Trial starts for deputy accused of shooting fellow deputy

A trial is set to get underway this week for a former Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy who is accused of fatally shooting his partner following an alcohol-fueled fight.

Tai Chan is accused of killing Santa Fe County Deputy Jeremy Martin in October 2014 at a Las Cruces hotel where they were staying after dropping off a prisoner in Arizona.

Authorities say they went drinking at a nightspot before getting into a heated argument and shots were fired.

An autopsy showed Martin was shot multiple times in the back and had other injuries that appeared related to a fight.

Chan has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder – a charge his lawyer moved to have dismissed before the trial, saying evidence doesn’t support the charge.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday.

In a pre-trial hearing, Deputy District Attorney Gerald Byers told Judge Fernando Macias the state plans to call 93 witnesses during the trial.

The trial is expected to last 3 weeks.

Last week, the defense asked for three of the state’s witnesses to be dismissed. Two of them are expert witnesses and one of them is Martin’s wife, Sarah, who is now widowed.

“The question becomes what’s she being offered for what relevance and is it inflammatory?” Defense Attorney Thomas Clark said.

“Sarah Martin is a valuable witness with regard to important aspects associated with the decedent,” Deputy District Attorney Gerald Byers said. “She would be called (to testify) about a number of things that probably are not common knowledge at this point in the case.”

Judge Macias did not immediately rule on who will be allowed to testify.