Judge accused of housing gang members appears in court

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- Former Magistrate Court Judge Joel Cano made his initial court appearance today on evidence tampering charges.

His wife Nancy also made a court appearance on conspiracy to tamper evidence.

ABC-7 obtained the affidavits for both Nancy and Joel. According to the documents, Homeland Security executed a search warrant on their property on April 24th, 2025.

They were looking for evidence that was not found during a previous raid on February 28th, 2025. Joel Cano admitted to destroying a cell phone that belonged to Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

On phone calls monitored by law enforcement, Nancy Cano allegedly agreed to delete Facebook accounts for Ortega-Lopez, and was in possession of the phone that Joel Cano allegedly destroyed.

Ortega-Lopez and two other men had been living in the Cano's backyard casita since April 4th, 2024.

ABC News interviewed U.S Attorney Pam Bondi about the case.

"Those are the people that have to be arrested and taken out of our country. Doesn't matter who you are. No one can harbor them, not even a judge," said Bondi. "We do believe in the rule of law, and not even a judge is above the law."

ABC-7 will have more details during our evening newscasts.