• Eric Garcia said he stabbed R.L. repeatedly with a knife during an interrogation
• His attorney wrote he has the mindset and cognitive ability of a 5-year-old child
• FBI Agent Mark Spencer made no mention of Garcia’s diminished mental capacity when describing his interrogation
SMITH LAKE, N.M. — A Smith Lake man’s murder case is on pause after his attorney raised competency and wrote his client has the cognitive ability of a 5-year-old child.
One day after Garcia’s initial appearance on March 15, 2021, and Magistrate Judge Jerry Ritter ordered him held without bail pending a detention hearing, his attorney, Lucas Babycos, filed a motion for Garcia to be evaluated for his competency.
“Counsel has reason to believe that the defendant has been formally diagnosed with a severe form of intellectual disability,” Babycos wrote.
He wrote that Garcia has the mindset and cognitive abilities of a 5-year-old child and that he cannot effectively consult with him, nor can Garcia assist in his own defense.
“Defendant has no concept of what is occurring, or the magnitude of the allegations brought forward against him,” Babycos wrote.
Babycos and prosecutor Allison Jaros agreed to a competency evaluation by Julie Brovko or that he be sent to the Bureau of Prisons for an evaluation, he wrote.
The next day, March 17, Fashing held a hearing on the case and Babycos told her he had “concerns” with Garcia remaining “at facility,” according to the minutes. Fashing ordered the case be stayed until the competency evaluation is complete.
No further court hearings are set.
The stabbing
Garcia stabbed R.L. repeatedly with a knife on March 9 after being told to leave R.L.’s house, after R.L. grabbed him.
Navajo Police Department officers initially received a call at 12:44 a.m., March 9, 2021. for a person laying on the floor of a house in Smith Lake, bleeding, Spencer wrote in an affidavit for a criminal complaint.
When officers arrived, they found R.L., YOB 1957, bleeding from the chest, abdomen and neck. Paramedics declared him dead 35 minutes later, at 1:19 a.m, Spencer wrote.
Long Canyon on the east side of NM Hwy. 371, southeast of Crownpoint, 35.6217 -108.1003, McKinley County, New Mexico, 18 May 2014. Photo by Patrick Alexander/Flickr.
A woman identified by the initials P.E., and referred to as Witness 1, told investigators she, R.L. and Garcia had been drinking inside the house. R.L. asked Garcia to leave “and a conflict happened.” Garcia had a knife and stabbed John Doe. P.E. ran outside, ran into another woman identified as M.L. and told her to call the police, he wrote.
M.L. told investigators she heard noises and went outside. P.E. told her to call the police. She went to the house and saw Garcia standing over R.L., left, told another family member what happened and then called the police, Spencer wrote.
Navajo police learned that Garcia lived a half-mile away, across the main road and knocked on his door, he wrote.
“GARCIA opened the door and had what appeared to be blood his hands, pants, and boots,” Spencer wrote. “GARCIA was taken into custody by NPD.”
FBI agents contacted a magistrate judge for an oral search warrant and found a bloody knife in a search of his house, he wrote.
FBI and Navajo Nation Police officers interrogated Garcia at the Crownpoint Police Department after Garcia waived his Miranda rights, Spencer wrote.
Spencer made no mention in his affidavit if it seems like Garcia has any cognitive issues, or the mindset of a 5-year-old child.
Defendants must “knowingly and intelligently” waive their Miranda rights, including the rights to remain silent and right to counsel.
Spencer wrote that Garcia said he was drinking with R.L. and P.E. outside by the trees, and then moved into the house. Garcia helped to make dinner and R.L. gave him a knife to peel the potatoes. At some point, R.L. told him to leave and Garcia did not want to, he continued to tell him to leave and they started yelling at each other.
“John Doe grabbed GARCIA’s arms and tried to get him out of the house,” Spencer wrote. “GARCIA had the knife from peeling the potatoes in his pocket and pulled it out and stabbed John Doe in the chest area. The next stab was to the neck and then continued stabbing John Doe in the chest and back. GARCIA left and went home.”
On March 9, 2021, after being asked to leave the house of neighbor R.L. in Smith Lake, and then grabbed by R.L., Eric Garcia grabbed a knife R.L. gave him to peel potatoes and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest and neck, FBI Agent Mark Spencer wrote in an affidavit for a criminal complaint.
The case has been stayed after Garcia’s attorney raised competency and wrote that Garcia has an extreme intellectual disability and the mindset and cognitive ability of a 5-year-old child. Garcia is being held without bail.
Navajo Police Department officers initially received a call at 12:44 a.m., March 9, 2021. for a person laying on the floor of a house in Smith Lake, bleeding, FBI Agent Mark Spencer wrote in an affidavit for a criminal complaint.
When officers arrived, they found R.L., YOB 1957, bleeding from the chest, abdomen and neck. Paramedics declared him dead 35 minutes later, at 1:19 a.m, Spencer wrote.
Long Canyon on the east side of NM Hwy. 371, southeast of Crownpoint, 35.6217 -108.1003, McKinley County, New Mexico, 18 May 2014. Photo by Patrick Alexander/Flickr.
A woman identified by the initials P.E., and referred to as Witness 1, told investigators she, R.L. and Eric Garcia, 40, had been drinking inside the house. R.L. asked Garcia to leave “and a conflict happened.” Garcia had a knife and stabbed John Doe. P.E. ran outside, ran into another woman identified as M.L. and told her to call the police, he wrote.
M.L. told investigators she heard noises and went outside. P.E. told her to call the police. She went to the house and saw Garcia standing over R.L., left, told another family member what happened and then called the police, Spencer wrote.
Navajo police learned that Garcia lived a half-mile away, across the main road and knocked on his door, he wrote.
“GARCIA opened the door and had what appeared to be blood his hands, pants, and boots,” Spencer wrote. “GARCIA was taken into custody by NPD.”
FBI agents contacted a magistrate judge for an oral search warrant and found a bloody knife in a search of his house, he wrote.
FBI and Navajo Nation Police officers interrogated Garcia at the Crownpoint Police Department after Garcia waived his Miranda rights, Spencer wrote.
Spencer described the interrogation of Garcia:
“GARCIA stated that he was drinking at John Doe and Witness 1 ‘s house, located at 22 52 Rte. 49, Smith Lake, NM. They started drinking outside by the trees but eventually went to the house. GARCIA helped make some food and John Doe gave GARCIA a sharp knife to peel the potatoes. After a time, John Doe told GARCIA to leave. GARCIA did not want to leave. John Doe continued to tell GARCIA to leave but GARCIA did not want to. John Doe and GARCIA began yelling and cussing at each other. John Doe grabbed GARCIA’s arms and tried to get him out of the house. GARCIA had the knife from peeling the potatoes in his pocket and pulled it out and stabbed John Doe in the chest area. The next stab was to the neck and then continued stabbing John Doe in the chest and back. GARCIA left and went home.”
Magistrate Judge Jerry Ritter ordered Garcia held without bail on March 15, 2021 at his initial appearance and set a formal detention hearing for March 17, according to court records.
Babycos wrote that Garcia has been formally diagnosed with a severe form of intellectual disability, he has the mindset and cognitive ability of a 5-year-old child.
“Defendant has no concept of what is occurring, or the magnitude of the allegations brought forward against him,” Babycos wrote.
Babycos wrote that he cannot effectively consult with his client, nor can Garcia assist in his own defense.
Babycos and federal prosecutor Allison Jaros agreed a competency evaluation should be conducted by Julie Brovko and, in the alternative, he asked that Garcia be sent to a Bureau of Prisons facility to be evaluated, he wrote.
The following day, Fashing held a hearing and Babycos told her he has “concerns” with Garcia remaining “at facility,” according to the minutes. Fashing ordered the case be stayed until the competency evaluation is complete.
Spencer made no mention in his affidavit if it seemed, during the interrogation, like Garcia had any cognitive issues, or the mindset of a 5-year-old child.
Defendants must “knowingly and intelligently” waive their Miranda rights, including the rights to remain silent and right to counsel.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Four years and five competency evaluations after he was arrested on a charge of murder in 2017, Richard Griego is still being evaluated for his competency to stand trial.
Richard Griego was bound over to District Court on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence on May 1, 2017. His case has essentially placed on pause since Nov. 15 2017, when competency was first raised as an issue.
According to the log of a Dec. 23, 2020 hearing, prosecutor Thomas Clayton said stipulating to Richard Griego’s lack of competency to stand trial would be “imprudent.”
Defense attorney Todd Farkas said the main question on competency is Richard Griego’s ability “to assist,” presumably in his own defense.
Richard Griego
In New Mexico, a competency finding requires three things of a defendant, according to State v. Flores (2005):
Understand “the nature and gravity of the proceedings against”
Have a “factual understanding of the criminal charges”
In a Nov. 18, 2020 hearing, Farkas told the judge that Griego had previously been found not competent to stand trial and Clayton said it was the fifth evaluation. Two prior evaluations found him competent while three, including the only recently completed, found him not competent.
Griego has two other cases pending against him, both of which happened after he was jailed in the murder case, and both of which are rolled into the broader competency proceedings.
The first, from Aug. 3, 2018, resulted in two counts of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner. The second, on March 1, 2019, resulted in a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
No new court dates are set.
Possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner
Las Vegas Police Officer Caleb Marquez wrote in an affidavit for an arrest warrant that he was sent to the San Miguel Detention Center on Aug. 3, 2018, for a report of a prisoner who has a weapon.
Jail staff told Marquez they found several items on Griego “during a shakedown of a housing pod.” The items were a hollowed-out bolt with a nut that had a nail pushed through the hollow end, about 4 inches in length, described as a shank, Marquez wrote. The second item was a handcuff key.
Clayton filed a criminal information on Oct. 19, 2018 in district court charging Griego with two counts of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner.
Aggravated battery
Las Vegas Police Officer Estevan Martinez wrote in an affidavit for an arrest warrant, on a charge of aggravated battery, that he was called to the San Miguel Detention Center on March 2, 2019, for a report of a fight involving Griego and Johnny Gallegos.
Martinez wrote that he watched a surveillance video from the incident and in it, he saw the two men got into a fight and Griego pushed Gallegos out of their cell and into the hallway with a crutch. Griego then allegedly beat Gallegos in the head and back with the crutch as Gallegos crawled away on his hands and knees. On the third strike, the crutch broke and Griego kept on hitting him with it, a total of eight times.
The two men were fighting after Gallegos tried to inject a crushed pill, he wrote.
On April 16, 2019, Clayton filed a criminal information in district court charging Griego with a single count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
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.
LAS VEGAS, N.M. —Richard Griego‘s first-degree murder trial will likely not go to trial on Oct. 7, 2019, the date it had been scheduled for, after his attorney filed a motion questioning his competency to stand trial.
Farkas’ notice and motion come exactly one year after the case started moving toward trial after it was placed on hold the first time for the same issue.
On Sept. 11, 2018, according to the docket, an order was entered lifting the stay previously imposed on the case after the issue of competency was withdrawn by Farkas.
The case had been functionally paused the first time on Nov. 15, 2017, when Griego’s competency was officially questioned for the first time, although minutes from status hearings note that the attorneys and judge were aware that competency may be an issue.
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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On March 28, 2017, Richard Griego allegedly threw Jimmy Griego, 37, off of a bridge over the Pecos River on State Road 3, an allegation backed up by data from an ankle bracelet Richard Griego was wearing from a separate case which tracked his movements via GPS, according to court filings.
On May 1, 2017, Richard Griego was bound over to District Court on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence following a preliminary examination. On Nov. 15, 2017, his competency to stand trial was raised as an issue and proceedings were stayed until Sept. 11, 2018, when the Notice of Competency Issue was withdrawn.
A year later, on Sept. 11, 2019, competency was again raised as an issue and the case has been stayed.
The incident
On March 28, 2017, Beverly Quintana called 911 to report that someone dumped a body off of the bridge over the Pecos River, on State Road 3, and the dumped person was her cousin, State Police Agent Patrick Montoyawrote in an affidavit for an arrest warrant.
Quintana told Montoya that she was driving south when she passed a white Ford truck heading the opposite direction. She described the driver as being angry.
Richard Griego
“As the pickup continued passed (sic) her, she noticed a male in the bed area of the pickup,” Montoya wrote. “She recognized the male in the bed of the pickup as her cousin, who she identified as Jimmy Griego.”
Quintana kept the truck in her rear view mirror and she watched as the truck stopped. Her cousin was on his knees in the back and he appeared to be terrified.
The driver pulled over and stopped on the bridge, got out and walked toward the back of the truck with someone in his right hand.
Quintana then turned around and drove back toward the truck and watched as the man, allegedly Richard Griego, carried her cousin on his shoulder, walked to the edge of the bridge and threw him over, to the river below.
When she stopped, got out, and looked down, she saw her cousin’s body floating in the river and blood on the back of his shirt. She then recognized the driver was Richard Griego.
The agent then learned that Richard Griego was on probation and required to wear an ankle monitor with a GPS unit in it. The tracking device allegedly placed him at the river at 4:18 p.m., the day of Jimmy Griego’s death.
Quintana called 911 two minutes later at 4:20.
“A Field Examiner for the Office of the Medical Investigator found blunt force trauma and two lacerations to Jimmy’s head,” Montoya wrote. “I observed the injuries to Jimmy’s head, including an indentation to the left side of his head.”
He was charged with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence, according to the docket.
Las Vegas Magistrate Judge Christian Montaño held a preliminary hearing on May 1 and bound over Richard Griego on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. On May 19, in District Court, Richard Griego’s attorney Todd Farkas filed a motion in District Court to waive the arraignment and to enter a plea of not guilty.
Jail recordings
According to a Dec. 11, 2018 motion filed by prosecutorThomas Clayton, Richard Griego made multiple phone calls while he was in jail that he wanted admitted as evidence.
In a May 1, 2017 call, he allegedly told his mother that someone else wanted to borrow his truck, that “those weren’t even my shoes and I wasn’t driving my truck.” His mother responded that they should not discuss “this stuff” on the phone.
Clayton wrote that the truck is an issue because Quintana saw him in his truck, on the bridge with the victim. A shoe print was also taken from the crime scene and it is a similar pattern to one seized from his house.
In a June 6, 2017 call, he talked to his mother about conversations with his attorney about getting out on bail.
“I feel this even more leaning towards, if I could get this to a justifiable homicide by citizen, protecting myself and family and property from all these conspiracies against me and stuff, will that make it easier to get a bond,” Clayton wrote, quoting from Richard Griego’s call.
In July 24 call, Richard Griego allegedly told his mother he could “beat these charges” because he didn’t “do” them and that he never hit Jimmy Griego with a weapon, but he didn’t want him “to come back and try to kill me, but he could have crawled out of the water and fucking not died. And let me alone. But no, they do, they do all this stuff. It’s all their fault that this stuff happened. Not my fault.” Clayton wrote, quoting Richard Griego.
Competency raised the first time
District Judge Gerald Baca
On Nov. 15, 2017, competency was formally raised in a written motion for the first time by Farkas. In an order on the same date, District Court Judge Gerald Baca wrote that Richard Griego had been found “in-competent” by Dr. Susan Cave and that the proceedings would be stayed pending a determination on his competency and the issue of his dangerousness.
According to notes from the June 14, 2017 status hearing, Farkas notified District Judge Gerald Baca has a documented history of mental illness and he needed to be assessed.
During a Aug. 16, 2017 hearing, prosecutor Thomas Clayton told Baca that Richard Griego sent a letter to State Police officers about an unrelated homicide, a theft and that there were also jail recordings he wanted the psychologist to listen to and that he agreed that he “may have mental issues,” according to the notes.
During an Oct. 11, 2017, hearing, Baca told the attorneys he was concerned about the discussions of competency when no motion about competency had been filed. Farkas replied that he was waiting for a report on his mental health, according to the notes.
On Sept. 11, 2018, Baca ordered that the case would start moving forward because Richard Griego’s attorney had withdrawn his claim that his client was not competent to stand trial. Farkas did not file a motion but a hearing on competency had previously been held on Sept. 7, 2018, and the records of that hearing were sealed.
No-bail hold lifted
On Aug. 1, 2018, Baca ordered Richard Griego be released if he could post a $50,000 cash bail and into the custody of a third party.
Prosecutors did not contest that finding until Sept. 25, when Clayton filed a motion for pre-trial detention.
“Upon information and belief, the family of the defendant has raised the funds to post the bond,” Clayton wrote.
On Aug. 3, 2018, Richard Griego was charged with two counts of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner, specifically, a handcuff key and a “nail/bolt like device approximately 4 1/2 inches in length,” he wrote.
Baca then held a hearing on Oct. 2, 2018 and ordered Richard Griego be held without bail pending trial, according to notes from the hearing.
Competency raised second time
Richard Griego’s case was placed on hold a second time, on Sept. 11, 2019, after his attorney raised the question of his competency to stand trial a second time, according to the docket.
According to the docket, the case had been set for a trial on Oct. 7, 2019 in the San Miguel County Courthouse.
A docket call was set for Sept. 25, 2019 and the judge issued an order staying the case, according to the docket.
James Finch allegedly stabbed his father to death and stabbed his mother, but not fatally, on Aug. 24, 2015.
On March 3, 2017, Finch pleaded no contest to charges of second-degree murder, attempt to commit first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary. Per his plea, he will spend 27 years in prison and spend six years on supervised probation following his release from prison.
On Aug. 24, 2015, he broke into their house on Grove Street around 3 a.m. and attacked his parents.
James Finch
His parents were so afraid of him they took out a restraining order and after he was released from jail a few days before he killed his father, David Finch, the latter went around his neighborhood, telling everyone to watch out for his son, Detective Leah Acata wrote in a statement of probable cause/criminal complaint for James Finch’s arrest.
When officers F. Duran and E. Bumphrey arrived at the house, after the 911 center received a call of a woman asking for help, Duran looked through a small window in the door and saw a naked man inside the house.
“The nude male ran from the south side of the residence,” Acata wrote. “Officer Duran stated he observed a large amount of blood inside of the residence. Officer Duran observed a female lying face up in a pool of blood.”
The woman, Kathy Finch, was calling out for help.
The two officers called for an ambulance and found they were unable to break through the front door so they went to the back of the house and jumped a wall.
“Officer Duran stated (he) observed bloody foot prints on the back porch (of the house),” Acata wrote. “Officer Duran stated he followed the foot prints where he observed a nude male, wearing only socks, hiding under a white table with a glass top. The table was located on the back porch of the residence.”
The two officers demanded that James Finch come out from the table and saw that he was covered in blood and had a cut on his hand. He did not fight them when he was arrested.
“James stated to police, ‘They are trying to kill us,’ ‘They are trying to kill my parents,’ ‘Please don’t leave me,’ ‘Please help me’ and ‘I don’t want to die,'” Acata wrote.
After arresting James Finch, Duran found that a back window at the house was broken out.
Sandia mountains covered in snow. Photo by John Fowler/Flickr. CC BY
“Officer duran stated it appeared as if someone through (sic) a chair from the outside of the back window to the inside of the back window,” Acata wrote. “Officer Duran entered into the residence through the open back door due to hearing the continued cries for help from a female in the (house).”
Kathy Finch had multiple stab wounds and told Duran that her son attacked her. Next to her was David Finch, already dead, face down on a piece of a cinder block.
“Officer Duran observed another piece of cinder block lying next to Kathy which appeared to have blood and hair attached to the cinder block,” Acata wrote.
Duran found the master bedroom was “covered” in blood and found bloody clothing in the bathroom. The shower was running.
Next to David Finch, they found a 7-inch knife, covered in blood.
“Officer Duran stated both David and Kathy were nude when he located them,” Acata wrote.
Neighbor Tony Martinez told the officers about the grave the Finches found in their back yard, 3 feet wide and 9 feet long and said the Finches placed a note in their son’s former room stating that his personal belongings were in the shed. He was not allowed in the house and they had a restraining order against him.
Another witness, Lynn Russo, told the detectives that David and Kathy Finch had a solid door, with deadbolts, put into their bedroom because they were afraid of their son.
“Lynn stated she heard screaming from (the house) around 0300 hours on this date,” Acata wrote.
When interviewed by Bumphrey at the hospital which does not state if he was read his Miranda rights, including his right to remain silent, he told the officer that three men in masks picked him up from the homeless shelter. He described the three men as wearing all black.
“James stated the males drove him to his parent’s house, placed a gun in his mouth and told him he had to stab his parents or they would kill his parents,” Acata wrote. “James stated he did not want to kill his parents but he was forced to do it. No officer observed any subjects matching the description of the three unknown males in the area (of Grove Street NE).”
Count 1: First-degree murder or felony murder (a killing committed during the commission of another felony).
Count 2: Attempted first-degree murder and a series of alternative counts, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, for his attack on Kathy Finch.
Count 3: Aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon.
Count 4: Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for his attack on his father, David Finch.
Count 5: Tampering with evidence.
Count 6: Aggravated stalking
Count 7: Violation of a protection order
Count 8: Violation of a protection order
Acata was the only person to testify.
Motions
On Jan. 12, 2016, prosecutor Spirit Gaines filed a motion to stay the case on the grounds that James Finch’s competency was in question.
Gaines wrote that his competency had been raised in a different case. The two cases were consolidated until his competency was determined.
On Oct. 14, 2016, the Albuquerque District Judge Brett Loveless found him competent to stand trial and lifted the hold on the case.
According to the plea agreement, James Finch will spend 27 years in prison, with five years of his 36 year sentence suspended, and to be spent on supervised probation.
According to the plea, the only count to be considered a serious violent offense is the charge of second-degree murder.
In addition, according to the plea, he was to serve the sentences for each crime consecutively, meaning one after the other, with the last eight years suspended in favor of five years of supervised probation.
Because second-degree murder is a serious violent offense, James Finch must serve 85 percent of the first 15 years of his sentence. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
After he serves 85 percent of the first 15 years, he then begins to accrue good time at a rate of 50 percent and, after that point, he will be eligible for release after he has served half of the remaining 12 years on his sentence: six years.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Kathy Finch spoke during the sentencing and said that it may not be a long enough sentence, but she would be dead by the time James Finch is released from prison.
Charges: First-degree murder, shooting at or from a vehicle causing great bodily harm or death, tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property: a firearm
Status: No contest plea to second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and receiving a stolen firearm
On Jan. 29, 2012, Bobby Smith, 24, of Artesia, allegedly walked up to security guard Michael Evans, 24, of Artesia, after he failed to sneak up on him, and shot him in the left side of the head with a revolver armed with shotgun shells.
Bobby Smith
Smith’s neighbors reported hearing shooting earlier in the evening and described Smith as wearing the same clothing that the assailant was, based on surveillance footage.
On Jan. 30, 2012, Smith was arrested on an outstanding warrant.
Prosecutors filed a criminal information charging Smith with first-degree murder, shooting at or from a motor vehicle causing death, tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property on Oct. 27, 2015.
On Oct. 12, 2016, Smith’s attorney, Gary Mitchell, filed a notice of incompetency for Smith, based on a report by Dr. Eric Westfried. On April 3, 2018, he was found competent to stand trial, and again on Nov. 14, 2018.
On April 2, 2019, prosecutors filed an amended complaint charging him with second-degree murder, in addition to the other charges.
Security guard Michael Evans, 24, was patrolling, Jan. 29, 2015, around 105 South 4th Street in Artesia when he noticed someone was trying to sneak up on him.
Sculpture in Artesia, NM. Photo by Justin Miller/Flickr. CC BY-NC
“Evans stated he lost sight with the male subject but then stated the subject was heading towards him,” Rodriguez wrote. “While talking with dispatch, the telephone conversation was terminated.
Sgt. Christopher Boor told Rodriguez that when he got into the area, he saw Evans’ work truck had crashed into a building in the alley between 4th and 5th streets.
“Sgt. Boor reported he approached the truck and observed a male subject inside the truck in the driver’s seat with an apparent gun-shot wound to the head,” Rodriguez wrote. “Sgt. Boor notified dispatch and requested EMS.”
Detective Tim Argo told Rodriguez he viewed the security cameras from the Yates Petroleum Building and saw Evans’ truck drive east down the alley while a person wearing blue jeans, a green sweater and a blue bandanna over his face walked toward the truck.
Rodriguez did not specify how Argo was able to determine colors from footage taken outside at night.
“The subject raised their left hand towards the Dodge pickup and walked up to the driver’s side window while at the same time pulling an item that appears to be a chrome or nickel in color handgun from the right front of the subject’s pants and point the handgun at Michael Evans,” he wrote. “The subject then ran west bound down the alley out of the camera’s view.”
Evans’ truck then, as seen in surveillance footage, crashed into a post. Officers arrived two minutes later and found Evans, shot in the left side of the head and his left arm.
“The gunshot wound on his left arm entered and exited,” Rodriguez wrote. “In the wound was a clear plastic object that appeared to be wadding from a .410 caliber shotgun shell.”
Earlier in the day, Officer Gracie Gonzales was dispatched to 9th and Texas streets because someone reported shots had been fired. She told Rodriguez that she walked to multiple tenants in the area, Rodriguez wrote.
“Melissa and Alice Duncan told Officer Gonzales after they heard 4 or 5 shots and they came out of their apartment to see what was going on, and they saw tenant Bobby Smith walking back into his house hunched over as if he was trying to conceal something,” Rodriguez wrote. “Melissa Duncan told Officer Gonzales Bobby Smith left his residence on January 29, 2012 between 2200 (10 p.m.) and 2230 (10:30 p.m.).”
Karla Parada told Gonzales that she also heard five or six shots. She immediately dropped to the ground.
Later in the night, Parada allegedly saw Smith allegedly walking away from his apartment between 9 and 9:36 p.m. He was wearing a green sweater with a design on the front and a black bandanna on his head, the alleged description of the assailant from the surveillance footage.
She saw him standing by her truck, looking inside, before he walked down Texas Street.
Marcos Herrera said Smith asked him for a cigarette earlier in the evening and they smoked together.
“(While they were smoking, Smith told Herrera if he needed anyone taken care of, he would shoot them. Herrera then ended the conversation,” he wrote.
On Jan. 30, 2015, Smith was arrested on an outstanding warrant.
On Jan. 31, detectives and officers executed a search warrant on Smith’s apartment in the 900 block of West Texas Street. In the apartment, they allegedly found clothing that matched the suspect’s clothing.
To get into the house, they had to break the back door open because the manager did not have a key. Smith had been arrested the previous day on a warrant.
In the apartment, they found .45 caliber casings and live .410 shotgun shells and a chrome Taurus Judge revolver in the ceiling of the bedroom.
“The a nickel or chrome colored Taurus Judge revolver with black grips that is capable of using .45 Long Colt bullets and .410 shotgun shells,” Rodriguez wrote. “A copy of the lease agreement was obtained and it stated Bobby Smith was the tenant of the apartment.”
The pathologist, who conducted the autopsy on Evans, confirmed that it was a .410 shotgun shell that killed him.
That gun had been reported as stolen on Sept. 19, 2011, from a truck parked in the 700 block of West Quay in Artesia. The truck owner told police someone broke the front windshield of his 2011 Ford with a big rock and stole the Taurus revolver, capable of shooting .45 bullets or .410 shotgun shells.
When police checked serial numbers, they found the gun found in the ceiling allegedly matched the serial number of the one that had been stolen.
A past address for Smith showed he lived in the 600 block of West Quay, a block away from the theft.
On June 15, 2015, Rodriguez arrested Smith on a warrant charging an open count of murder. Below is the statement of probable cause for his arrest.
Competency in question
On Oct. 27, 2015, prosecutors filed criminal information charging Smith with:
First-degree murder
Shooting at or from a vehicle causing great bodily harm or death
Tampering with evidence
Receiving stolen property: a firearm
The information was filed after Smith’s lawyer waived a preliminary hearing.
Bobby Smith
On April 19, 2015, Smith was present for a competency hearing, according to an order for continued care and treatment.
District Judge Jane Shuler-Gray found Smith, in a Jan. 4, 2016 order, competent to proceed in the criminal case, but found that Smith needed continued care and treatment at the New Mexico Behavior Health Institute, which agreed to provide him care
On Oct. 12, 2016, Smith’s lawyer, Gary Mitchell, filed a notice of incompetency, based on consultation with Dr. Eric Westfried, who twice examined Smith.
Smith is incompetent to stand trial because he could not cooperate with or assist his attorney, Mitchell wrote.
“Dr. Westfried reports his absence of cooperation was similar to that experienced in 2012, being the product of a severe mental disorder,” Mitchell wrote. “During 2012, Dr. Westfried had suspected a psychosis that would have been part of a schizophrenia disorder, and his being observed at the state hospital forensic division confirmed that suspicion.”
Smith, as of Mitchell’s Oct. 12, 2016 motion, was no longer on his medication.
“Records from the state hospital indicate that when he was not taking antipsychotic medication, he was not capable of proceeding on his charges,” Mitchell wrote. “Once he was stabilized on the psychotropic medication, it was then the opinion of the state hospital examiner that he was capable of proceeding. In Dr. Westfried’s opinion, his refusal to take medication at the present time has resulted in recurring signs and symptoms of psychosis. Consequently, he is not capable of rationally assisting in his defense.”
Smith had previously been sent to the New Mexico Corrections Department in March 2017 after the Eddy County Detention Center found they were not capable of safely housing him.
On Oct. 12, 2016, Smith’s attorney, Gary Mitchell, filed a notice of incompetency for smith, based on a report by Westfried. On April 3, 2018, he was found competent to stand trial, and again on Nov. 14, 2018.
No-contest plea
On April 2, 2019, prosecutors filed an amended complaint charging him with second-degree murder, in addition to the other charges.
On May 6, 2019, he pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and receiving a stolen firearm. The plea states the prosecution would argue for a sentence of seven to 13 years, although it is not clear if that was binding on the judge. Shuler-Gray accepted his plea and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.
