Montezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield waived his arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty on misdemeanor charges of driving while under the influence alcohol or drugs and of possessing an open container.
Hatfield, 59, was set to be arraigned Jan. 8 in San Juan County Magistrate Court, but his attorney, Arlon Stoker, filed the motion to waive the court date. Every magistrate in San Juan County recused themselves from the case.
The recusals led to the cancellation of a Jan. 16 pretrial hearing. The hearing was rescheduled for Feb. 12, and canceled again.
Because of the recusals, the case “will get assigned to a judge from out of the county,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Decker.
Hatfield headed up the San Juan County Public Defender’s Office in New Mexico for a number of years and practices law in the state.
He remains in his position of Montezuma County District Attorney until Jan. 14, when District Attorney-elect Jeremy Reed will be sworn into office.
Hatfield was formally charged Dec. 20, 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield on Aug. 30.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office awaited filing charges until it received results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory that showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.
“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.
The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.
Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.
After unredacted records were released, the Tri-City Record learned that the Bloomfield Police Department was the first to respond to the crash.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office turned over records and video evidence pertaining to the case on Dec. 19, after New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Legal Director Amanda Lavin made a legal argument for unredacted information.
The Tri-City Record made an Inspection of Public Records Act request to the Bloomfield Police Department on Dec. 30, requesting all copies of lapel cam video, dashcam video and photographs pertaining to Hatfield’s Aug. 30 crash.
Bloomfield Police Administrative Assistant Ruth Montoya stated in an email Dec. 30 that “the videos will need to be redacted” and should be received no later than Jan. 28.
