• Ruben Toledo died in 2017 after being allegedly denied medical care while going through alcohol withdrawal while at the Cibola County Detention Center, in Grants • Pathologist Matthew Cain found Toledo died from chronic alcohol abuse • The county is being sued for Toledo’s death
GRANTS, N.M. — An Albuquerque man who died seven days after suffering a seizure in the Cibola County Detention Center was killed by chronic alcohol abuse, according to an autopsy report. However, the report makes no mention of the seizures the man suffered, his apparent alcohol withdrawal or his hospitalization and appears to downplay the circumstances of his death.
Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, N.M. Photo by Angel Schatz/Flickr. CC-BY
Ruben Toledo, 42, died in the University of New Mexico Hospital on July 1, 2017, after being taken off of life support. He was taken to the hospital seven days earlier after going comatose in a shower after suffering multiple apparent seizures.
Office of the Medical Investigator pathologist Matthew Cain wrote, in a heavily redacted autopsy report, that based on the evidence presented to him, Toledo died from chronic alcohol abuse and he had “significant liver disease” and alcoholics are at risk for “metabolic abnormalities” and withdrawal complications.
Quijana wrote in the lawsuit that Toledo collapsed from a seizure in his cell, causing a head wound, on June 24, 2017. He died in the hospital seven days later, on July 1, 2017, after being taken off of life support.
There is no mention of that fall in the autopsy report, the seizures that caused it or that Toledo never regained consciousness after he was transported out of the jail.
Despite evidence of alcohol withdrawal in the lawsuit, it is not mentioned in the autopsy report, except as a perfunctory note in the summary and opinion that it can cause seizures and death. Neither Cain’s report nor the deputy field investigation by Tom Conklin makes mention of the seizures Toledo suffered, as noted in the wrongful death lawsuit, although it is unclear what was redacted.
“Seth advised that the decedent had been incarcerated in the Cibola County Detention Center. The decedent was found shaking on the shower floor. He became unresponsive and bystander (REDACTED).”
The lawsuit against Cibola County, filed on June 20, 2019, outlines alleged abuses and neglect at the hands of jail guards and medical staff at the jail.
Toledo was initially arrested on June 21, 2017, after being found allegedly drunk in his truck at the federal Petroglyph National Monument. U.S. Park Ranger Steven Powers arrested him on charges of DUI, possession of alcohol in a vehicle and possession of a controlled substance and booked him into the Sandoval County Detention Center, according to federal court documents.
Federal Magistrate Judge Kirtan Khalsa ordered Toledo held without bail during an initial appearance, at the request of U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutor Nicholas Ganjei. Toledo had no attorney. The entire hearing lasted for five minutes, according to a minutes sheet.
Toledo was transferred from the Sandoval jail to Cibola. His condition quickly worsened until he suffered an alcohol-induced seizure on June 24, observed by Sgt. Lisa Burnside. Toledo could no longer speak and he had dried blood on his forehead, Quijana wrote in the lawsuit complaint.
Burnside ordered guards to take Toledo, incapable of walking, to a shower to clean up while she looked for a clean cell. Guards carried him there and placed him on the ground, Quijana wrote.
“Ruben slumped over on the ground and became unresponsive,” she wrote.
Guards didn’t call for medical staff immediately but once they did, they told the guards to call 911 and started CPR. Once he left the jail, he would never regain consciousness, Quijana wrote.
The narrative outlined in the lawsuit compares starkly with the outline Cain and Conklin noted in the autopsy report and the deputy field investigation.
In the field investigation, Conklin wrote Toledo was “found shaking on the shower floor.” What happened next is redacted.
In Cain’s summary and opinion, he used the same sentence, that Toledo was “found shaking on the shower floor.” Again, what happened next is redacted.
That compares starkly with the lawsuit allegations, that guards carried Toledo into the shower and he slumped over. Guards then lifted Toledo into a chair and eventually called for medical help, according to the lawsuit.
Neither Cain’s autopsy report not Conklin’s field investigation mention that Toledo was taken to a local hospital, and then to the University of New Mexico hospital, after he lost consciousness at the jail.
Both documents also do not mention that Toledo died after being taken off of life support.
GRANTS, N.M. — An Acoma man will serve the remainder of his state sentence for drunk driving while he is held pending trial on a federal charge of second-degree murder that happened two days after a state judge released him on an absconder warrant.
Faustine is in federal custody after a federal grand jury indicted him on June 8, 2020, on charges of second-degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for the crash on April 22, 2020 that, according to tribal court documents, allegedly killed Timothy Chino and severely injured Katrina Juanico.
Villalobos released Faustine, being held on an absconder warrant, on April 20, 2020, two days before he allegedly crashed a car while drunk, killing Chino. He was allegedly fleeing from tribal police officers when he crashed, according to tribal court documents.
On Oct. 7, 2016, Faustine pleaded guilty to aggravated fleeing an officer, DWI third offense and driving on a license revoked for DWI, for an incident on Jan. 14, 2016, according to court documents.
Amanda Sanchez Villalobos
The plea deal, signed by prosecutor Brandon Vigil, gave Faustine a suspended sentence minus the mandatory 97 days he had to serve on the DUI charge. The plea was approved by District Judge Pedro Rael.
The original file in the magistrate case appears has been destroyed.
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• Police say Anthony Faustine allegedly drunkenly crashed his car after fleeing from police on a dirt road, killing passenger Timothy Chino, on April 22, 2020
• Judge Amanda Sanchez Villalobos released Faustine one day prior after arraigning him on a bench warrant after he didn’t appear at an arraignment on a probation violation from 2018 • Faustine’s original probation violation was for allegedly absconding from probation after pleading guilty to DUI and aggravated fleeing an officer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 40-year-old Acoma Pueblo man is being held without bail after being arraigned Monday in federal court on a charge of second-degree murder for the death of a man following an alleged drunk driving crash following a police pursuit on April 22, 2020, one day after he was released from jail on a probation violation on a prior charge of aggravated fleeing an officer and drunk driving.
Anthony Faustine
A federal grand jury indictedAnthony Faustine on June 8, 2020, on charges of second-degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for the crash that, according to tribal court documents, allegedly killed Timothy Chino and severely injured Katrina Juanico.
Federal Magistrate Judge Steven Yarbrough ordered Faustine held without bail, and remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, during his virtual arraignment, Monday (8/31/2020). Faustine pleaded not guilty and waived a detention hearing.
According to federal court filings, Faustine was being held in the Cibola County Detention Center in Grants prior to his initial appearance on Aug. 27, 2020.
Mariano wrote in a criminal complaint, filed in Laguna Tribal Court, that a call about a red Suzuki first came to dispatchers at 3:23 p.m., April 22, 2020.
An unknown woman told them the car was swerving on eastbound Interstate-40 and almost hit her car, just before it left on Exit 104, toward State Road 124. Officers were sent to look for the car, he wrote.
Laguna Highway Safety Officer Keith Riley told Mariano that while searching, he talked to a construction foreman on Rainfall Road, Mariano wrote.
“The foreman told HSO Riley that the vehicle which Officers were looking for passed through their work zone and nearly hit a few of the workers while it was passing through,” Mariano wrote. “HSO Riley was also told the vehicle was traveling on Cottonwood Trail, headed toward the Pueblo of Acoma.”
Riley and Laguna Police Department Officer Roslynn Lente found the red Suzuki near the border of Acoma and Laguna on Cottonwood Trail. Riley pulled in front of the car with his emergency lights, exited and told the driver to get out. The driver, later identified as Faustine, allegedly refused, revved the engine and sped away from Riley, Mariano wrote.
Riley “contacted the hood” as it sped off and Lente was “nearly to the vehicle” when Riley told her to stay in her car, as Faustine allegedly sped by her, Mariano wrote.
As the red Suzuki Sidekick sped away, the officers began to pursue it, then Riley called it off because it was on a dirt road, he wrote.
“HSO Riley then said just as he was finished the vehicle drove around a corner and began to roll,” Mariano wrote.
When the pair arrived at the crash scene, Faustine allegedly ran from the vehicle and Riley chased him on foot and told Lente to tend to the other two people in the car, he wrote.
Riley unholstered his stun gun and told Faustine to stop. Faustine fell to the ground and Riley placed him “restraints.” Faustine smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, bloodshot and glassy eyes and could not maintain his balance, Mariano wrote.
The crash ejected the front passenger, Timothy Chino, and pinned him under the vehicle. The other passenger, Katrina Juanico, was in the back seat and airlifted from the scene, he wrote.
While one medic, Isaac Herrera, tried to get Faustine’s blood pressure, Faustine allegedly tried to bit him. Faustine was eventually transported by ambulance for his injuries, Mariano wrote.
Mariano wrote he found Bud Light beer cans from the “beginning to the end of the crash,” as well as two bottles of vodka, he wrote.
Probation Officer Eric Barelawrote in a probation report dated Oct. 25, 2018 that Faustine was sentenced to three-and-a-half years of supervised probation on Oct. 6, 2016, on the DUI third offense and aggravated fleeing an officer charges.
“Since being sentenced Probationer Faustine has completed sanctions of 3 days and 7 days in custody due to violations of Reporting and Alcohol,” Barela wrote. “Probationer Faustine has shown by calling Cordant and failing to report for UA’s that he understands that he is violating his probation and continues to disreguard (sic) the orders of this court and his orders of probation.”
Barela wrote in the 2018 report that Faustine’s convictions, along with his failure to report and to complete drug and alcohol tests, meant he was a danger to the community.
“Probationer Faustine is now and (sic) ABSCONDER from supervision and has proven that he does not take probation serious and is not a good candidate for supervised probation,” Barela wrote.
Barela wrote he was asking that the prosecutor file a motion to revoke his probation and sentence him to the remainder of his sentence, which would have had him in jail until June 4, 2020.
When he was supposed to be arraigned on the probation violation charges, he never showed up, leading to the Dec. 13, 2018 bench warrant, eventually served on April 9, 2020, by the Isleta Police Department, according to court records.
After Faustine was arraigned on April 20, 2020, Barela issued a violation report on May 1, 2020, after Faustine failed to report for probation, followed by another on May 5. Sanchez Villalobos issued a bench warrant on May 6. It appears he did not know about the crash until, May 13, when he received a notification of arrest for Faustine. It listed him as in the Laguna jail.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jansen Peshlakai will continue to be housed in the private Cibola County Correction Center after a federal judge found him to be a danger to the community and that the coronavirus did not pose enough of a specific threat to him.
Shiprock. Photo by Mobilus In Mobili/Flickr
According to minutes from the June 4, 2020 hearing, conducted via Zoom, Peshlakai’s attorney, Edward Bustamante, asked he be released to the third-party custody of his sister in Oklahoma.
According to the minutes, U.S. Marshal Deputy G. McCoy “provides information re: COVID-19 cases, status of employee’s health at Cibola and outlines medical treatment defendants receive upon entry/release from center.”
Jaros brought one exhibit, entered onto the record, but it was not uploaded to PACER and the minutes do not state what it was.
At the end of the 45-minute hearing, District Judge Judith Herrera ordered Peshlakai continue to be held as a danger to the community, according to the minutes.
“Court finds defendant has not shown there is an elevated risk to him in contracting COVID-19, outlines reasons and denies request for release,” the minutes state. “Ms. Jaros to submit order”
Peshlakai allegedly ran down 20-year-old Dakota Whitehat on July 13, 2018. Whitehat was in a vehicle that stopped because Peshlakai was fighting with his wife on the side of the road and, according to one report, screaming for help, according to court documents. Read more about the case in the write-up.
The Cibola County Correction Center, and the company that runs it, CoreCivic, have come under scrutiny because of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a March 30 response to the United States Marshals Service, Cibola County Detention Center Warden Luis Rosa Jr. wrote a vague letter that the facility is following proper guidelines and instituting social distancing within the facility.
According to a May 12 filing by Jaros, two federal inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus. They were transferred from Otero County in early May, 2020.
No further hearings are scheduled.
The Cibola County Correction Center allegedly forced inmates to sign waivers before giving them face masks, according to Jeff Proctor reporting in New Mexico In Depth.
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Jansen Peshlakai is asking a federal judge to release him to a halfway-house pending trial because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Peshlakai allegedly ran down 20-year-old Dakota Whitehat on July 13, 2018. Whitehat was in a vehicle that stopped because Peshlakai was fighting with his wife on the side of the road and, according to one report, screaming for help, according to court documents.
Peshlakai’s competency to stand trial was an issue from the start of the case and he was found not competent on June 14, 2019, before being rehabilitated and found competent on March 20, 2020, his attorney, Edward Bustamante, wrote in a motion for his release.
He was then returned to New Mexico on April 17, 2020, and taken to the Cibola County Correctional Center outside Milan, a private jail run by CoreCivic, Bustamante wrote.
“Jansen Peshlakai is an at risk detainee due to his permanent closed head injury and his course of medications that make him vulnerable to any health threat while detained,” Bustamante wrote.
He asked that his client be released to his daughter, Jennifer Peshlakai, in Oklahoma, or his mother, in Churchrock.
Prosecutor Allison Jaros wrote in a response, dated April 23, 2020, that Bustamante did not argue that his client is no longer a flight risk or a danger to the community and that the pandemic would not make it less likely he would violate court orders and drink or harm others if released from custody.
“Defendant’s mental condition has improved since his incarceration, likely due to his forced sobriety,” Jaros wrote.
According to Peshlakai’s own doctor, he requires “24/7” supervision for safety, food preparation, medication administration and assistance with other basic daily activities, she wrote.
Cibola County Detention Center badge
“The COVID-19 pandemic simply has no bearing on whether conditions of release can reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance in court and the safety of the community,” Jaros wrote.
She wrote that Peshlakai is also not particularly at risk from the coronavirus, citing a New York case where a man with dementia and a history of strokes and heart attacks was denied pre-trial release during the pandemic.
“It would be pure speculation for the Court to presume that Defendant’s underlying conditions pose a greater risk to his safety than if he was released back into the public, where he could resume drinking,” Jaros wrote.
She wrote that when he was arrested, he also had three outstanding warrants. One was a New Mexico probation violation case, although she did not specify if it was federally issued or a state case, and two for failing to appear in court in Oklahoma.
On April 22, 2020, Anthony Faustine, 40, of Acoma, allegedly crashed his car while drunk after fleeing from police. Judge Amanda Sanchez Villalobos released him one day earlier after he was arrested on a failure-to-appear bench warrant issued after he allegedly absconded from probation in 2018. He fled from the crash, leaving a man under his car who died at the scene, according to an investigator’s report. A woman was also severely injured and flown from the scene, according to the report. Laguna Pueblo tribal officers charged him following the crash.
On June 9, a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of second-degree murder and assault and battery resulting in serious bodily harm.
On Aug. 31, a federal magistrate judge ordered he be held without bail pending trial.
An unknown woman told them the car was swerving on eastbound Interstate-40 and almost hit her car, just before it left on Exit 104, toward State Road 124. Officers were sent to look for the car, he wrote.
Laguna Highway Safety Officer Keith Riley told Mariano that while searching, he talked to a construction foreman on Rainfall Road, Mariano wrote.
“The foreman told HSO Riley that the vehicle which Officers were looking for passed through their work zone and nearly hit a few of the workers while it was passing through,” Mariano wrote. “HSO Riley was also told the vehicle was traveling on Cottonwood Trail, headed toward the Pueblo of Acoma.”
Riley and Laguna Police Department Officer Roslynn Lente found the red Suzuki near the border of Acoma and Laguna on Cottonwood Trail. Riley pulled in front of the car with his emergency lights, exited and told the driver to get out. The driver, later identified as Faustine, allegedly refused, revved the engine and sped away from Riley, Mariano wrote.
Riley “contacted the hood” as it sped off and Lente was “nearly to the vehicle” when Riley told her to stay in her car, as Faustine allegedly sped by her, Mariano wrote.
As the red Suzuki Sidekick sped away, the officers began to pursue it, then Riley called it off because it was on a dirt road, he wrote.
“HSO Riley then said just as he was finished the vehicle drove around a corner and began to roll,” Mariano wrote.
When the pair arrived at the crash scene, Faustine allegedly ran from the vehicle and Riley chased him on foot and told Lente to tend to the other two people in the car, he wrote.
Riley unholstered his stun gun and told Faustine to stop. Faustine fell to the ground and Riley placed him “restraints.” Faustine smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, bloodshot and glassy eyes and could not maintain his balance, Mariano wrote.
The crash ejected the front passenger, Timothy Chino, and pinned him under the vehicle. The other passenger, Katrina Juanico, was in the back seat and airlifted from the scene, he wrote.
While one medic, Isaac Herrera, tried to get Faustine’s blood pressure, Faustine allegedly tried to bit him. Faustine was eventually transported by ambulance for his injuries, Mariano wrote.
Mariano wrote he found Bud Light beer cans from the “beginning to the end of the crash,” as well as two bottles of vodka, he wrote.
Indictment
A federal grand jury indictedFaustine on June 8, 2020, on charges of second-degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for the crash that, according to tribal court documents, allegedly killed Timothy Chino and severely injured Katrina Juanico.
Ariel view of Laguna. Photo by Dickyon/Wikimedia
Federal Magistrate Judge Steven Yarbrough ordered Faustine held without bail, and remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, during his virtual arraignment, Monday (8/31/2020). Faustine pleaded not guilty and waived a detention hearing.
According to federal court filings, Faustine was being held in the Cibola County Detention Center in Grants prior to his initial appearance on Aug. 27, 2020.
Faustine appears to have been initially jailed, following the crash, after Marianocharged him in Laguna Pueblo tribal court with homicide by vehicle, reckless driving, aggravated DUI and battery following the April 22, 2020 crash.
Probation Officer Eric Barelawrote in a probation report dated Oct. 25, 2018 that Faustine was sentenced to three-and-a-half years of supervised probation on Oct. 6, 2016, on the DUI third offense and aggravated fleeing an officer charges.
“Since being sentenced Probationer Faustine has completed sanctions of 3 days and 7 days in custody due to violations of Reporting and Alcohol,” Barela wrote. “Probationer Faustine has shown by calling Cordant and failing to report for UA’s that he understands that he is violating his probation and continues to disreguard (sic) the orders of this court and his orders of probation.”
Barela wrote in the 2018 report that Faustine’s convictions, along with his failure to report and to complete drug and alcohol tests, meant he was a danger to the community.
“Probationer Faustine is now and (sic) ABSCONDER from supervision and has proven that he does not take probation serious and is not a good candidate for supervised probation,” Barela wrote.
Barela wrote he was asking that the prosecutor file a motion to revoke his probation and sentence him to the remainder of his sentence, which would have had him in jail until June 4, 2020.
When he was supposed to be arraigned on the probation violation charges, he never showed up, leading to the Dec. 13, 2018 bench warrant, eventually served on April 9, 2020, by the Isleta Police Department, according to court records.
After Faustine was arraigned on April 20, 2020, Barela issued a violation report on May 1, 2020, after Faustine failed to report for probation, followed by another on May 5. Sanchez Villalobos issued a bench warrant on May 6. It appears he did not know about the crash until, May 13, when he received a notification of arrest for Faustine. It listed him as in the Laguna jail.
On July 13, 2018, Jansen Peshlakai allegedly ran over Dakota Whitehat, 20, after some kind of domestic dispute with his wife, on BIA/Navajo/Indian Services Route 13 near Shiprock and Mitten Rock.
In February 2019, his case was placed on hold for a competency evaluation. He was initially found to not be competent, sent to a facility for rehabilitation, and found to be competent on March 20, 2020.
No hearings have been scheduled.
The incident
On July 13, 2018, Dakota Whitehat, 20, was walking down U.S. Highway 491, near Shiprock, when a car picked him up. After turning onto Indian Services Route/BIA Route/Navajo Route 13, the driver stopped because Jansen Peshlakai and his wife appeared to be in a physical fight, according to a deputy field investigation by Barbara Nabors.
Shiprock Pinnacle. Photo by DiAnn L’Roy/Flickr
“Per law enforcement, both the man and the woman of the parked vehicle became aggressive towards the occupants of vehicle one,” Nabors wrote. “For unknown reasons the decedent began walking eastbound on the opposite side of the road.”
Peshlakai allegedly turned his car around and ran down Whitehat, who was 15 to 20 feet off the highway, she wrote.
Jaros’ account differs from that of Nabors, based on what police initially told her.
The man who picked up Whitehat in his truck earlier on the road offered the wife a ride, Jaros wrote.
Whitehat is referred to as “John Doe” in court documents.
According to Jaros:
“She got into the truck to leave, which angered the defendant. The defendant got into his vehicle, a brown SUV, and drove across the road to where the white truck was parked. The defendant rammed the white truck. Next, the defendant ran over John Doe who was outside the vehicle on foot.”
Several witnesses, including other motorists who stopped, told investigators that Peshlakai allegedly did not try to swerve or slow down to avoid running over Whitehat, Jaros wrote.
“At the time of the collision, it was light outside,” she wrote. “John Doe died from his injuries later that day.”
Peshlakai had been drinking prior to allegedly running over Whitehat, she wrote.
“The defendant’s dangerousness is exacerbated by his alcohol abuse,” she wrote. “The defendant has been charged with alcohol related offenses on at least ten different occasions. He has convictions for public drunkenness and driving under the influence.”
In 2016, he was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, she wrote.
Specifically, he was drinking and driving without a driver’s license when he allegedly killed Whitehat, she wrote.
Below is the approximate location of the alleged attack.
According to a search of public state court records, no arrest appears to have been recorded.
Mitten Rock, off of Navajo Route 13 (Indian Services Route 13), New Mexico. Photo by James St. John/Flickr
On Oct. 2, 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Peshlakai on a charge of second-degree murder, although it would not be entered into the court record until Oct. 11, 2018.
Peshlakai immediately retained Farmington attorney Adam Bell once he learned he could be charged with a crime for allegedly running down Whitehat, Bustamante wrote.
Bell then arranged for Peshlakai to surrender to police in Farmington, he wrote.
According to the docket, he surrendered on Dec. 6, 2018 and Bustamante was appointed as his attorney.
Peshlakai suffered a “serious closed head injury” in 2013, which require him to “ingest a battery of medications to prevent ongoing seizures,” Bustamante wrote.
Before being arrested by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Peshlakai was scheduled to meet with multiple doctors about his brain injury.
“Subsequent to surrendering federal authorities Mr. Peshlakai has suffered a disruption in his prescribed medications,” Bustamante wrote. “The disruption in prescribed medication is causing at a minimum elevated anxiety in Mr. Peshlakai which in turn exacerbates Mr. Peshlakai’s closed head injury.”
Fashing “expressed concerns” about Peshlakai getting his medication when she ordered him held without bail. Release to a halfway house in Albuquerque would mean he could resume his medical treatment, he wrote.
On Feb. 7, 2019, Jaros filed a motion to have Peshlakai evaluated for his competency, an issue because of his 2013 head injury.
When Bell was representing Peshlakai, he told prosecutors that he thought his client was not competent to stand trial, she wrote.
She attached a letter given to her by Bell, from one of his doctors, Garett Riggs, of the Northern Navajo Medical Center.
“Mr. Peshlaki’s (sic) injury affected both frontal lobes of the brain leading to impairments of judgement, planning, and complex decision making,” Riggs wrote.”He requires 24/7 supervision for safety, medication administration, food preparation, and assistant with basic daily activities.”
Bustamante wrote in a motion to have Peshlakai released, because of the coronavirus pandemic, that Peshlakai was evaluated at a facility in Colorado and found incompetent to proceed on June 14, 2019. He was committed to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be returned to competency.
On March 20, 2020, a facility in North Carolina concluded that Peshlakai was competent to proceed to trial and he was returned to New Mexico on April 17, 2020, to the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan.
“The most recent evidence regarding Defendant’s mental state indicates that Defendant has recovered well from his head injury and that his epilepsy is currently under control,” she wrote.
A Bureau of Prisons psychologist wrote that his brain has recovered “well” from the injury and his “current cognitive profile does not reflect evidence of brain injury,” Jaros wrote.
Peshlakai is an at-risk detainee because of his permanent closed head injury and all his medications, he wrote.
He asked that his client be released to his daughter, Jennifer Peshlakai, in Oklahoma, or his mother, in Churchrock.
Jaros wrote in a response that Bustamante did not argue that his client is no longer a flight risk or a danger to the community and that the pandemic would not make it less likely he would violate court orders and drink or harm others if released from custody.
“The COVID-19 pandemic simply has no bearing on whether conditions of release can reasonably assure the defendant’s appearance in court and the safety of the community,” Jaros wrote.
She wrote that Peshlakai is also not particularly at risk from the coronavirus, citing a New York case where a man with dementia and a history of strokes and heart attacks was denied pre-trial release during the pandemic.
“It would be pure speculation for the Court to presume that Defendant’s underlying conditions pose a greater risk to his safety than if he was released back into the public, where he could resume drinking,” Jaros wrote.
She wrote that when he was arrested, he also had three outstanding warrants. One was a New Mexico probation violation case, although she did not specify if it was federally issued or a state case, and two for failing to appear in court in Oklahoma.
District Judge Judith Herrera held a hearing on June 4, 2020, and denied Peshlakai’s request for release.
According to minutes from the June 4, 2020 hearing, conducted via Zoom, Bustamante asked for his client to be released to the third-party custody of his sister in Oklahoma.
According to the minutes, U.S. Marshal Deputy G. McCoy “provides information re: COVID-19 cases, status of employee’s health at Cibola and outlines medical treatment defendants receive upon entry/release from center.”
Jaros brought one exhibit, entered onto the record, but it was uploaded to PACER and the minutes do not state what it was.
At the end of the 45-minute hearing, District Judge Judith Herrera ordered Peshlakai continue to be held as a danger to the community, according to the minutes.
“Court finds defendant has not shown there is an elevated risk to him in contracting COVID-19, outlines reasons and denies request for release,” the minutes state. “Ms. Jaros to submit order.”
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After a federal park ranger arrested him on a charge of drunk driving on June 21, Ruben Toledo, of Albuquerque, was transferred to the Cibola County Detention Center, where he proceeded to go through alcohol withdrawals, according to court documents.
Allegedly denied adequate medical care, he became so weak he could not walk but, after suffering at least one seizure, a nurse directed he be put into a shower on June 24. Guards carried him there, where he slumped over, before calling for emergency medical attention. When emergency staff arrived, they began CPR and Toledo was transferred to the Cibola hospital, and then to the University of New Mexico Hospital because his condition was so bad. He was taken off of life support on July 1, 2017. He never regained consciousness after he left the jail, according to a lawsuit complaint, filed Aug. 8, 2019.
On June 20, 2017, U.S. Park Ranger Steven Powers arrested Ruben Toledo, 42, on charges of DUI, possession of alcohol in a vehicle and possession of a controlled substance.
Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, NM. Photo by Mike Tungate/Flickr. CC-BY-ND
Powers wrote in an affidavit for a criminal complaint that he pulled up to Toledo’s truck, in the parking lot of the Petroglyph National Monument, because it was near closing time. Toledo appeared to be drunk and there were two open beers on the floorboard. Another unnamed person was also in the truck.
After conducting a field sobriety test, followed by a breath test, Powers arrested Toledo. The breath test came back at 0.27. During a search of the truck, Powers found marijuana, he wrote.
After taking him to a Albuquerque Police Department substation, Toledo’s blood-alcohol content came back as between 0.23 and 0.20, he wrote.
He was booked into the Sandoval County jail, Powers wrote.
Held without bail
On June 21, Toledo was also brought into court, in front of Magistrate Judge Kirtan Khalsa, for an initial appearance. Prosecutor Nicholas Ganjei, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, moved for Toledo to be held without bail. Toledo had no attorney and Khalsa ordered him held without bail. The entire hearing lasted for five minutes, according to a minutes sheet.
It is not clear if this was before or after he was transferred from the Sandoval County Detention Center to the Cibola County Detention Center.
A preliminary detention hearing was supposed to be set for the next day, June 22, but there are no more docket entries after those for June 21, which included a notice of an oral detention order issued by Khalsa and the appoint of Christopher Lucero as Toledo’s attorney.
Although the docket does not reflect when it was edited, Toledo was “terminated” as a part to the case on June 23.
Nothing else exists on the docket, even though Toledo would remain in the state’s custody until his death 10 days later at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, after being taken off life support.
Toledo was “quickly transferred” from the Sandoval County Detention Center to the Cibola County Detention Center the day following his arrest, June 21, 2017, attorney Alyssa Quijano wrote in an amended complaint against the Cibola County Detention Center for Toledo’s wrongful death.
“When Ruben arrived at the facility, he told staff he suffered from depression and anxiety, and staff noted that he was chemically impaired,” she wrote.
Toledo said he had been drinking the day prior to being booked and his vital signs were abnormal — his blood pressure was 169/94, his pulse was 100 beats per minute and he had a glucose level of 161. Jail staff cleared him to be housed in general population, Quijano wrote.
Toledo remained in the general population for two days and he began to suffer from alcohol withdrawal, she wrote.
As in Toledo’s case, alcohol withdrawal is often be deadly. (At least three cases currently in the jail death database were from alcohol withdrawal, although this is incomplete and many autopsy reports are pending or have not been requested yet).
Toledo asked to be moved out of the general population because he feared he was in danger from other inmates attacking him and he was beginning to have hallucinations, a symptom of severe alcohol withdrawal, also known as delirium tremens, Quijano wrote.
June 23
On June 23, two days after he had been transferred to the Cibola County Detention Center, Physician’s Assistant Michelle Lucero saw him. He reported is daily alcohol use before being booked and she found his blood pressure and pulse were elevated, she wrote.
Lucero found that Toledo was a “difficult historian” with a “poor memory” and he has a “knowledge deficit.”
“Despite obvious signs and symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, Defendant Lucero failed to provide any treatment for his withdrawal,” Quijano wrote. “Instead, Defendant Lucero ordered Mr. Toledo be given Lisinopril, a blood pressure medication, and Metformin, a medication used to treat diabetes. Ruben was sent back to his cell with no further care or monitoring ordered.”
Later that day, Toledo called the master control room, screaming, to be let out of his cell, as he had been hallucinating. When guards opened his door, he tried to get out. Guards handcuffed him and brought him to the medical unit. There, he told staff he was experiencing alcohol withdrawal and was hallucinating, she wrote.
The medical staff called nurse Michael Hildenbrant, who does not have prescribing authority and was not at the facility, said to put him on their alcohol withdrawal “protocol,” which included prescription medications. He should have been hospitalized, she wrote.
Quijano wrote, “When this medication was prescribed, Ruben’s vitals were still abnormal, with a blood pressure of 179/100 and a pulse of 120 beats per minute. Until this point, Ruben had not been monitored for his withdrawal. In light of his severe symptoms of withdrawal, Ruben should have been hospitalized. Instead, Ruben was sent to segregation.”
Hildenbrant prescribed Librium (Chlordiazepoxide) and clonidine. However, his condition had so deteriorated that the Librium “amounted to no care at all,” Quijano wrote.
While in segregation, Toledo was to be periodically monitored by jail guards, but not by medical staff. He continued to act strangely, including weeping in his cell, chanting and wrapping himself in toilet paper.
“Despite this, Ruben received no medical attention in response to his erratic behavior,” Quijano said.
Later that evening, presumably June 23, medical assistant Rayleen Ray went to his cell to give him his medication. He was lying on the ground. He refused to take his medication and eventually agreed, but only if he could take it standing up, she wrote.
Toledo’s condition was so bad that he could not stand up on his own and guards had to help him to his feet. He was still not provided any medical care, she wrote.
A few hours later, Ray went to check on Ruben and looked at him through the food port. She told the segregation guard to alert if if things were not “looking good,” Quijano wrote.
June 24
The next morning, Toledo had an alcohol-induced seizure. Sgt. Lisa Burnside was called to Toledo’s cell and looked at him through the food port. He was on the floor, seizing, Quijano wrote.
Officers entered the cell and once he stopped, Burnside asked if he was OK. Toledo looked at her but he could not speak. She saw dried blood on his forehead an indication that he suffered a head injury while in his cell, likely from a seizure, she wrote.
“Rather than call 911, Defendant Burnside directed officers to take Ruben to the shower to clean up,” Quijano wrote.
Burnside went to find Toledo a new, clean cell, she wrote.
“Ruben needed a hospital, not a new cell,” Quijano wrote.
Toledo was so weak that he could not walk on his own. Guards carried him to the shower, Quijano, wrote.
“When officers got him to the shower, Ruben was unable to stand on his own, so he was placed on the ground,” she wrote. “Ruben slumped over on the ground and became unresponsive.”
The guards did not call for medical staff, 911 or other emergency medical services. Instead, they tried to lift Toledo into a chair, before “eventually” calling for medical staff.
“When they arrived, medical staff directed officers to call 911 and begin CPR,” Quijano wrote.
Once he left the jail, he would never regain consciousness, she wrote.
Toledo was transported to the Cibola General Hospital. When he arrived, he was unresponsive. Blood work showed his sodium levels were “critically high” and his carbon dioxide levels were “critically low,” she wrote.
“Medical staff also noted Ruben suffered significant bruising,” Quijano wrote.
He was also extremely dehydrated. His condition was so severe that they were not able to treat him and he was transferred to the University of New Mexico Hospital, she wrote.
Toledo remained on life support until July 1, 2017. Soon after he was taken off, he was pronounced dead. The county closed the jail three weeks later, she wrote.
Deprivation of civil rights
Quijano sued Lucero, Burnside and Hildenbrant for violation of Toledo’s due process rights through inadequate medical care and wrote that if Toledo received the medical attention he needed as he experienced alcohol withdrawal, he would have survived.
“Defendants knew they were incapable of providing adequate medical care at CCDC,” Quijano wrote. “Defendants failed to obtain medical care until Ruben was slumped over and unresponsive. Ruben never regained consciousness after this.”
Cibola County, Lucero, Burnside and Hildenbrant are also being sued for negligent maintenance of a medical facility and negligent provision of medical care.
“Defendants routinely provided substandard care, or no care at all, to inmates in their facility,” Quijano wrote. “Upon information and belief, Defendants do not transport inmates to the emergency room to avoid costs of treatment.”
Quijano also lodged one count of a custom and policy of violating constitutional rights against warden Adrianna Jaramillo, alleging that during her tenure and that of her predecessors, the jail provided inadequate medical care to inmates.
Office of the Medical Investigator pathologist Matthew Cain wrote, in a heavily redacted autopsy report, that based on the evidence presented to him, Toledo died from chronic alcohol abuse and he had “significant liver disease” and alcoholics are at risk for “metabolic abnormalities” and withdrawal complications.
Despite evidence of alcohol withdrawal in the lawsuit, it is not mentioned in the autopsy report, except as a perfunctory note in the summary and opinion that it can cause seizures and death. Neither Cain’s report nor the deputy field investigation by Tom Conklin makes mention of the seizures Toledo suffered, as noted in the wrongful death lawsuit, although it is unclear what was redacted.
“Seth advised that the decedent had been incarcerated in the Cibola County Detention Center. The decedent was found shaking on the shower floor. He became unresponsive and bystander (REDACTED).”
The narrative outlined in the lawsuit compares starkly with the outline Cain and Conklin noted in the autopsy report and the deputy field investigation.
In the field investigation, Conklin wrote Toledo was “found shaking on the shower floor.” What happened next is redacted.
In Cain’s summary and opinion, he used the same sentence, that Toledo was “found shaking on the shower floor.” Again, what happened next is redacted.
That compares starkly with the lawsuit allegations, that guards carried Toledo into the shower and he slumped over. Guards then lifted Toledo into a chair and eventually called for medical help, according to the lawsuit.
Neither Cain’s autopsy report not Conklin’s field investigation mention that Toledo was taken to a local hospital, and then to the University of New Mexico hospital, after he lost consciousness at the jail.
Both documents also do not mention that Toledo died after being taken off of life support.
