The Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office has now dismissed four felony DWI cases, in addition to 152 misdemeanor DWI cases, following a federal investigation into Albuquerque Police Department officers.
This means that just over 10% of the 1,026 DWI cases submitted by APD officers in 2023 have now been dismissed. In addition to 106 cases from 2023 there are 16 cases from 2024, 10 cases from 2022, 10 cases from 2021, 4 cases from 2020, 8 cases from 2019 and one case from 2016.
There are four officers who handled the cases. One filed 73, another filed 40, another filed 34 and the final one filed 7.
The most recent dismissals are felonies because the suspects had more than three prior DWI arrests. In one case a suspect was allegedly racing on a busy thoroughfare through the Northeast Heights.
Here’s a look at the felony cases that are now dismissed:
Victor Lawrence Belarde, was arrested on Aug. 25. It was Belarde’s fourth DWI arrest, according to court records. According to a criminal complaint, Belarde was driving a Dodge Dakota Truck in a Burger King parking lot on 98th St. NW, when a worker observed him hit a dumpster with the front of his truck and then back over a small curb. In his report, the officer stated Belarde was unsteady on his feet, and that he could smell alcohol on him. Belarde allegedly said he was old and had trouble balancing.
Jeray Martinez, was arrested on Dec. 15, 2023. Martinez was charged with aggravated fleeing a law enforcement officer, improper display of registration, racing on highways, and having additional lighting equipment on his car. According to charging documents, the officer said he saw Martinez racing cars at a high rate of speed at the intersection of Montgomery and San Mateo, and that when he tried to conduct a traffic stop, Martinez fled from the scene. The vehicle eventually stopped at the intersection of Pan American Highway and Montgomery. The officer states the vehicle was smoking and there was damage to the front passenger wheel.
Alexander Borson-Pope was arrested on Dec. 18, after his girlfriend called police to report he had not been home after an argument. When officers arrived at the location, they noticed Borson-Pope passed out in his running vehicle, next to empty alcohol bottles, according to the criminal complaint. Borson-Pope was arrested and charged with aggravated driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, driving with a revoked license, DWI related, and having open containers in his vehicle.
Anna Sanchez, was arrested Dec. 27. An officer was called to a Northeast Albuquerque address after a couple said they witnessed Sanchez trying to back out of a driveway. The officer said Sanchez was trying to back out of a driveway, but almost crashed into a wall instead. He said she admitted to him that she had been drinking heavily that night and he saw an open alcohol container in her vehicle. Sanchez was charged with aggravated driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, and driving with an open container.
The dismissals come on the heels of a months-long federal investigation into APD’s DWI Unit, which resulted in the homes of at least one officer and the office of a local defense attorney being searched late last week. Several officers were placed on administrative leave, while others were transferred to different units.