Special Prosecutor: D.A. needs to re-indict deputy accused of killing partner on lesser charge

A special prosecutor says District Attorney Mark D’Antonio will have to re-indict the former Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy accused of killing his partner if D’Antonio wants to proceed with a third trial.

In a motion filed late Tuesday, Special Prosecutor Troy J. Davis wrote, “The murder charges are being dismissed by the Court. This case possibly needs to be re-indicted for Voluntary Manslaughter with a Firearm enhancement. Re-indictment of charges will cure any issues raised by the defense. This (ends) the Special Prosecutors appointment to this case.”

Davis told ABC-7 Chan was only charged with first degree murder in the original indictment. “Manslaughter was not part of that charging mechanism. So when the court threw out the murder charge in the first degree, we had really no indictment to go upon,” Davis said.

In May 2017, a judge declared a second mistrial after a jury deliberated for more than four hours and was unable to reach a verdict in the case of Tai Chan.

Chan testified he shot his partner, Jeremy Martin, in self defense during an argument. The deadly shooting happened shortly after midnight on October 28, 2014 inside the Hotel Encanto in Las Cruces. The deputies arrived in Las Cruces the night of October 27th after dropping off a prisoner in Arizona. Witness testimony revealed the men had been drinking and arguing at a bar hours before the shooting.

The prosecution told jurors Chan shot Martin in the back several times, but the deputy said he acted in self-defense.

Chan told jurors Martin became angry when he joked about a double homicide investigation in Santa Fe. Chan testified he told Chan, “You are responsible for those deaths. You killed those children.”

Chan said he was scared for his life and that Martin pointed a gun at him first. Shots were fired after both men struggled for Martin’s gun, Chan testified.

“The district attorney has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars prosecuting Chan and the results this were worse than the (first) time,” said Defense Attorney John Day. A defense team member told ABC-7 not a single juror believed Chan was guilty of First Degree Murder. “The breakdown was 7-to-5 to acquit on Second Degree Murder and 11-to-1 to acquit on Voluntary Manslaughter,” Day said.

Chan was facing a charge of First Degree Murder. The jury also had the option of convicting him of Second Degree Murder or Voluntary Manslaughter.

In 2016, a jury deliberated for more than 13 hours before the judge declared a mistrial. Only a single juror believed Chan was guilty of First Degree Murder. The others were split between Second Degree Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter.

Day said he was not surprised at the outcome of the second trial. “What does that tell us? These are people with very strong convictions, the people who believed Tai Chan was not guilty,” Day said.