Judge in Fierro case denies mistrial motion

Posted at: 09/23/2009 1:02 PM | Updated at: 09/24/2009 8:42 AM
By: Eyewitness News 4

Carlos Fierro

The motion for a mistrial was made by attorneys Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence who claimed that the prosecution's use of a confidential government database to vet jurors gave the prosecution an unfair advantage.

Prosecutors concede that they used the National Crime Information Center database to examine the criminal backgrounds of members of the jury pool but argued that the defense could have had access to the information, also, if it had asked.

Judge Michael Vigil noted that use of the NCIC database raised a question about whether the playing field is level, but still ordered the trial to proceed.

The defense says it is ready to go to the Supreme Court and is just waiting for Fierro to make up his mind on what he wants to do.

Fierro is accused of driving drunk the November evening his car struck and killed William Tenorio outside of a Santa Fe bar.

Fierro's attorney is arguing that the accident was unavoidable because it was dark, Tenorio was wearing dark clothes and may have been walking backwards outside of the crosswalk.

Prosecutors argue that if Fierro wasn't intoxicated, Tenorio would still be alive.

In the courtroom Wednesday there was testimony from a handful of police officers showing the jury dash cam video of Fierro stumbling out of his car after the crash that killed Tenorio.

They also showed video of Fierro failing field sobriety tests.

Employees from the Rio Chama restaurant also took the stand to talk about how much Fierro and Lovato had to drink before going over to Willies Blues Bar.

At one point, the DA also played audio taken from a police interview with Fierro the morning after the crash in which Fierro admits to driving drunk.

The state played almost an hour of the tape. In it, Fierro waived his rights and told officers he drove drunk. But he says he wasn't speeding and thought someone threw a rock at his window.

Witnesses say before the crash, Fierro had flat tires and was driving on sparking rims before he ran a red light and hit Tenorio in front of Willie's Blues Bar.

Fierro, a prominent attorney who has served as an aide to officials such as senators John McCain and Tom Udall, was accompanied the evening of Tenorio's death by then-State Police Sergeant Alfred Lovato, a member of Governor Bill Richardson's security detail.

Lovato has since resigned and is also charged with vehicular homicide for failing to stop Fierro from driving.

The Fierro trial is expected to last a week and a half.  Fierro faces up to nine years in prison if found guilty.

Eyewitness News 4 will be in the courtroom Thursday.  For the latest, tune into Eyewitness News 4 Midday at noon and stay with KOB.com.

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