Failure to seat jury results in second mistrial in 2022 homicide

For the second time in just over a year, a judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a man charged in a 2022 shooting death.

State District Judge Cindy Leos declared the mistrial on Monday in the first-degree murder trial of Fransisco Espinoza Almeida after the court was unable to seat a 12-person jury from an initial pool of more than 70 prospective jurors.

In July 2024, Leos declared a mistrial in the same case after finding that investigators had withheld evidence from the defense, including a string of text messages between Espinoza Almeida and his former girlfriend.

The court’s inability to seat a jury is a rare event, both defense and prosecution attorneys said Wednesday.

“It’s very unusual,” said Lisa Torraco, Espinoza Almeida’s attorney. “In my 34 years of practicing, this is only the second time it has happened to me.”

The 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office said courts “very rarely” fail to seat a jury.

A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the Courts said Wednesday that the courts do not have data about how frequently the failure to seat a jury results in a mistrial.

Prospective jurors can be struck “for cause” if attorneys believe they are incapable of rendering a fair and impartial verdict. Attorneys also are allowed to strike a certain number of potential jurors without stating a reason.

In this case, attorneys successfully challenged a majority of prospective jurors.

“The number of prospective jurors was insufficient based on challenges raised by the prosecution and defense,” said DA’s Office spokeswoman Nancy Laflin. “As a result, not enough fair and impartial jurors remained to proceed.”

Prosecutors plan to seek a new trial for Espinoza Almeida, most likely in January, Laflin said.

Prosecutors allege Espinoza Almeida entered a residence in Southwest Albuquerque where his ex-girlfriend was living and fatally shot a man he found in her bedroom.

Espinoza Almeida was charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 22, 2022, shooting death of 25-year-old Allen Sandoval.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, a woman called 911 to say her daughter’s ex-boyfriend had killed someone at her home on Sunset Gardens SW, near Old Coors. When officers arrived, they found Sandoval dead in a bedroom with gunshots to his chest and arms.

On the second day of Espinoza Almeida’s trial in July 2024, new evidence was disclosed to the defense, including a string of text messages between Espinoza Almeida and his ex-girlfriend in the days and hours before the killing.

A police detective testified that he considered the text messages irrelevant to the investigation. Leos dismissed the jury and ordered prosecutors to produce the ex-girlfriend’s cellphone, which contained the messages.

After a two-hour hearing, Leos found that prosecutors had committed a Brady violation, which allows a judge to dismiss a case if evidence is withheld from the defense, and declared a mistrial.

Leos also ordered the release of Espinoza Almeida, who had remained in custody since his arrest in January 2022. He currently remains free, Torraco said.