Release of a homicide suspect prompts new Supreme Court guidance – By Olivier Uyttebrouck (Albuquerque Journal) / May 22, 2023
The release this year of a man awaiting trial in a fatal shooting prompted the state Supreme Court to issue new guidance Monday for judges weighing pretrial detention for accused criminal defendants found to be “dangerous.”
The five-justice panel found that a district court judge erred in releasing Joe Anderson pending trial given his “extensive criminal history” and poor record of complying with court orders. Anderson had already served time after being convicted in a 2010 homicide.
Anderson, 41, was arrested Dec. 4, on a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man in Southeast Albuquerque. A 2nd Judicial District Court judge in January denied a prosecutor’s motion to keep Anderson behind bars while awaiting trial.
On Feb. 6, the Supreme Court overturned that decision. Anderson’s GPS ankle monitor was found a day later by the side of a road. Albuquerque police caught up with and arrested Anderson at the end of February.
