By Carlos Andres López
Las Cruces Sun-News
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The former Las Cruces police officers captured on surveillance video beating a handcuffed man inside a holding cell at LCPD pleaded not guilty Monday in 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces.
The two former officers, Danny Salcido and Richard Garcia, are each charged with one count of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm and are being jointly prosecuted by the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office and the state Attorney General’s Office.
Salcido and Garcia face a maximum of three years in prison, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Video of the Dec. 23, 2014, beating shows Salcido and Garcia slamming Ross Flynn, a 47-year-old Las Cruces resident, against the holding cell wall and kneeing him in the stomach. Flynn was taken into custody after allegedly threatening a neighbor with a firearm.
Flynn sustained multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, a brain hemorrhage, broken ribs and contusions, according to his attorneys, Jeff Lahann and Christopher Cardenas.
Salcido, 25, formally pleaded not guilty before Judge James T. Martin during arraignment. He will be represented by a public defender.
Salcido, who lives in El Paso, also signed a waiver of extradition, surrendering his right to challenge extradition from another state. Under his conditions of release, Salcido is allowed to travel between Doña Ana and El Paso counties.
Salcido’s unsecured bond has been set for $5,000.
Meanwhile, Garcia, 33, waived his appearance for arraignment. Garcia’s attorney, Jess Lilley of Las Cruces, entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Garcia, whose unsecured bond was also set at $5,000.
Martin also modified Garcia’s conditions of release, allowing him to travel throughout New Mexico, which prosecutors did not oppose.
Earlier this month, a Doña Ana County grand jury returned indictments against Salcido and Garcia.
In May, Salcido and Garcia were fired from LCPD after an internal investigation found that the two officers violated department policies and procedures.
Later that month, Salcido was charged with assault on a household member in El Paso, according to online records from the El Paso Police Department.
“While pending this criminal proceeding, (Salcido) was charged with a felony aggravated assault in Texas and is pending charges in that matter,” Salcido’s indictment reads.
The online records indicate that Salcido was booked into the El Paso County jail on May 30 and was released the same day.
In March, attorneys for Flynn filed a federal lawsuit in March on behalf of Flynn and his mother.
The lawsuit, which alleges police brutality and civil rights violations, names the city of Las Cruces, LCPD and several individual officers as defendants. It seeks unspecified compensation for damages and injuries. Flynn’s attorneys told the Sun-News in March they are demanding a $12.5 million settlement.
Last month, city officials made a financial offer to settle the federal case, but it was rejected by Flynn’s attorneys, according to Cardenas.
In a his criminal case, Flynn has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a peace officer and resisting, obstructing or refusing to obey an officer. Those charges were related to the Dec. 23 incident with a neighbor, who accused Flynn of threatening her with a firearm. Flynn has pleaded not guilty.
Copyright 2015 the Las Cruces Sun-News