that Clark had been smoking fentanyl and was "freaking out" when he opened fire, which Clark and his attorneys denied. Nine 9mm shell casings were found inside the car, Jablonsky said. "We know he fired nine times within the confines of that car," she said. "He shot until there were no more bullets left in that gun. He ran out of ammo." Testifying in his own defense Tuesday, Clark said he overheard people he knew as dangerous drug dealers discussing plans to kill him and leave his body at Nine Mile Hill, west of Albuquerque. "I was in fear for my life, and by their discussion, I knew that I was going to die that night," Clark told jurors. Clark testified that he was confined to the back seat of a Mitsubishi when he overheard several people accuse him of stealing from the group and urge McGaughy to kill Clark. Clark said he heard Oliver say, "We'll take this fool out to Nine Mile Hill before we go to the casino." The group planned to go to Route 66 Casino after disposing of Clark's body, he told jurors.
