LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE) – More than 50 criminal cases in Northern New Mexico are at risk of being dismissed after the primary officer in those cases is facing charges of his own.
Story continues below
Podcast: How Grief Is Impacting New Mexico’s Youth
Crime: Albuquerque man sentenced to 36 years for rape of underage girl
News: APD Deputy Chief apologizes during city council meeting for officer’s using racial slurs
“About a week or so ago that complaint was filed and at that point in time we looked to determine what cases our office is prosecuting where Mr. Padilla is the primary officer,” said 4th Judicial District Attorney, Thomas Clayton.
San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Justin Padilla is facing criminal charges after court documents say he held down a woman at a party at his home in 2023 while she got beat up.
Now, some of his cases, many of them drug-related are at risk of never moving forward. “As we prosecute cases and if Mr. Padilla is the primary witness, then I’m going to have to present him to the potential jurors and I want to ensure the integrity of the case,” said Clayton.
Dozens of cases are now in limbo, a first for District Attorney Thomas Clayton’s office.”I’m not happy that I have to dismiss 50 plus cases, you know these are cases that are significant but it’s the right thing to do,” said Clayton.
For the moment, those cases are dismissed. Now, they have to wait. “If Mr. Padilla is convicted, well then we’ll take the appropriate actions on those cases. If he’s found not guilty or exonerated then at that point in time we’ll look at resurrecting these cases, re-filing them, and proceeding,” said Clayton.
Beyond handling these cases, Clayton says his office will have no further connection to Padilla’s office. In part, because of Clayton’s working relationship with the Sheriff’s Office.
“One of the potential witnesses, that individual’s mother works here at the office, so we wanted to make sure that there was no question as to the integrity of the investigation or the prosecution,” said Clayton. “So to ensure it’s done properly without any bias or favoritism one way or the other it was conflicted out.”
Padilla’s case is now being handled by the district court in Taos. KRQE News 13 reached out to the Sheriff’s Office about Padilla, who is now on administrative leave, the sheriff declined to comment.
