Rape trial for former ABQ firefighters back on track after Supreme Court pause

The trial of two former Albuquerque firefighters accused of raping a woman in 2023 appeared back on track Friday after the New Mexico Supreme Court lifted a stay that paused the proceeding for three days.

The Supreme Court issued the order lifting the stay less than two hours after 2nd Judicial District Judge Britt Baca convened the jury briefly on Friday morning before releasing them for the day.

Justices paused the trial Wednesday after a single day of testimony in response to an emergency petition filed June 18 by defense attorneys.

Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of Aden Heyman, 48, and Anthony Martin, 46, who are each charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration for allegedly raping a woman at an Albuquerque apartment complex. The trial had been scheduled through Friday.

Attorneys for Heyman and Martin said they expect the trial to resume Monday.

“We appreciate the (Supreme Court) review, and I’m looking forward to presenting the rest of our case to the jury next week,” said Martin’s attorney, Ben Ortega. “This is a case that I have wanted to get in front of a jury for a long time now,” since he took the case two years ago, he said.

The third former firefighter, Angel Portillo, 33, also is charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration for his role in the incident. No trial has been scheduled in Portillo’s case.

Attorneys for Heyman, Martin and Portillo filed an emergency petition June 18 alleging that prosecutors mishandled the grand jury process and asking justices to toss the indictments.

Heyman’s attorney, Jason Bowles, said this week that the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office failed to instruct the grand jury to consider the guilt or innocence of each defendant individually.

A grand jury is a panel of 12 citizens who have authority under New Mexico law to indict someone on criminal charges following a presentation of evidence and testimony.

Judge Baca on June 16 rejected a motion from defense attorneys to toss the September 2023 grand jury indictments based on similar issues raised in the petition.

But on Friday, justices unanimously rejected the emergency petition without explanation and lifted the stay, allowing the trial to move forward.

Prosecutors allege the men plied the woman with alcohol and raped her after one of the men invited her to his apartment complex for drinks and a swim after a charity golf tournament on July 15, 2023.

Defense attorneys told jurors this week that the encounter was consensual and that the woman became sexually aggressive with all three of the men while the group was drinking around the pool at the Villas apartment complex in the 600 block of Menaul NE.