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Case dismissed against suspect in Albuquerque bosque fire
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Prosecutors have dismissed charges against a man accused of setting a bosque fire in Albuquerque last weekend after a grand jury found a lack of probable cause, according to documents filed in 2nd Judicial District Court on Friday.
“The State of New Mexico, through its Deputy District Attorney ... dismissed this case because the Grand Jury did not find probable cause,” according to the motion to dismiss.
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office declined to comment. An Albuquerque police spokesperson also declined to comment.
Police arrested Sean Taylor, 45, on Saturday, June 21, after a witness told officers that Taylor left the bosque with a lighter in his hand near the Alameda Bridge around the time a fire was set in the area.
A pretrial detention motion was filed Wednesday to keep Taylor detained until trial. Judge David Murphy granted the motion.
“The defendant created a substantial risk to the public by starting a fire in the Rio Grande bosque,” according to the motion to detain. “There will be no assurances that the defendant does not go near the bosque or other areas at risk of fire.”
“Moreover, the defendant will have easy access to matches, lighters and other implements that can start a fire,” the motion said. “The community will remain at risk if the defendant is released.”
Taylor denied starting the fire to police, telling them he had a lighter in his backpack, according to court records. Taylor told officers he saw a man dropping ashes from a piece of burnt paper.
The blaze was one of four that happened between June 16 and 19 in the riverside forest in Albuquerque. Officials have said the fires were human-caused.
