SANTA FE – A New Mexico judge recused himself Friday from overseeing court proceedings for a man who shot and killed five family members when he was 15, adding yet another wrinkle for a case that has taken years to resolve.
Children’s Court Judge John Romero’s recusal in Albuquerque came on what previously had been set as the final day in a hearing in which numerous witnesses had been called to testify. The proceedings had been held to determine whether 21-year-old Nehemiah Griego should be sentenced as a juvenile or an adult for the January 2013 shootings at his home south of Albuquerque.
It was the second such hearing for Griego, who was found in 2016 by Romero to have proved receptive to psychological treatment while in state custody. That decision placed Griego – who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder while in state custody – on track for release on his 21st birthday.
But the decision was overturned by the New Mexico Court of Appeals earlier this year on grounds that Romero had not considered certain testimony presented by the prosecution the first time around.
Court spokesman Sidney Hill confirmed Romero had stepped down from the case, saying the judge was preparing a written order on the recusal. A spokesman for the Bernalillo County district attorney said the decision stemmed from a conversation Romero had after court was no longer in session Thursday with an expert witness, and that prosecutors had raised concerns about the conversation on grounds it didn’t follow court protocol.
“In no way did prosecutors make any accusation of impropriety,” said Michael Patrick, the district attorney’s spokesman.
The woman who had been called forward by Romero was a witness for Griego’s defense team, Patrick said. Much of the proceedings in court this week have been closed to the public because so much of the testimony was expected to focus on Griego’s psychological treatment and sessions with therapists, especially in the past two years.
In 2013, authorities say Griego fatally shot his parents and three young siblings – ages 9, 5 and 2 – at their home south of Albuquerque. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in 2015.
Sheriff’s deputies said the rampage had begun in his parents’ bedroom, where he shot his mother as she slept. He then shot his brother and two sisters.
Griego’s father, a reformed gang member and pastor at an Albuquerque megachurch, was shot and killed hours later when Griego ambushed him as he returned home, authorities said.
Griego’s lawyers have long maintained that he had grown up in an isolating home, and they presented testimony in the past that he had been so severely abused that he had shown signs of brain damage.
On Friday, his attorney Stephen Taylor said he was assessing possible next steps in the case.
It’s expected the case will be reassigned to another judge. But it’s not clear who he or she will be.
It’s also unclear whether the incoming judge will call for yet a third hearing to determine whether Griego should be sentenced as a juvenile or adult, or instead evaluate proceedings, evidence and testimony submitted so far.
In New Mexico, the maximum sentence for a crime committed by someone the court considers a juvenile cannot extend beyond the person’s 21st birthday, meaning Griego could have been released immediately had the judge again found he had been receptive to treatment.
If Griego ultimately is sentenced as an adult, the next judge could have considerably broad discretion over his sentence, with the maximum penalty being 120 years in prison.
Taylor noted that Romero – a longtime New Mexico Children’s Court judge and president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges – knows the state’s children’s code and juvenile justice system well.
It’s not known whether Griego’s case will be assigned to another judge who typically handles such cases or will be sent to a judge in another division of New Mexico’s court system.
