Quintana Release: District Attorney responds to Governor’s incompetence claim
District Attorney Mark D’Antonio responded to New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez’s claims of incompetence.
The governor questioned D’Antonio’s ability days after the release of Justin Quintana, the man arrested in 2007 for the shooting death of his mother.
“I would feel more secure and feel like I am doing more protection for the public if (Justin Quitana) is under some sort of permanent supervision,” said Dona Ana County District Attorney Mark D’Antonio.
Quintana was arrested after police say he fatally shot his mother, Susan Kuchma, a state police officer at the time. He was acquitted Quintana was at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute, previously the Las Vegas Medical Center, for more than a decade.
Since Quintana was declared not guilty by reason of insanity, it could have been a violation of his civil rights to detain him indefinitely. Quintana was released after the Behavioral Health Institute found him competent to stand trial, according to sources within the New Mexico Department of Health.
The District Attorney sat down with ABC-7 to discuss the governor’s comments. “I am disappointed she said that about me, but I understand that she has a lot of responsibility and a lot of guilt,” D’Antonio said. “She is the one person in the state who could have fixed this problem eight years ago.”
D’Antonio said he believes the release of Quintana creates a dangerous situation. The governor agrees, which is why she wants something done. “Charges need to be pending against him, he needs to be in jail, and that district attorney needs to aggressively prosecute, which are his responsibilities,” said Governor Susana Martinez.
D’Antonio responded by saying, “I can’t just prosecute the case and hope for the best.” He added, “I have to make sure I have a foundation based on fact and law where I can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, but that is not the case”
The DA’s office told ABC-7 the state’s biggest problem is that it has no legislation to deal with these situations. “Very simple: the big crux of the problem is that New Mexico has no mechanism, no legislation, to handle when a person is found not guilty by reason of insanity,” D’Antonio said.
The district attorney said the governor enlisted the help of the Attorney General’s office to review the case. “I am advocating that we all join together, the governor and the mental health and the DA and the legislature to get together and not engage in name calling but fix the issue,” D’Antonio said.
Quintana is a free man until he’s prosecuted, or the law changes, or if he should be arrested for some new offense.
