Document 6593338

We Now Return
To Our Regular
Television Program.
Volume 58, Number 6
Española, New Mexico 87532
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Raphaelson Retention Still Not Clear
By Barron Jones
SUN Staff Writer
First Judicial District Court Judge Sheri
Raphaelson was still waiting Wednesday
morning to know if she would be a judge
in 2015. Raphaelson still lacked the necessary 57 percent vote for retention.
Almost half of voters shied from retaining the embattled judge following an effective media campaign outlining the Judicial Evaluation Commission’s findings.
Raphaelson missed the mark earning 55.99
percent of the vote, whereas state law
mandates judges seeking retention receive
57 percent.
Tierra Amarilla voter Lorraine Abeyta
said she has never dealt with Raphaelson
but decided to throw her vote behind the
judge for practical reasons.
Fermin Abeyta Jr. and his wife, former
poll worker Lorraine Abeyta, said they
were happy with how smooth the voting
was, although turnout did not appear to be
particularly high at 2 p.m. in Tierra Amarilla.
Lorraine Abeyta wouldn’t speak openly
about who she voted for, except to say she
cast her vote to retain Judge Sheri Raphaelson.
“I voted for her,” Lorraine Abeyta said.
“My niece works for her. We met her and
she’s very nice.”
Fermin Abeyta said neither he nor his
(SUNfoto by Ardee Napolitano)
Lucero Center polling place presiding judge Mariah Valdez (left) helps Española
resident Michael Trujillo vote on Election Day. Trujillo, 28, said it was the first time he
voted in any election. He voted because he received extra credit from his sociology
instructor at Northern New Mexico College.
wife knew what it was like to have a case
in front of Raphaelson, but they met her at
a wedding and she came off as a good per-
son. He puts the blame for a rating of “do
not retain” at the feet of lawyers who lost
cases in front of her.
City Councilor To
Plead November 17
By Wheeler Cowperthwaite
SUN Staff Writer
Española City Councilor Eric
Radosevich is set to plead guilty
and be sentenced at 3 p.m., Nov.
17, after he allegedly shot at a
man’s truck and beat him in the
head with a pistol.
Prosecutors filed a criminal
complaint Oct. 9 in Santa Fe District Court charging a single
fourth-degree felony count of
shooting at or from a motor vehicle. Court records do not state
to what charges Radosevich may
plead guilty.
District Judge T. Glenn Ellington arraigned Radosevich,
45, Oct. 27 in Santa Fe District
Court. He pleaded not guilty. The
$25,000 surety bond he originally posted in magistrate court,
following his June 25 arrest, was
transferred to district court, online court records state.
He spent two days in the Santa
Fe County jail after he was arrested by State Police on a warrant following the June 21 altercation in Pojoaque, online court
34 pages, 4 sections 50 cents
Republican Gov. Susana Martinez
coasted to a sizable victory over Democratic challenger and outgoing attorney
general Gary King.
Martinez trounced King garnering 57
percent of the vote compared his 43 percent.
One Rio Arriba County resident, Del
Jimenez, said he decided against supporting King because he believes his politics
would resemble that of his father, former
governor Bruce King.
“I voted for Susana Martinez. Gary
King is not a leader like is his father,”
Jimenez said. “As the attorney general,
Gary King did not do anything. He did not
do his job.”
Supporters of incumbent Democratic
U.S. Senator Tom Udall can breathe a sigh
of relief following his victory over challenger, businessman and frequent political
candidate, Allen Weh. New Mexico voters
sent Udall back to Washington to serve six
more years with 55 percent of the vote,
compared to Weh’s 45 percent. Udall
bested Weh following a heated campaign
that included a host of ads that attacked
each other’s professional and political and
personas.
Rio Arriba County resident Kathy Montoya said she was surprised at how easy
voting was this time.
See 'Race' on page A3
Mag.
Judge
Ousted
By Barron Jones
SUN Staff Writer
Chief Justice of the
New Mexico Supreme
Court Barbara Vigil, suspended Rio Arriba
County Magistrate Judge
Rudy Martin, less than
six months after Gov.
Susana Martinez appointed him to the bench.
A pair of New Mexico
State Police officers
hand-delivered a letter,
Oct. 31, from Vigil to
Martin, informing him
of the suspension. Martin, 62, filled the seat
when long-time judge
Alex Naranjo retired in
March. Martinez appointed Martin on May 15. The
officers allowed Martin to
See 'Ex-judge' on page A4
H arvest P arade
records state.
Radosevich was first charged
in Santa Fe Magistrate Court, by
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies, on charges of aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon and
shooting at or a from a motor
vehicle, a fourth-degree felony
and aggravated battery with a
deadly weapon, a third-degree
felony, court records state.
The charges in magistrate
court were dismissed on Aug. 19,
online court records state.
Radosevich
Radosevich was allegedly aided in the altercation by two men,
Benjamin Duran, 29, and Samuel
Garcia, 51, who were with him.
Both men were each charged in
magistrate court with one count
of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault with a deadly
weapon, following the incident.
Prosecutors dropped the
(SUNfoto by Ardee Napolitano)
Española Municipal Court Teen Court Coordinator Lloyd Wilton (far right) distributes candy to the Harvest Festival parade’s
onlookers, while his colleagues pose aboard a truck-drawn wagon at the Plaza de Española, Oct. 31. After going around the
Plaza, the promenade went to North Coronado Avenue before ending at the YMCA Teen Center, where center staff served food
and refreshments to attendees. About 100 people participated in the parade.
See 'Councilor' on page A4
Group Asks City Councilors to Fire Police Officer
By Ardee Napolitano
SUN Staff Writer
A group of activists and concerned community members are
urging the Española Police Department to fire an officer who
shot a local 16-year-old in June,
resulting in the teen’s death.
Members of Concerned Citizens for Public Safety, composed
of people from Santa Fe, Española and other local communities, attended an Oct. 28 city
council meeting to protest the
death of Victor Villalpando. They
demanded officials fire Officer
Jeremy Apodaca for his involvement in the fatal shooting.
“You must remove Jeremy
Apodaca from your police force
immediately,” Mary Shoemaker,
Villalpando’s mother, told officials. “Train your officers on
non-violent assistance and restraint about working on people
in crisis and not killing them.”
About 20 members filled seats
during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Villalpando, died June 8 after
Apodaca shot him once in the
abdomen at the corner of Riverside Drive and Corlett Road. Villalpando, who called 911 on himself, pointed a cap gun at responding officers and tried to
stab them after he was taken
down, as depicted in a surveillance video from a nearby smoke
shop.
After months of investigation,
a Santa Fe grand jury ruled Oct.
7, the shooting was justified. But
Rebekah Tarin, a member of the
organization and the parent of a
teen who attended Moving Arts
Española with Villalpando, said
the ruling was not fair.
The police department should
fire Apodaca to fix the situation,
she said.
“We humbly ask you to think
about some of the things that can
happen to rectify the situation
and actually be a leader in the
nation against police violence
against young people,” she said.
“The grand jury gave their opinion, but that doesn’t have to be
the only opinion.”
Police Chief Richard Gallegos
and Deputy Police Chief Miguel
Maez were present at the meeting, when Tarin submitted the
petition to fire Apodaca.
Tarin said as of Monday, the
petition had 80 signatures.
But Gallegos said, in an Oct.
30 interview, that “by no means”
does he plan to fire Apodaca.
Although Villalpando possessed
a fake gun, Apodaca would have
risked his life if he doubted the
authenticity of the teen’s weapon, he said.
“We can’t entertain it too
much,” Gallegos said. “He (Apodaca) acted appropriately and
this incident has affected us drastically. We’re all human. He got
exonerated with criminal charges, but this is not something that
we’re gonna jump up for joy for
and celebrate. This is just something that’s gonna affect us for a
very long time.”
Apodaca is undergoing counseling because the incident impacted him mentally, too, Gallegos said.
He said his police department
does not deserve the bad reputation people have attached to it
since the fatal shooting.
“Everybody has their own
opinion,” Gallegos said. “People
don’t see the good of the department, of what the officers do.
There’s always a percentage that
don’t agree with the decisions
that we make, unfortunately. I
don’t believe in negativity.”
Mayor Alice Lucero declined
to comment on whether officials
should fire Apodaca.
Still, members of the organization continued to voice their
grievances. They brought piles of
cardboard cutouts of guns and
read messages community members inscribed behind them. Most
of the messages were negatively
aimed at local police.
The voice of Mary Shure, Villalpando’s second mother, crackled as she read the text.
See 'Officer' on page A4