Two Albuquerque police officers will be facing second-degree murder charges this month for the fatal shooting of James Boyd in 2014—a case which brought local and national attention onto APD’s use of force record. Attorneys of the defendants—former officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez—have argued that the officers’ actions were made in accordance with then-current police training, but prosecutors asked last month that any testimony related to training received be limited. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the request was denied by state district Judge Alisa Hadfield, who found that police officers have a “wider scope of privilege” concerning the use of deadly force than the average citizen. Judge Hadfield also denied a request by the prosecution to remove the audio track from video evidence containing running commentary filmed by an onlooker. The judge did rule that parts of the audio track that were deemed prejudicial be removed. The jury trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 19.
Three Bodies Found In Northwest Apartment
Police were called to a northwest apartment complex Sunday morning after three bodies were found in a suspected murder-suicide. Officers are having a difficult time locating any relatives of the deceased, whose family live in Vietnam, and discerning the relationship between the three victims involved—a man, a woman and a child—has also proved difficult, as the family was reported to be new to the complex and, according to neighbors, had kept to themselves. No motive or cause of death has been released, though police officials are investigating the incident.
Nation Mourns Child's Death
Thousands of mourners wearing purple spent hours celebrating the life of 10-year-old Victoria Martens, who was brutally killed last week in what, according to KOAT, Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said was “the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career.” Police found Victoria’s dismembered body in a smoking apartment in northwest Albuquerque Wednesday morning, Aug. 24. The crime is alleged to have been committed by the girl’s mother, Michelle Martens, her mother’s boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, and Gonzales’ cousin, Jessica Kelley. Details of the case were released by APD on Wednesday night. Police officials say Martens and Gonzales injected the girl with methamphetamine to “make her calm down,” before Gonzales raped her. According to the criminal complaint, Kelley, released from prison only four days before the crime, held her hand over the girl’s mouth while the assault was committed. Martens reportedly watched the act happen for sexual gratification. Both Gonzales and Kelley have extensive criminal backgrounds.
