Embattled Gallup DA faces questions, criticism in search for budgetary lifeline

GALLUP — With her state funding running out and at least one of her contract attorneys working without pay, McKinley County District Attorney Bernadine Martin tried Tuesday to rally support for her cause.

But the embattled prosecutor faced mostly questions and criticism from community members, including family members of crime victims, during a testy news conference in front of the county courthouse.

One local business owner, Lyndon Tsosie, accused Martin of running some employees off and being responsible for state lawmakers’ vote to largely defund the McKinley County District Attorney’s Office during this year’s 60-day legislative session.

“You lost millions of dollars to San Juan County,” Tsosie said at one point during Tuesday’s news conference.

In response, Martin disputed suggestions about a hostile work environment, while saying her office has still been able to effectively prosecute criminal cases despite the depleted funding.

“We are not missing deadlines,” Martin said. “Cases are moving.”

Due to concerns over case dismissals and high attorney caseloads, a $10.8 billion budget bill that took effect July 1 shifted funding for the Gallup-based District Attorney’s Office to San Juan County District Attorney Jack Fortner’s budget. The two prosecutors have been unable to reach an agreement on how cases should be handled under the unusual setup, with a mediation hearing set to take place next week.

If the mediation is unsuccessful, Martin said she will run out of money to pay her 20 or so employees on Aug. 12. Over the last several weeks, she has been using money from her own salary to pay staffers.

“I’m not getting help,” Martin said at one point during the news conference. “I’m out there on a tugboat with no paddles.”

However, the district attorney acknowledged seven domestic violence cases in Gallup were dismissed last month due to a scheduling conflict, as she was taking part in a hearing in Santa Fe for a murder case that same day.

One of her two contract attorneys, JoHanna Cox, is handling the homicide case but happened to be on vacation at the time, she said. The McKinley County District Attorney’s Office currently has zero staff attorneys, though Martin said she’s tried for several years to hire new ones.

Meanwhile, Cox said Tuesday she has been working without pay since the new state budget took effect last month but remains committed to resolving her assigned cases.

The defunding showdown has caused local law enforcement officials to express concern and ignited a debate over the legality — and possible future precedent — of the Legislature’s actions.

The state Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by Martin last month, though a separate court case on the matter is still pending in the Santa Fe-based 1st Judicial District.

Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the architect of the legislative defunding, attended Tuesday’s news conference and spoke to attendees after Martin had returned to her office.

He said he does not regret the budgetary action and said he’d been approached by judges and Chief Public Defender Ben Baur with concerns about mismanagement of the District Attorney’s Office.

Muñoz also indicated Martin could be removed from office under an investigation launched by Attorney General Raúl Torrez, though the timeline of such an effort is unclear. Under state law, district attorneys can be removed from office for limited reasons, including gross incompetency and failure, neglect or refusal to discharge the duties of the office.

As for Martin’s claims that she was targeted for defunding in part due to her status as a Navajo elected official, Muñoz said that is not true.

“This is not a race issue,” Muñoz said. “This is about justice.”

Martin, who is the state’s first female Navajo district attorney, was reelected last year as the top prosecutor for the second division of the 11th Judicial District.

Data provided by the state Administrative Office of the Courts shows the number of charges dismissed in McKinley County has remained largely steady since Martin took office in 2021.

As of last year, a total of 2,750 charges were dismissed, though some criminal cases can feature multiple charges. The number of charges dismissed amounted to about 69% of all charges disposed of in the county.

But Martin’s call for local residents to contact state officials in support of her plight appeared to be gaining little traction.

Geri Hughbanks, a Gallup business owner, was among the 50 or so local residents who showed up for Tuesday’s news conference.

She expressed concern about high crime rates in Gallup, and said she’s heard from former employees about negative working conditions in Martin’s office.

“I have no trust in her whatsoever,” said Hughbanks, referring to the district attorney.