Michael Astorga Guilty in 2006 NM Murder of LEO James McGrane, May Face DP

[heidi salazar]

SANTA FE, N.M. -- The state's highest court is allowing death penalty prosecutions to continue in New Mexico.

The state Supreme Court on Thursday said it will not consider a constitutional challenge to the death penalty made by an Albuquerque man accused of killing a Bernalillo County sheriff's deputy. New Mexico has repealed the death penalty, but only for crimes that occur after July.

Michael Paul Astorga is charged with first-degree murder in the 2006 shooting of Deputy James McGrane Jr. during a traffic stop.

Astorga's lawyers had asked the Supreme Court to declare the death penalty unconstitutional. The court heard arguments in May, but decided not to issue a ruling. The case goes back to district court, allowing Astorga's trial to proceed.

http://www.koat.com/news/20973549/detail.html

[heidi salazar]

Ruling: Astorga can ask for two juries
Separate juries would hear trial, sentencing

The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that accused cop-killer Michael Astorga may be allowed to choose if he'd like one jury to hear his trial and, if convicted, seat a second jury to decide on the death penalty.

Astorga is accused of killing Bernalillo County Sheriff's Deputy James McGrane during a traffic stop in Tijeras nearly four years ago. Astorga was wanted for another killing at the time.

His attorney argued that a national study found that if the same jury both decides the verdict and the death penalty, it's more likely to convict and execute.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said she expects about a four-week trial starting May 3 to decide Astorga's guilt or innocence, and then, if he's found guilty, his sentencing on Sept. 12.

She said the sentencing phase could be lengthy because the second jury will have to hear evidence presented during the first trial.

While the New Mexico Legislature abolished the death penalty during last year's regular session, capital offenses committed before July 1, 2009, are still eligible for the death penalty.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/new-mexico-supreme-court-rules-astorga-can-ask-for-two-juries

[heidi salazar]

Date set for Astorga murder trial

The trial of a man accused of shooting and killing a Bernalillo County deputy during a routine traffic stop four years ago finally has a trial date set.

The district attorney’s office said that it needed more time to investigate an alibi for Michael Astorga that wasn’t raised until about three weeks ago.

Judge Neil Candelaria says proceeding won't damage the prosecution’s case and by now the district attorney's office should be entirely prepared.

Astorga’s attorney, Gary Mitchell, says he plans to prove Astorga was at home during the night Deputy James McGrane was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Tijeras in 2006. Mitchell says he’ll provide four witnesses who can verify Astorga’s alibi.

"There are three tragedies in this case,” said Mitchell. “It was a good deputy with a good family who died, and they accused an innocent man, and then harassed the hell out of witness after witness.”

“It has taken all these years for people to step forward,” Mitchell added, “so if I get a fair and impartial trial, maybe we won't have a fourth tragedy."

The Astorga trial was already put on hold for a couple of years while the state Supreme Court debated the fairness of death penalty cases in New Mexico.

Mitchell had argued that jurors who have been screened to assure they can apply the death penalty are more prone to convict.

The high court ultimately ruled that a death penalty trial is constitutional and can be conducted in New Mexico.

The trial is set for May 3rd.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s1512540.shtml?cat=516

[Jeff1857]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - After four years of delays, the trial of accused deputy killer Michael Astorga starts Monday.

Prosecutors said Michael Astorga shot Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department Deputy James McGrane during a late night traffic stop in Tijeras in 2006.

McGrane had pulled Astorga's truck over for a broken tail light.

A key part of the prosecution's case is motive, because there were no eyewitnesses and the investigators never found the murder weapon.

They said Astorga killed McGrane to avoid capture because Astorga knew he was wanted for the murder of Candido Martinez four months earlier.

Investigators said Astorga killed Martinez, a childhood friend, over a car.

They said he knew he was wanted because he had stopped seeing his probation officer, quit his job and kept moving around.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg filed a motion this week to allow that murder arrest warrant to be allowed as evidence, but Astorga's lawyer, Gary Mitchell, wants it kept out:

"They know, as do I, that that case doesn't have merit and never had has merit," Mitchell said in a telephone interview with News 13.

Mitchell said Astorga was not concerned about the Martinez murder case and was not ducking the law.

The district attorney also filed a motion to bar the defense from bringing up accusations of bullying tactics by deputies.

"Bullies is a polite word for it," Mitchell said.

After McGrane's murder deputies scoured the Albuquerque area hunting Astorga for almost two weeks-questioning his friends and relatives and searching their homes until he was finally captured in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Mitchell claims deputies intimidated and coerced witnesses during their manhunt.

"They affected the credibility of these witnesses, they intimidated witnesses and they tried to get people to say certain things," he said.

Prosecutors would not talk to News 13 on camera but in their motion wrote, the defense only wants to confuse the jury and stir up a bias against the sheriff's department.

Whatever happened after the murder, the district attorney said, does not change the fact that Astorga pulled the trigger.

Judge Neil Candelaria will hear these motions on Monday.

No word when he will make a decision.

The Astorga trial starts Monday with jury selection and opening statements could begin later in the week.

If convicted, Michael Astorga could get the death penalty.
 

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/home/Michael-Astorga-trial-starts-Monday

[heidi salazar]

NM Supreme Court Clears Way For Astorga Trial

SANTA FE, N.M. --
The New Mexico Supreme Court answered questions Thursday over whether Michael Astorga has the required legal defense for a potential death penalty trial.

Court judges ruled that Astorga has an ample defense team. New Mexico law requires any person facing the death penalty be represented by two capital offense - qualified attorneys.

The prosecution had concerns over whether or not Astorga had two, and if they both needed to be in the courtroom at all times.

The issue was brought to the Supreme Court, so it would not arise during any appeals.

"Both the state and the defense are concerned that all constitutional rights are complied with," said defense attorney Gary Mitchell. "And we feel comfortable now with the Supreme Court hearing this matter that they have been. Tomorrow morning, we will be in court selecting a jury."

Astorga is accused of killing Bernalillo County Sheriff's Deputy James McGrane in 2006.

Jury selection will continue Friday.

http://www.koat.com/news/23549063/detail.html

[heidi salazar]

Witnesses Describe Police Tactics At Astorga Trial

LBUQUERQUE, N.M. --
Witnesses complained of police tactics in the death penalty murder trial of Michael Astorga on Wednesday.

Astorga is accused of gunning down Deputy James McGrane Jr. during a traffic stop in the east mountains in 2006.

David Garcia said he was with Astorga the day of the shooting. He told the jury they went to Astorga's east mountain trailer late in the afternoon, then returned to Albuquerque before 10 p.m. that night in Astorga's purple Jeep, and he was dropped off at his mother's house.

Next thing he knew, he said, he was on the news and police were searching her house.

"Police parked cars all around there. They destroyed my mom's house," Garcia said.

Astorga's former boss told a similar story. Mary Tapia told jurors that once her name was tied to his, the pressure was on.

"A couple of days after, there was, I'd say, 30 police officers at my house at one time, and I just passed it by," said Tapia. "I couldn't even go to my house. We had to sell the house because of this incident."

Tapia testified that she became friends with Astorga's mother as the case progressed because of the pressures both faced from police.

The prosecution's questioning of Tapia set off some courtroom fireworks.

At one point, she was asked to point out Astorga and Astorga's mother. The defense objected. Outside the presence of the jury, defense attorney Gary Mitchell accused district attorney Kari Brandenburg of trying to prejudice the jury.

Brandenburg said she was just trying to point out that Tapia knew Astorga's mother well, and said she had no intention of anything else.

But the judge questioned the relevance of the identification and sustained Mitchell's objection.

In other trial developments Wednesday, after the jury left the courtroom for a morning break, the judge indicated he might revisit his ruling on a prosecution motion to allow testimony on why police were looking for Astorga.

The judge previously would only allow prosecutors to say Astorga had a warrant for his arrest the night McGrane was killed. But now he's indicated that he may allow testimony that the warrant was for the 2005 slaying of Candido Martinez.

http://www.koat.com/news/23606972/detail.html

[heidi salazar]

Wife Continues Testimony At Astorga Trial

 DA's Motion Denied

POSTED: 12:30 pm MDT May 24, 2010
UPDATED: 1:04 pm MDT May 24, 2010
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More sparks flew in the courtroom Monday as the death penalty murder trial of Michael Astorga entered its second week of testimony.

Astorga is accused of killing deputy James McGrane Jr. during a traffic stop in the east mountains in 2006.

Astorga's wife, Marcella Poolaw Astorga, made repeated references to police harassment during her second day on the witness stand.

Poolaw Astorga told the jury that police were with her daily starting March 22, 2006, the day after McGrane was shot. Poolaw Astorga said she was threatened that the state would take her baby away if she didn't tell police what they wanted to hear.

In other trial developments, District Attorney Kari Brandenburg renewed her motion to allow prosecutors to tell the jury that Michael Astorga was wanted in a 2005 murder at the time of McGrane's shooting to explain the actions of police.

"It's gotten beyond the point where the state can move forward with any amount of credibility, and that the state can have any kind of hope for a fair trial," said Brandenburg.

But Judge Neil Candelaria refused to grant the motion, saying he still felt it was too prejudicial.

http://www.koat.com/news/23659101/detail.html

[heidi salazar]

Prosecution Rests In Astorga Trial

The prosecution has rested in the death penalty murder trial of Michael Astorga, and the first of Astorga's alibi witnesses testified Wednesday.

Astorga is accused of gunning down Deputy James McGrane Jr. during a traffic stop in the east mountains in 2006.

As prosecutors began wrapping up their case, they called Nestor Vargas to the stand.

Vargas at first had trouble remembering what he told police about meeting with Astorga the morning after the killing -- specifically, about seeing a report on television about Astorga as the prime suspect.

But after the judge granted him immunity from prosecution if his testimony varied from what he originally told police, he told the jury he made up that story under police pressure.

"If I give them everything they need, I won't get charged with what they'll bring up, and my kids and family will be separated and I'll go back to the joint for who knows how long," said Vargas.

Later, Vargas again told prosecutors he wasn't sure what he said to investigators.

Defense attorney Gary Mitchell told Action 7 News that many of the inconsistencies and contradictions in the testimony so far will be cleared up when Astorga takes the witness stand.

Testifying for the defense, Danielle Lyon said Astorga worked for her brother-in-law in the past.

She told the jury that on the night McGrane was killed, she and her husband went to tattoo artist Martin Saiz's house so her husband could get a tattoo.

She told the jury that Astorga arrived about 10 p.m. with food and stayed through most of the night.

Mitchell wanted to pin the time down to the moment McGrane made the traffic stop in the east mountains.

"Specifically, where was Mr. Astorga at 12:44 a.m.?" asked Mitchell.

"He was with us at Marty Saiz's house," said Lyons.

But on cross-examination, prosecutors pointed out that the first time she told law enforcement about Astorga's whereabouts was in April 2010, after investigators for the defense spoke to her husband.

Astorga is expected to take the stand Thursday. It's expected that final arguments in the case will take place next Tuesday.

http://www.koat.com/news/23688412/detail.html

[heidi salazar]

Astorga 'needs to pay for what he's done'

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg told an Albuquerque jury Wednesday morning that Michael Paul Astorga, on trial for the murder of a Bernalillo County deputy, “needs to pay for what he’s done.”

The prosecution made its closing argument this morning and Astorga’s attorney, Gary Mitchell, will make his this afternoon.

Brandenburg told jurors that Astorga was living in the East Mountains under an assumed name because he was wanted for murder at the time Deputy James McGrane was killed.

She said that Astorga then fled to Mexico because he had shot and killed McGrane during a traffic stop in Tijeras in March of 2006.

McGrane died at the scene of the shooting.  A medical expert testified earlier that the bullet fired into his face exited his neck after severing his spinal cord.

Astorga was taken into custody about two weeks later in Ciudad Juarez.

Astorga, if found guilty of McGrane’s murder, could face the death penalty because McGrane was killed before the legislature repealed the state’s death penalty.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s1586839.shtml?cat=504

[heidi salazar]

Cop-killer Astorga faces death sentence
Convicted Friday of all charges

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A District Court jury Friday convicted Michael Astorga of first-degree murder and all other charges in the shooting death of Bernalillo County sheriff's Deputy James McGrane Jr.

District Judge Neil Candelaria read the verdict shortly after 2:30 p.m.

Both prosecutors and the defense said jurors had problems with the defense's alibi witnesses who came forward year's after the crime.

"You can round up all the people you want to lie, but at the end of the day, [the jury] understood what happened and we got justice for Jimmy. That's what matters most to us," former sheriff Darren White said.

"[Astorga] was really disturbed by it. But as he said to me 'You know Gary, from day one I told you I was innocent, I'm still innocent. I don't care what they say. If they want to kill me for it then I guess that's just the way life is,'" defense attorney Gary Mitchell said.

Jury selection began May 3 for Astorga. He was charged with first-degree murder and other crimes related to McGrane's death. The Bernalillo County deputy was gunned down during a traffic stop in Tijeras at 1:44 a.m. on March 22, 2006.

During the trial prosecutors charged Astorga shot the deputy to avoid arrest on an outstanding warrant for the murder of Candido Martinez. Astorga was arrested about two weeks later when Mexican police captured him in Juarez.

During the trial defense attorney Gary Mitchell presented alibi witnesses who testified they were with Astorga in Albuquerque at the time McGrane was shot. Mitchell also argued that there was neither eyewitness testimony nor physical evidence tying Astorga to the crime scene.

Astorga himself took the stand testifying he was shocked to learn he was a suspect in the shooting and that he ran because he feared vengeful police would kill him.  His estranged wife testified she initially lied to police about when she last saw Astorga out of fear and threats from investigators.

A federal appeals court had earlier ruled sheriff's investigators engaged in an unconstitution search of Astorga's in-law's home two days after the killing when they used unsupported assumptions to obtain a search warrant.

Sheriff's investigators had seized Astorga's pickup truck from his East Mountain home about 20 miles south of the shooting scene. Prosecution witnesses testified it was that pickup truck McGrane stopped for not having a light over its license plate.

Testimony also indicated McGrane was shot in the chin at close range and in a location where it blood spatter and other evidence would not have reached the truck.

Because New Mexico had not yet repealed its death penalty, Astorga faces possible execution for killing a law-enforcement officer. A new jury now will be seated and a mini-trial conducted to determining whether he receives a death sentence or life in prison.

The trial got off to a rough start as jury selection took two weeks interrupted first by whether or not prospective jurors should be told Astorga faced possible execution if convicted of first-degree murder. The prosecutors questioned whether state law required a second defense attorney be present at all times during the trial, a question that took the state Supreme Court to decide in the negative.

The jury comprised seven women and five men; four of the 12 were Hispanic.  Four alternate jurors were dismissed when testimony end.

Testimony began on May 17, and the jury began its deliberations on Wednesday afternoon working through Thursday and much of Friday before reaching its decision. Astorga also was convicted of two counts of tampering with evidence--moving his truck and disposing of the murder weapon, which was never found--plus a count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

McGrane was killed by a single shot from a 10 mm pistol.  An East Mountain store owner testified Astorga, whom he knew by a different name, had shown him a 10 mm Glock during a visit to the store.

A security camera recorded Astorga at the store but did not show him revealing the pistol.

Only one inmate has been executed in New Mexico since 1960. Terry Clark was executed by lethal injection in 2001 for murdering 9-year-old Dena Lynn Gore of Artesia.

That execution came on after Clark dropped his appeals and asked to be executed.

In 2009 the New Mexico Legislature repealed the state death penalty substituting life in prison without parole in a bill signed by Gov. Bill Richardson. The repeal took effect on July 1 more than a year after Astorga killed McGrane.

Richardson later said he supported death sentences for the most heinous crimes such as the McGrane murder.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/jurors-said-to-reach-astorga-verdict

[heidi salazar]

Death Penalty Likely In Officer's Death
Michael Astorga May Be Last In NM To Face Execution

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --
Michael Astorga may die for killing Bernalillo County Deputy James McGrane even though New Mexico abolished the death penalty last year.

Prosecutors said when Astorga killed McGrane they only had two options for his punishment -- the death penalty or 30 years in prison. They chose death.

"This is really in all intents and purposes the last death penalty case in New Mexico," Pat Davis, with the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office, said.

In 2009, Gov. Bill Richardson abolished the state's death penalty in exchange for life in prison without parole, but Astorga's case is retroactive because he pulled the trigger three years before the decision came down.

"At the time Michael Astorga killed Deputy McGrane, the death penalty was on the table when you kill a cop," Davis said.

Astorga's attorney said he believes both local and state leaders have made his client an exception to the rule.

"After the governor made an exception, the Legislation made an exception, if we decide to pick out one individual in the state and decide to kill that individual when we repealed it for everybody else," Gary Mitchell said.

Mitchell has handled nearly 100 death penalty cases throughout the years.

"I thought I could go home tonight and put that forever behind me but I have one more -- this one. I guess they just keep calling me back," Mitchell said.

While Mitchell said he will try to save Astorga's life, McGrane's family will continue to call for his death.

"The punishment in my mind is the death sentence," Charles Giannini, McGrane's uncle, said.

Astorga's attorney said there is a question as to whether the U.S. Supreme Court will even let the state press forward with the death penalty part of this case.

Deputy's Comrade Reacts To Verdict

The man who found McGrane after he was gunned down by Astorga, said he felt some relief on Friday with the guilty verdict, but he said the wounds are far from healed.

Detective Sam White found McGrane on the side of Highway 337 and tried to keep the deputy alive until medical response teams arrived.

Although Astorga was found guilty, he faces the sentencing phase of his trial where he could get the death penalty.

"It's not over by a long shot," said White. "We still have the sentencing phase to go through and that is going to be very trying and very emotional."

White said he and his fellow law enforcement officer try to concentrate on the good times with McGrane. He said McGrane loved being a deputy, had an enthusiastic personality and a love for serving the community.

"I know that Jimmy is smiling at us in his special place in heaven and he is proud of all the hard work from his brothers and sisters in law enforcement," said White.

http://www.koat.com/news/23804862/detail.html

[heidi salazar]

Astorga demands new trial

It's been almost two weeks since an Albuquerque jury found Michael Astorga guilty of murdering Bernalillo County Deputy James McGrane. After a nearly five week trial, Astorga's defense attorney has filed a motion for a new trial.

Defense Attorney Gary Mitchell filed a nine page motion for a new trial on Sunday. He goes into a long list of reasons saying ultimately, the state didn't prove Astorga's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Mitchell says if Michael Astorga's trial hadn't involved the death of a police officer, he never would have been convicted.

"The evidence is insufficient to convict and based on the lack of evidence, the court should grant us a new trial," Mitchell said. He's asking the court to set the guilty verdict aside.

"The pressure in Bernalillo County was unbelievable, and to convict and obtain a conviction in this particular case, ordinarily, you wouldn't not have seen this and based on this kind of evidence, or lack there of, there should not have been a conviction," he continued.

If a judge does give Astorga a new trial, Mitchell says he wants it moved out of Albuquerque. District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said on Wednesday she's not surprised Mitchell is moving forward with the motion, yet isn’t worried.

"I feel confident that we had a very fair and impartial jury," she said, explaining how a pool of nearly 250 people was narrowed to 12 jurors who deliberated almost 15 hours before reaching a guilty verdict on all counts.

There's no word yet when a ruling will come from the court.

Astorga's sentencing is set for this fall and he could face the death penalty, but Defense Attorney Gary Mitchell says he plans to file another motion attacking the constitutionality of that sentence.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s1610293.shtml?cat=504

[heidi salazar]

Astorga murder retrial denied

District Judge Neil Candelaria has denied a request for a new trial by convicted cop killed Michael Astorga.

Astorga and attorney Gary Mitchell were in court Tuesday morning to appeal his conviction for the 2006 murder of Bernalillo County deputy James McGrane in May of this year.

Mitchell argued that there was no hard evidence presented during Astorga’s trial that tied him to the scene of the murder, which took place in Tijeras in March of 2006.

Prosecutors argued that Astorga shot McGrane in the face after a routine traffic stop. They contend that he was wanted for another murder at the time.

Astorga was convicted of first-degree murder. If a second trial isn’t granted on appeal, a second jury will be seated to determine Astorga’s sentence, which could include the death penalty.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s1639682.shtml?cat=504

[heidi salazar]

Astorga Penalty Phase Delayed

The death penalty phase of the Michael Astorga deputy murder case won't take place in September as planned.

Astorga was convicted of the March 2006 murder of deputy James McGrane Jr.

As soon as Astorga was convicted, plans were put in motion to select a second jury to determine if he should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. That process was to start in early September.

Now, that penalty phase won't get under way until 2011.

Although defense attorney Gary Mitchell has promised a Supreme Court challenge, the delay is due to the impending election.

"If we were in trial before the election, it might continue to be played up and sensationalized in the news, which might give the defendant a chance to argue he didn't get a fair trial," said District Attorney Kari Brandenburg.

But Mitchell discounts the theory that the death penalty would be an election-year football.

"I don't think that either candidate should dwell on the death penalty in New Mexico," said Mitchell. "Frankly, they ought to deal with the economy and trying to solve that problem, which is more on people's minds than the death penalty issue."

Mitchell said he is planning to file motions before the penalty phase, but would not give any further details.

Barring any further delays, the death penalty hearing is set to start Jan. 10.

http://www.koat.com/r/24694439/detail.html

[AnneTheBelgian]

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/gov-subpoenaed-in-death-penalty-case

(with video)

Gov subpoenaed in death-penalty case

Astorga's attorney made request

Updated: Tuesday, 23 Nov 2010, 7:13 PM MST

Published : Tuesday, 23 Nov 2010, 6:00 PM MST

* Reporter: Crystal Gutierrez

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The defense attorney for a convicted murderer has subpoenaed New Mexico’s governor to give insight on his personal feelings about the death penalty, which is client could soon face.

Michael Astorga was found guilty for the murder of Bernalillo County sheriff’s Deputy James McGrane Jr.

The death penalty phase of the trial is set to for January. It appears the defense is trying just about everything to stop that from happening.

In June, the jury said Astorga was guilty of first-degree murder for fatally shooting McGrane during a middle-of-the-night traffic stop near Tijeras in March 2006.

Astorga's defense attorney, Gary Mitchell, has filed a motion to dismiss the possibility that the convicted cop killer will be sentenced to death.

The hearing, set for December, also includes a subpoena for Gov. Bill Richardson.

Mitchell has argued the death penalty isn't constitutional in this case since the governor signed legislation abolishing death sentences last year.

The defense attorney said he's not expecting the governor to testify in court but will leave that up to him. However, he does want a statement from Richardson about he personally feels about the death penalty.

Richardson has been very vocal about his beliefs on the matter for the past year.

"My position as a human being is I support the death penalty in the most heinous of cases," Richardson said March 2009. "I think Astorga should go to the death penalty. But I think for the future, life in prison without parole is a huge punishment."

Mitchell said he wants to hear it straight from the “governor’s mouth” as to why the state is allowing some cases to still be tried for death sentences and hopes Richardson has changed his mind.

"He obviously spent a lot of time thinking about it," Mitchell said. "Since that time period since he journeyed to the Vatican. What’s his position?”

Under the state law capital punishment is still an option for crimes committed before July 2009. That was when the state's death penalty ban went into effect.

The governor can still contest the subpoena. Mitchell said he's already been in contact with Richardson's attorneys.










Anne