MADD Officer of the Year resigns amid DWI corruption probe

Another Albuquerque Police Department officer implicated in a DWI corruption investigation has resigned.

Police Chief Harold Medina said Honorio Alba Jr. resigned on Thursday. He said Alba submitted his resignation before a planned interview with APD’s Internal Affairs investigators.

Alba had been with APD since at least 2015 and was named Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s 2023 Officer of the Year for New Mexico.

In January, APD opened an internal probe into Alba and several other current and former DWI officers after FBI allegations of corruption involving police and a local defense attorney came to light.

FBI agents searched the homes of Alba and officer Harvey Johnson Jr., the law offices of defense attorney Thomas Clear III and the home of Clear’s paralegal, Ricardo “Rick” Mendez.

Soon after, APD placed five personnel on leave: Alba, Johnson, Joshua Montaño, Nelson Ortiz and Lt. Justin Hunt. Hunt has also resigned from APD.

The 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office also dismissed 195 cases — the majority of them DWIs — related to the implicated officers.

In February, APD placed Internal Affairs Cmdr. Mark Landavazo on leave and temporarily reassigned an IA lieutenant as both are being investigated amid the ongoing internal probe.

So far, Landavazo is the highest-ranking APD employee to be tied to the corruption allegations and investigation.