Amanda Martinez
The Santa Fe New Mexican
SANTA FE, N.M. — After six years, two mistrials and numerous delays, a judge has dismissed a charge of voluntary manslaughter against former Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy Tai Chan, who fatally shot a fellow deputy during a work trip to Las Cruces in 2014.
Third District Judge Conrad Perea dismissed the case at a Wednesday hearing, ruling Chan’s right to a speedy trial had been violated, said Chan’s attorney, John Day.
Chan was accused of shooting Deputy Jeremy Martin five times in the back during an alcohol-fueled fight just after midnight Oct. 28, 2014, at Hotel Encanto, where they were staying after a trip to Arizona to transport a prisoner.
Chan admitted in court he had shot 29-year-old Martin but argued Martin had been the aggressor. The two men had gotten into a work-related dispute during a night of drinking at a nearby bar, which escalated when they returned to their hotel room, according to reports of the incident and court testimony.
The defense argued Chan had taken the gun from Martin and shot him as he left the room.
“From the beginning, we had stated this was a self-defense case, and in New Mexico, the key issue for us is you are allowed to defend yourself against a violent attacker,” Day said in an interview Wednesday after the hearing.
Chan was facing one count of voluntary manslaughter in his third jury trial, scheduled to begin Oct. 2. It had been delayed several times after the court granted motions from both the 3rd District Attorney’s Office and Chan’s attorneys, court records show.
The dismissal came as an unwelcome surprise for the 3rd District Attorney’s Office.
“It was not expected and, honestly, everybody involved in the case was very disappointed that the vindication for Jeremy Martin did not happen,” spokeswoman Roxanne Garcia-McElmell said.
“The efforts of our law enforcement and investigation team were very compelling in this case, and … we will just continue to fight for victims of crime,” she added.
Chan’s first two trials, in 2016 and 2017, ended in mistrials when jurors failed to reach unanimous verdicts on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
Perea later dismissed the first- and second-degree murder charges, citing a 2017 state Supreme Court decision about deadlocked juries.
The court ruled a “judge must confirm that the jury did not unanimously agree that the defendant was not guilty of one or more of the included offenses.”
Former District Judge Fernando Macias, who presided over Chan’s first two trials, did not poll the jury at the end of the second trial to determine the votes for each of the three charges, according to a report by the Las Cruces Sun-News.
In 2018, Perea dismissed without prejudice an attempt to prosecute Chan on a charge of voluntary manslaughter — meaning the charge could be refiled.
The judge said the charge violated Chan’s due process rights because it was based on testimony from Chan’s previous trials. Perea also cited a failure by the 3rd District Attorney’s Office to follow court rules.
The voluntary manslaughter case was not examined for probable cause in a preliminary hearing or by a grand jury.
In January 2019, the district attorney again filed a voluntary manslaughter charge against Chan. This was the charge Perea dismissed Wednesday with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled, Day said.
Day said the dismissal also had to do with misconduct by prosecutors.
In 2017, Day filed two motions stating one of the state’s attorneys had a conflict of interest in the case because a former Las Cruces police detective had filed a lawsuit saying she was denied resources during an investigation into the shooting.
Day also argued police had withheld potential evidence on Martin’s cellphones.
Day filed another motion accusing prosecutors of improperly editing an audio recording of Chan to remove some of his self-defense claims, which subsequently was played for jurors. In the motion, he asked the judge to dismiss charges against Chan.
Garcia-McElmell said the District Attorney’s Office has cleared up those issues with the court.
The judge told the District Attorney’s Office to submit a report explaining what had happened with the recording, Day said, but the agency never provided the report.
The defense sent out a jury questionnaire about the trial due to the recording, Day said, and the judge ordered the District Attorney’s Office cover the cost, which was $1,417.
Chan and his family are happy the ordeal is over, Day said.
“He is grateful that it’s over. He’s grateful to the judge for making this decision.”
©2020 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.)