Albuquerque Journal: Latest Tai Chan criminal case dismissed

A judge has dismissed the latest criminal charge against former Sante Fe County Sheriff’s Deputy Tai Chan, the Albuquerque Journal reports.

Chan shot and killed fellow deputy Jeremy Martin in Las Cruces after a night of drinking. The deputies were spending the night at the Hotel Encanto after dropping off a prisoner in Arizona.

Chan said she shot and killed Martin in self defense after they got into an argument inside the hotel room.

The Albuquerque Journal reports District Court Judge Conrad Perea ruled the Las Cruces District Attorney’s Office failed to follow court rules when it filed a criminal information on Oct. 2 charging Chan with voluntary manslaughter.

Chan has twice been tried for murder and both of his trials have ended in mistrials because the juries could not reach unanimous verdicts.

Earlier this year, District Attorney Mark D’Antonio announced he would seek a voluntary manslaughter conviction against Chan.

Earlier this year, the murder case was dropped on double jeopardy grounds, the Journal reports.

The Albuquerque newspaper reports Perea found another judge who presided over Chan’s second trial had failed to poll jurors to clear up questions about their impasse on a range of charges from first-degree murder to manslaughter.

John Day, Chan’s defense attorney, told the Journal Judge Perea’s ruling against the new manslaughter charge should end the prosecution of Chan. A fifth try at convicting Chan would be “the definition of insanity,” Day told the Albuquerque newspaper.

The District Attorney’s office told the newspaper it will ask Judge Perea to reconsider his decision.