Fired Las Cruces officer now faces murder charge in chokehold death as AG takes over case

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico --  New Mexico's attorney general is taking over the prosecution of a former Las Cruces police officer who used a deadly chokehold and is upgrading the criminal charge against him to second-degree murder, officials announced Thursday.

Christopher Smelser, accused of killing a man who led police on a foot chase, had been facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter that was filed by the local district attorney.

“We are taking over prosecution and focusing on appropriate charges for violent and dangerous chokeholds,” said state Attorney General Hector Balderas.

Smelser is charged in the Feb. 29 death of Antonio Valenzuela, 40, who had a parole violation warrant against him when he ran from officers following a traffic stop.

Officers gave chase, tasing him to no avail. There was a struggle when officers caught him and body camera video shows Smelser at one point using a chokehold to gain control of Valenzuela, who became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead.

An autopsy report found Valenzuela had hemorrhaging in his eyes and eyelids, which is indicative of asphyxiation and may occur when the neck or chest is compressed. His neck had a deep muscle hemorrhage, his Adam's apple was crushed and his ribs were fractured. There also was swelling in his brain.

After reviewing the autopsy report, Chief Patrick Gallagher decided to fire Smelser from the Las Cruces police force. Also following Valenzuela's death, the police department said it began prohibiting the use of neck restraints during apprehensions, as many other departments around the country have done.

An attorney representing Valenzuela’s family had previously called for the charges against Smelser to be elevated to second-degree murder.

On Thursday, Balderas agreed, saying in a statement that "the Office of the Attorney General determined that the evidence warrants a charge of second degree murder."

A spokesperson for District Attorney Mark D'Antonio, who requested that Balderas take over the prosecution, said further investigation found evidence that Smelser had used the same chokehold technique in a prior incident in 2018.

Smelser was released on bond by a magistrate judge last month pending trial.

(The Associated Press contributed background to this report.)