Second life sentence for man convicted of killing Hatch police officer

A federal judge sentenced the man convicted of killing a Hatch police officer to a second life sentence, without the possibility of release.

Jesse Hanes was facing federal charges of carjacking and felon in possession of a firearm. Hanes, 40, pleaded guilty to killing Hatch Police Officer Jose Ismael Chavez in August 2016. He was sentenced to life in prison last spring.

Hanes was back in court Thursday to be sentenced on the federal charges. He spent his time addressing the court to discuss the case that brought about his first life sentence.

“I hope you see the light and become a force for good,” said Judge Robert Brack.

“I would take take it back now, gladly,” said Hanes, an Ohio native who spoke candidly to the judge. Hanes said he was a product of the system, having grown up in poverty and in prison from the ages of 16 to 32.

“Until this incident, I’ve never harmed an innocent person in my life,” Hanes said.

Chavez’s family wrote letters to the federal judge to be read in court.

“It does not matter how many years passed,” wrote Maria Ramirez, the officer’s mother, in her letter. “It will always feel like it was just yesterday.”

Ramirez wrote that she sees her son in the face of every young officer she encounters in the state of New Mexico. “My feelings are profound with hurt in my heart,” Ramirez wrote.

The slain officer’s father also wrote a letter to the judge, asking that he not grant the request of Hanes to be in a prison close to his family in Ohio.

“He should pay for the evil of damaging our lives,” Jose Chavez Sr. wrote.

The judge acknowledged that decision was in the hands of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons and that he did not have a say where Hanes was imprisoned.

On August 12, 2016, Chavez was conducting a routine traffic stop in Hatch when he was shot and killed by Hanes. The slain officer was a 2-year veteran of the force and left behind a wife and two children.

In court on Thursday, Hanes said it was an accident. “At the last second, he ducked down,” Hanes said. “I aimed for his vest. I never once thought I (would) shoot and kill this person.”

Hanes, who was fleeing authorities in Ohio, said he was on methamphetamine at the time. “I was out of my mind,” Hanes said. “I was remorseful from the very beginning.”

After he killed Officer Chavez, Hanes and two other passengers drove to a rest stop, where he admitted to shooting another man in the hip and stealing that victim’s vehicle. Hanes told the judge he did not want to pay more than $30,000 in restitution to that victim’s insurance company.

“I saved the people of New Mexico a lot of money by not going to trial,” Hanes said. He later added, “I don’t have no money.”

The judge ultimately overruled that objection, saying the plea agreement was “very clear.”

“I don’t believe for a moment that your arm was twisted,” said Judge Brack.

Hanes also objected to the prosecutor’s use of a confidential informant in his pre-sentence report. When Hanes was behind bars in Otero County, the FBI claims an inmate across the hallway came forward with details Hanes revealed behind bars. One of those allegations was that Hanes wanted to kill the warden and escape.

Hanes’ defense attorney, Mario Esparza, said the confidential information was questionable and “motivated by somebody trying to cut their own time.”

The FBI agent couldn’t confirm whether or not that inmate’s time was shortened, but the agent said the informant “knew information that wasn’t part of the public record.”

Judge Brack overruled that objection.

Addressing Hanes, Brack said he’s sentenced 18,000 criminals in his career, but he doesn’t see this “tragic violence” every day.

“This isn’t the way you planned your life,” Judge Brack said. “This isn’t the way anyone planned their life.”

“The evidence was overwhelming,” said Third Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio. “The state and the federal government had a really strong case.”

The fallen Hatch police officer, Jose Chavez, graduated from the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office academy and served for a year in the department.

“He gave his life for us,” Sheriff Kiki Vigil told ABC-7. “Our law enforcement officers are out there, our brothers and sisters are out there protecting us.”