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Friday, June 19, 2009
Isleta Pueblo Officer Charged With Rape
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
An Isleta police officer has been indicted on charges that he sexually assaulted an Albuquerque woman after he gave her a ride home from the pueblo's casino because she was intoxicated.
Mark Zuni, 40, has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual penetration during the commission of a felony, kidnapping and two counts of criminal sexual contact.
Zuni has yet to make an appearance in court but told police he did not rape the woman. When a notice of arraignment was mailed to him, it was returned as undeliverable, according to court records. An arrest warrant has not been issued.
Isleta police officials said they fired Zuni on Monday after they learned of his indictment. They also changed the department's policy that allowed officers to drive intoxicated people home.
"We are going to make sure we do what we have to do to make sure that our house is clean," Isleta police Lt. Gabe Beardsley said Thursday. "It is an unfortunate incident. No police department is immune from such incidents. We take these incidents seriously."
Zuni had been placed on paid leave when the accusations arose last fall. He was placed on leave without pay about two months before he was indicted.
According to police reports, a woman called Albuquerque police in September 2008 to report that she was raped by an Isleta police officer after he gave her a ride home from the Isleta casino.
The woman told APD detectives she and her fiance had gone to the casino earlier that night, drank liquor and eventually were asked to leave because they were acting "obnoxious."
The woman said Zuni offered her a courtesy ride home. She claimed she was handcuffed and placed in the back of his squad car.
When she arrived at her house, the woman realized she didn't have her keys, and Zuni helped her open a window, she told police. While climbing through the window, the woman told detectives the officer fondled her, according to police reports.
The woman said he then climbed in through the window, threw her onto the bed and forcibly had sex with her, police reports state. The officer left when his police radio went off. He told the woman he got a call and would be back, according to police reports.
She told police she locked the door after Zuni left, but he returned about 15 minutes later and raped her again. She does not know how he got in.
The woman told detectives she asked for Zuni's badge number, but he covered it up. Zuni's radio then went off again and he left. He never returned.
When interviewed by APD detectives, Zuni said the woman was "extremely" intoxicated. He said he didn't handcuff her or enter her home. Zuni said the woman was separated from her fiance because security at the casino saw him hit her.
Zuni said the woman hugged him to thank him for giving her a ride.
According to police reports, there was about a 20-minute time period in which detectives couldn't account for Zuni's whereabouts. Police reports also show that Zuni cleaned his gun belt with bleach when he got home that night. Police found female DNA on Zuni's police radio, but there was not enough to match it to a person's DNA profile.
Beardsley said officers used to offer intoxicated people a ride home, but it was done at the officer's discretion. That policy changed soon after the allegations arose against Zuni.
"Obviously our policies have to change to assure that not only the public is protected but also our officers are protected," Beardsley said.
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