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The Donald Gallegos Story, Part IV
Politics and Prosecution Then & Now April 15, 2007
By Bill Whaley
 Donald Gallegos was elected by voters in the Eighth Judicial District as D.A. over John Paternoster by about 250 votes in June 2000. To create a smooth transition, Paternoster appointed Gallegos as his chief deputy on Aug. 1 or 2. Deputy District Attorney John Day resigned at the end of July 2000 and took another job, later that summer or fall, with the Santa Fe law firm of Rothstein, Donatelli. In spring 2006, Gov. Bill Richardson selected former D.A. John Paternoster to replace retiring judge Peggy Nelson. Paternoster then won the primary for the Eighth Judicial District Court judge in June 2007. Currently, Paternoster spends about three weeks in Raton and the first week of each month in Taos as sitting judge. Judge Sam Sanchez currently presides as the senior judge in the Eighth Judicial District.
In prior stories about District Attorney Donald Gallegos, Horse Fly has quoted from police reports and court transcripts, pointing out that Gallegos differentiates between local defendants who are “good people” and victims who are not from here or were “just passing through.” While serving as a private defense attorney, John Paternoster once pointed out for the benefit of Horse Fly readers that there is a perception that the justice system is in thrall to political hacks. As the chief law enforcement officer of the Eighth Judicial District, the district attorney bears the responsibility for decisions to prosecute, which sometimes reflects a pattern more political than principled. In prior stories (Jan.-March 2007), Horse Fly has pointed out how Mr. Gallegos has sacrificed his duty to uphold the principles of justice in favor of the politico-cultural movidas of electoral politics, including unlawful arrest, the defense of alleged child abusers, the protection of a double homicide perpetrator, and dropping grand jury charges against an indicted rapist.
Below, Horse Fly reproduces news clips detailing Gallegos’s involvement in the events surrounding convicted triple-murderer Jason Perea. Many judges and judicial officials believe the practice of releasing dangerous suspects for later grand jury prosecution endangers the community, especially when the D.A.’s office doesn’t keep tabs on the bad actors. Dismissing charges and suggesting they will be brought before a grand jury later allows some violent criminals to fall through the cracks and endanger the community. (At the other extreme, the District Attorney’s office frequently punishes non-violent citizens by transforming misdemeanor charges into felonies via secret grand jury proceedings. Consequently, the ordinary or non-violent citizen is forced to hire an attorney and spend inordinate amounts of money to avoid prison time, while being publicly humiliated.)
The tragic Perea story, documented through the letters and comments below, illustrates the consequences of the D.A.’s inclination to ignore his responsibility. The story begins in May of 2000, culminates in July of 2003, and continues to haunt the survivors of the homicidal attacks. As noted in The Taos News editorial of March 29, 2007, the practice of dismissing charges against violent felons who have been incarcerated by the magistrate’s court continues today.
Jason Perea
Horse Fly
Sept. 15, 2003
“Triple murder suspect Jason Perea was arraigned on Aug. 18, 2003, for allegedly having shot to death Alfredo Eagle Rael, Nathaniel Maestas, and Eric Tollardo during the ‘Mustang Murder’ incident in July, on the eve of this year’s Fiesta. Perea was charged by the district attorney’s office with five counts: three counts of murder one, tampering with evidence, and shooting at a motor vehicle. Jason’s father, Phil Perea, was reportedly with Jason when the two were stopped and picked up by police in Española after the Mustang Murders. According to Sheriff Charlie Martinez, Phil Perea denies any prior or subsequent knowledge of Jason’s act. Evidently, Perea senior learned of the murder incident when the cops apprehended the fugitive in his company while in Española. So far, Phil Perea has not been charged in the case.
“Jason Perea’s triple murders may have been averted had he been brought to justice for his prior history of violence, but his case fell through the cracks in the D.A.’s office. According to public records, Perea was arraigned in Judge Betty Gonzalez’s [now Martinez] magistrate court in June 2000 on four counts: aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, shooting a dwelling, conspiracy, and aggravated burglary, which all occurred during a May 28, 2000, incident at La Lomita Trailer Park. In the criminal complaint, other members mentioned in the conspiracy charge included Chris Chacon and Bruce Perea.
“Sheriff Charlie Martinez says his deputies responded to the incident, where, as Charlie says, ‘the [suspects] shot the heck out of the trailer’ at the La Lomita Trailer Park. ‘The neighbors called 911,’ says Charlie. ‘He [Perea] and his brothers were over there whacking people.’ According to the complaint, Perea’s shots were fired at the ‘residence of Juan Ruiz and Dora Munoz, #11 trailer home.’ In the complaint, it also says Perea ‘hit David Quinonez with rocks wrapped in a towel, a deadly weapon’ at the residence of Bernadette De Vargas.
“Perea pleaded not guilty to the incident and was released on $35,000 as ‘cash in full amount of this bond,’ according to court records. Perea was also ordered to enter an electronic monitoring (ankle bracelet) program as a condition of release. But a letter in the court file, dated July 20, 2000, and signed by Bob Anaya of Human Resources Development Associates, Inc., a community corrections and electronic monitoring program, says: ‘Please be advised that Jason Perea has failed to enter this office for pre-trial supervision as ordered on June 16, 2000.’
“The initial criminal complaint filed in magistrate court was dismissed by Deputy District Attorney John Day on July 25, 2000, ‘without prejudice on the grounds that this case will be presented to the Taos County Grand Jury on August 16-17, 2000,’ which is standard operating procedure. At this point, Day resigned from the D.A.’s office and says he left Taos for another job in Santa Fe. District Attorney-elect Donald Gallegos was appointed chief deputy to take over and supervise daily operations of the D.A.’s office by the lame duck D.A., John Paternoster.
“Paternoster, now a professor, judge, and attorney, has said that on or about Aug. 1 or 2, 2000, ‘Donald was in charge,’ although Paternoster still came into the office. On Oct. 30, 2000, a notice for final order of the criminal complaint was filed in court and at the district attorney’s office by Perea’s public defender, Sheri Raphaelson of Española. On Nov. 6, 2000, the case was closed by Judge Gonzales [now Martinez], according to court records. D.A. Gallegos told The Taos News (Aug. 21-27, 2003) that ‘there is no indication in Perea’s file explaining why action was not taken.’
“The sheriff says it is his understanding that the witnesses, Ruiz, Munoz, and Quinonez, were Mexican nationals, who disappeared from Taos. He says he doesn’t know why other leads weren’t pursued by the district attorney’s office. The sheriff confiscated firearms consisting of a .380, AK47, and a 9-mm, but received a court order saying that he must return the weapons to Perea, et al. As soon as he heard about the Mustang Murders, the sheriff says he checked the records to see if Perea used the same weapons. But, the sheriff says, ‘they weren’t the same.’”
The following letter from D.A. Donald Gallegos is a response to the above article (“Homicide Continued: Jason Perea” in the September 2003 Horse Fly). Responses by attorney John W. Day and Sheriff Charlie Martinez follow Gallegos’s letter.
Gallegos Letter
Sept. 23, 2003
Editor:
As has become the usual practice in your articles concerning my office, I must correct and add information to the article on Jason Perea that you deliberately failed to include. Jason Perea was arrested in May of 2000, while John Paternoster was still D.A. The file was assigned to John Day who did nothing to take the case to grand jury or preliminary hearing. It is important to note that John Day did not leave the D.A.’s office until September 2000, almost four months after the incident. According to the paralegal assigned to the case, and the office manager, they made several attempts to calendar the case for grand jury but John Day would not pursue it and told them that the case was, as he referred to it, “SEP” (somebody else’s problem). A look at the file indicates no activity by John Day to take the case to grand jury or preliminary hearing nor does the file contain any notes or correspondence showing efforts by John Day to pursue the case. After John Day left the office, I assigned the file to Donna Dagnall.
Donna sent two letters, one on November 8, 2000, and [another on] October 3, 2001, to the Taos County Sheriff’s Office requesting follow-up investigation to pursue the case (copy enclosed). These requests were not responded to by the Sheriff’s Office. On February 25, 2002, D.A. Investigator Bill Hubbard sent another letter to the sheriff regarding Jason Perea’s requests to have his handguns returned (copy enclosed). This letter was not responded to. As a result, the file was closed due to failure of the Sheriff’s office to provide a complete investigation.
Sheriff Martinez’s statements in the article are the first time I heard that the witnesses were Mexican nationals and unavailable. This information was never relayed to my office despite the requests for follow-up [by] the Sheriff’s office. Also, the reason the sheriff does not know why other leads were not followed by the D.A.’s office is because that is his job. The call was answered by his deputy and charges were initiated by his office. I want to make it clear that once a police agency starts a case, they continue to be the lead agency responsible for pursuing any leads that may arise. Had this case been initiated by my office, or had the sheriff requested assistance from my office, we would have helped look into “other leads” that may have arisen.
It is also interesting that you suggest that just because John Paternoster was “lame duck” and “Donald was in charge” that [Paternoster] is absolved of any accountability. Paternoster was still the D.A., was still being paid by the taxpayers, and was John Day’s boss. As I have proven before, I will take responsibility for any and all failures and mistakes that occur in my office. But I will not stand by and have you represent half-facts, inaccuracies and incomplete information without addressing an obvious bias toward me and my office.
How ironic that Dory Hulburt’s article on “The Objectivity Myth” was in the same issue. Do the citizens a favor and confirm that your articles are either opinions, editorials, or commentaries and not objective reports. I do want to thank you for printing my prior responses and I ask that you continue to print my responses so the citizens can have all the information instead of just your narrow and obviously biased view.
Sincerely,
Donald Gallegos
John W. Day’s Reply
September 2003
Editor:
In his letter attacking Sheriff Charlie Martinez, former D.A. John Paternoster, and me for the Jason Perea case from May 2000, Donald Gallegos gets his facts wrong when he writes that I “did not leave the DA’s office until September 2000.”
Actually, I resigned, handed in my keys, and left the office in July 2000 to take another job. After I resigned, the case became the responsibility of the new chief deputy D.A.—Donald Gallegos.
Donald Gallegos’s letter to you confirms that he kept the Perea case active in his office for a year but did not prosecute it.
The remainder of Donald Gallegos’s claims, as they relate to me, are false.
Sincerely,
John W. Day
Sheriff Charlie Martinez: “We arrested them and charged them. They [D.A.’s Office] dismissed the charges. We didn’t.”
Perea Pleads Guilty
to First-Degree Murder
The Taos News
Jan. 13, 2004
By Betsy Phillips
“Jason Perea pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder in the July 24 killings of Eric Tollardo, 22, Nathaniel Maestas, 14, and Alfredo Eagle Rael, 23.
“‘I shot Eric. I shot everyone in the car,’ [said Perea].
“After first denying the crimes, Perea, in a videotaped confession, said someone had come to his house and threatened him earlier in the day. He said they disrespected him and, ‘I did what [I] had to do.’ Perea, armed with a .40 caliber semi-automatic weapon and a 9 mm, ‘started unloading’ six to eight feet away from the car. Perea said the only person in the car he knew was Tollardo.
“The agreement is for the two first-degree murder sentences to run concurrently. Those two counts carry a life sentence, with a mandatory 30-year term.”
“D.A.’s Policy Akin to Playing Russian Roulette”
Taos News Editorial
March 29, 2007
“Taos District Attorney Donald Gallegos’s policy not to utilize preliminary hearings in felony cases is one that has the potential of putting victims and the community at risk. As such, it’s time for change. Imagine, if you will, an alleged violent felon who appears before a local magistrate. The accused is ordered held on a sizable cash-only bond—both to protect the community at large and to keep the suspect in custody—only to have the district attorney dismiss the case and wait for it to go before a grand jury. That’s a scenario that puts victims and witnesses in jeopardy, and it taxes the law enforcement officers and Magistrate Court staffers who labor to ensure they’ve followed protocol to keep the ‘bad guys’ off the streets.”
Next Month: The Donald Gallegos history (then and now) continues. In due time, we will discuss how the D.A.’s office prosecutes six-year-olds, presents testimony known to be false, retaliates against a local man by dropping charges against the perpetrator of (another) double vehicular homicide, and takes cases to grand jury or trial without investigating the evidence.
Piety in Word v. Deed
In case you missed it, the following message from Donald Gallegos appeared as an apparent advertisement in the March 29, 2007 edition of The Taos News. Horse Fly reprints below what can be considered either a veiled threat, political pandering, or the misplaced sentiments of an antinomian. (An antinomian believes he or she holds the truth in his or her heart regardless of the laws of religion or of man.) Horse Fly follows up the D.A.’s 19-line Lenten prayer with a few pithy reminders from the Savior’s Sermon on the Mount.
Mr. Gallegos’s introduction read, “In the spirit of the Lenten Season I would like to offer the following prayer to Mr. Bill Whaley and others who have made it their mission to attack my character and that of my family.
“Lord make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred let us sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
“Oh Master, grant that we may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood
as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
“For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we receive;
It is in pardoning that
We are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we
Are born to eternal life.
Amen.”
After the prayer, he wrote: “We wish you and your loved ones peace, happiness, joy, good health and truth. Sincerely, District Attorney Donald Gallegos & Family.”
Here’s what Jesus says about Donald’s public expression of piety:
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6: 5-6).
Jesus also says, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). It is by his actions, not by his prayers, that we shall know our district attorney.
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