The New Mexico Supreme Court annulled a murder conviction for a Valencia County man named Brandon Villalobos in a killing that occurred when he was a teenager
Villalobos’ second-degree and tampering with evidence convictions was nullified by the state Supreme Court.
The Justices unanimously concluded Villalobos was denied a right to a speedy trial, citing the nearly six years he spent in custody waiting for trial charges in his friend’s death.
The Time it Took to Arrive at this Verdict
Villalobos was only 15 years old when someone beat his friend, Alex Madrid, to death in 2014. Someone left Madrid’s body in an empty lot in Meadow Lake.
“Under the disturbing facts of this case, we hold that Defendant Brandon Villalobos – who has an intellectual disability and was fifteen years of age at the time of the underlying incident, his arrest, and the start of his extended pretrial incarceration – was deprived of his speedy trial rights,” the Court wrote in an opinion Justice Michael E. Vigil wrote.
It is really disturbing that a 15 years old is capable of the incident. However, the trial took six years for the conviction to happen.
Justice said it took three years to figure out Villalobos’ capacity to stand trial. They also pointed out his attorney’s punctuality and prosecution not “diligently monitoring” the case progress.
Justice explained that prosecutors have the responsibility to ensure that they carry out justice by moving the case forward in accordance with the Constitution.
“It is the responsibility of prosecutors, who represent the State of New Mexico, to ensure that justice is carried out by moving a case forward to trial in accordance with the Constitution,” justices explained.
The Justice also added that the State failed to meet the responsibility they carry, resulting in allowing a teenage defendant with intellectual disability to spend jail time for years.
“It is fair to say that the State failed to meet that responsibility here and, in doing so, allowed a teenage defendant with an intellectual disability to languish in jail for some three years and three months while his competency proceedings inched along at a glacial place.” Justice added.
What Really Happened?
The state Supreme Court sent the base back to the 13th Judicial District Court. They ordered the district court to set aside Villalobos’ conviction and dismiss the indictment that charged him with first-degree murder and tampering.
In December 2019, Villalobos attended the trial for the first time, but the judge declared a mistrial. On February 2022, a jury acquitted him of first-degree murder but convicted him of second-degree murder and tampering.
And in 2021, a judge sentenced Villalobos to 18 years in prison but credited him for seven-and-a-half years of time served, according to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office.
Villalobos’ attorneys appealed the conviction.
The state Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in 2024, leading to the state high court’s decision on Monday.
