Judge tosses evidence in 2022 Muslim killings

Prosecutors scheduled to take Muhammad Atif Syed to trial in March must do so without two key items of evidence, including statements he made to police at the time of his 2022 arrest.

Syed, 52, faces three counts of first-degree murder in a series of fatal shootings that rocked Albuquerque’s Muslim community in July and August 2022.

Second Judicial District Judge Britt Baca-Miller tossed statements Syed made to an Albuquerque Police Department detective, finding that the officer failed to inform Syed that he had a right to a court-appointed attorney prior to questioning.

Baca-Miller also excluded reports and testimony analyzing ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology that allegedly link Syed to the shootings, court records show.

A spokeswoman for the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in a written statement Wednesday that prosecutors intend to move forward with Syed’s prosecution.

“This will not prevent us from taking this case to trial,” spokeswoman Nancy Laflin said of the orders. “We have very solid evidence, and the judge’s rulings do not significantly impact the prosecution of this case.”

The shootings caused a panic in Albuquerque’s Muslim community and garnered nationwide media attention. They also triggered hundreds of tips to law enforcement.

Baca-Miller has also ordered a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation to determine whether Syed is competent to stand trial. Syed’s attorney, Megan Mitsunaga, said Wednesday that the judge has yet to consider Syed’s competency.

Syed was initially arrested in the shooting deaths of Aftab Hussein, 41, on July 26, 2022, and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, on Aug. 1, 2022.

A grand jury later indicted Syed on three counts of first-degree murder, adding the Aug. 5, 2022, shooting death of Naeem Hussain, 25, to the two earlier killings.

Baca-Miller in October ordered that Syed be tried separately for each of the three killings.

The trial is scheduled to begin on March 11 in the killing of Aftab Hussein. No trials have been scheduled in the other cases.

Syed’s statements

Syed was arrested Aug. 9, 2022, in Santa Rosa, about 100 miles east of Albuquerque, while driving east on Interstate 40 toward Texas.

Mitsunaga filed a motion arguing that after his arrest, Syed was “brought to a windowless, locked cell” at APD, where he remained shackled to a metal pole for hours.

Once moved to an interrogation room, an APD detective “had a brief, stilted conversation” in English with Syed, Mitsunaga wrote in the motion.

Syed, an Afghan immigrant, requested a Pashto translator, who was provided via speakerphone from the detective’s cellphone, the motion said.

The detective then read Syed his Miranda rights but failed to inform Syed that he had a right to a free court-appointed attorney present during questioning, the motion said. The detective also failed to ask Syed if he wished to waive those rights and speak with him, it said.

Mitsunaga asked the judge to suppress any statements Syed made to the detective, alleging that the detective conducted an illegal interview with him.

Baca-Miller suppressed Syed’s statements to the detective, finding that the Miranda warning was “defective and incomplete for failing to inform (Syed) that he had the right to court-appointed free counsel prior to and during any questioning.”

ShotSpotter reports

Prosecutors created reports based on Albuquerque’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system that allegedly linked Syed to the shootings, Mitsunaga wrote in a motion.

The reports were intended to show “the number of shots fired” and potentially the caliber of the weapons involved, it said.

However, ShotSpotter relies on “proprietary technology” and no witnesses “can explain what any of that language means or how it relates to the facts of this case,” Mitsunaga wrote.

Deputy District Attorney David Waymire wrote in his response that prosecutors did not intend to offer expert testimony about SpotSpotter technology and did not “intend to elicit detailed information such as the number of shots or the possible caliber of the weapon.”

In her order, Baca-Miller barred prosecutors from introducing any testimony about ShotSpotter in Syed’s trial.