Former El Paso judge fired after botched DWI arrest in New Mexico now plans to sue deputies & prosecutor
SANTA FE, New Mexico - The former El Paso magistrate judge who was arrested in late September and charged with driving while intoxicated, in a case that's since been dismissed, is now planning to sue the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office and the Santa Fe County District Attorney's Office, his attorney told ABC-7.
“He lost his job," Jerry Archuleta, the judge's defense attorney, said Friday. "His reputation is now being tarnished.”
In late September, former El Paso Magistrate Judge Ray Gutierrez attended the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Fiesta with his family. Lapel camera video from deputies obtained by ABC-7 shows the field sobriety test.
"Are you going to cooperate with me?" the Sheriff's Deputy asked.
"I will," responded Gutierrez.
After the judge's SUV scraped another vehicle, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office charged Gutierrez with DWI, felony possession of a firearm at a liquor establishment and negligent possession of a firearm, according to his attorney.
Moments before the arrest, Archuleta told ABC-7 that Gutierrez's wife was robbed and his daughter was attacked at the festival, sharing photos that showed their bruises and scrapes.
"They never investigated the robbery of the wife or the battery of the daughter," Archuleta said. "All they did is started going after Judge Gutierrez and about him being impaired."
The alleged robbery is important because Archuleta told ABC-7 that in the state of New Mexico, being in a state of duress -- or facing a threat -- is a defense for DWI.
“Judge Gutierrez was trying to do what anybody would do in his exact situation," Archuleta said. "He was trying to protect his family.”
Archuleta said Judge Gutierrez drove away from the reported danger and crashed into another vehicle.
According to an incident report, Gutierrez performed "decent" at a walk-and-turn-test, but could not recite the alphabet.
“It felt like because he was a judge, that they were trying to make an example out of him and they overcharged him," Archuleta said.
On January 6th, a judge dismissed the case without prejudice. The order says prosecutors failed to turn over key video evidence of the initial confrontation by deadline, so it --and the deputy's testimony were thrown out.
“It was vindictive, it appears as though there were delays," Archuleta said. "Things were done purposefully to harm him... Judge Gutierrez case wasn’t dismissed on the politics and it wasn’t dismissed because he’s a judge.”
A spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office declined to comment because Gutierrez plans to sue. Santa Fe District Attorney Marco Serna did answer an initial phone call from ABC-7, but never responded to an email seeking comment.
ABC-7 Content Manager Lesley Engle contributed to this report.
