A jury trial is set in the drunken driving case of former Montezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield, after a judge denied a motion to dismiss all charges.
Eleventh Judicial District Court Judge David R. Pederson stated in his ruling that “there is enough evidence to be introduced at trial for a reasonable jury” to find Christian Hatfield “impaired to the slightest degree, and therefore guilty of DWI.”
Hatfield, 59, will go to trial at 9 a.m. July 22. He faces two petty misdemeanor charges: driving while under the influence of liquor and open container.
The charges stem from a single-vehicle crash about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099. Hatfield was driving alone with his dog.
In his motion to dismiss, Defense Attorney Arlon Stoker argued, “There are elements of fundamental fairness, vindictiveness and a hunger for publicity,” in Hatfield’s case, which he said lacks “credible evidence and constitutional violations.”
Special Prosecutor Stephanie Story’s response to the motion stated that there is no “illegal taint,” and she claimed that Stoker is attempting to argue the case in his motion instead of in front of a jury.
Stoker’s claim came from the fact that no witnesses have come forward who might have seen Hatfield possibly consuming alcohol or the insomnia drug Ambien before the crash.
“There is no admissible evidence to support probable cause that Mr. Hatfield was intoxicated and the case against him should be dismissed,” Stoker wrote in the motion.
Hatfield reportedly was unable to submit to a field sobriety test and collapsed on scene from injuries received in the accident. A warrant for a blood draw to measure blood alcohol content was secured.
However, the blood was drawn 11 hours after the crash and after Hatfield was treated by doctors with chemical substances including “Fentanyl, Midazolam and Zolpidem,” which are “narcotics and hypnotics” that affect “the metabolism of alcohol,” Defense Attorney Arlon Stoker said in a motion to suppress the evidence.
The blood sample also was left in a refrigerator at the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office for more than a month before it was sent to the New Mexico Health Department for testing, according to documents the Tri-City Record obtained through an Inspection of Public Records request.
When the Sheriff’s Office received the results, it showed “that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” according to law enforcement reports.
Pederson granted the motion to suppress the blood evidence, which led Stoker to file a motion to dismiss the case, stating there is no evidence to proceed.
Prosecutors are relying on law enforcement testimony.
Story stated that law enforcement from the Bloomfield Police Department and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office “were all present on scene after the accident and observed signs of impairment.”
This included a pungent odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, according to the report.
“The odor of alcohol alone cannot support allegations of DWI,” Stoker wrote in the motion, adding that because of his injuries, Hatfield “had problems walking, standing and talking at the scene of the accident that were not related to intoxication.”
Story called this a factual disagreement “on whether Defendant’s problems walking, standing and talking at the scene of the accident are caused by the accident or impairment.”
Investigators also found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass,” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.
Stoker stated in the motion that “a single open can of beer with an unidentified residue and an empty wine glass in an automobile does not support an inference of intoxicate at the time of the accident.”
He called the wine glass and beer can “red herrings that the prosecution hopes will misinform or confuse the jury and result in a conviction.”
Story argued Stoker’s motion was an “attempt to litigate” the facts of the case prior to trial and that “is not permitted.”
Pederson agreed with Story denying the motion to dismiss and set the trial, which will be preceded by a pretrial conference at 9 a.m. July 7.
