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| Story updated (Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 5:30 p.m.) UPDATED: Judge Dismisses Case Against Ex-Marine |
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
DA Says Ex-Marine Can't Claim Self-Defense
By John Bear / Valencia County News-Bulletin
LOS LUNAS — A prosecutor Tuesday said a former Marine had no claim to self-defense in shooting a suspected burglar and should go on trial for the July killing.
Assistant District Attorney Brett Parker said during a preliminary hearing Tuesday that the state will seek either second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter charges against 38-year-old Luke Sanchez of Los Chavez. He was initially charged with an open count of murder.
The hearing will continue today.
Sanchez is charged with killing Gary Gabaldon, 29, on July 4 after he witnessed Gabaldon and another man allegedly breaking into Enchantment Propane north of Belen.
Sanchez called 911, and then followed the two men as they left the scene. Sanchez told police he shot Gabaldon after the alleged burglar confronted him as he sat in his truck.
Belen Magistrate Judge Danny Hawkes is presiding over the hearing before a packed courtroom.
Parker said in his opening that Sanchez had taken it upon himself to chase Gabaldon and another man, inciting the incident that led to the shooting. "This is Luke Sanchez on his own mission," Parker told Hawkes.
He said that because Sanchez incited Gabaldon and another man, he has no claim to self-defense, and he had no right to shoot a man over a broken window.
Defense attorney Ray Twohig called the shooting a justifiable homicide.
George Chavez, who lives next to Enchantment Propane, testified that he spoke with Sanchez moments before the shooting and they both saw a suspicious van outside the business. He said Sanchez told him he was going to attempt to get the van's license plate number.
Sanchez, who followed the two burglars in his car, told deputies he shot Gabaldon after Gabaldon broke his car window and hit him several times in the face, according to a criminal complaint.
Belen police Officer Jonathan Abeita testified under cross-examination by Twohig that Sanchez told him that he shot Gabaldon because he broke his window and punched him in his face. Sanchez reportedly told the officer that he was afraid and fired one shot. Abeita testified that Sanchez told him that he wished that he didn't have to shoot the man.
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