DA's Office, feds to jointly prosecute Babitz in fatal shooting of elderly Santa Fe man

Sep. 9—The First Judicial District Attorney's Office has dismissed murder, armed robbery and other charges against the man accused of killing 83-year-old Gordon Wilson during a carjacking in a busy shopping center parking lot last month.

Prosecutors said in a statement the office will "jointly prosecute" Zachary Babitz, 38, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office instead of trying him in state District Court.

"The District Attorney's Office has its own personnel directly participating in the Federal prosecution," Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Gardner wrote in a notice of the case dismissal filed Friday.

Gardner — a cross-designated prosecutor who serves simultaneously as a senior trial attorney in the District Attorney's Office and a special assistant U.S. attorney — will be a part of the federal prosecution team, according to the statement.

"This decision for a joint and cooperative prosecution at the federal level aligns with policy and ensures that the federal rules, procedures, and the custody and care of critical evidence are not adversely impacted by a simultaneous state case," the statement says.

Police issued a warrant for Babitz's arrest Aug. 8, two days after he was accused of fatally shooting Wilson and stealing the elderly man's SUV.

He remained at large until Las Cruces police arrested him a few days later, when he was suspected of robbing a person at gunpoint, stealing a vehicle and then crashing it, according to a previous report in The New Mexican.

The District Attorney's Office filed a motion Aug. 13 asking the court to order Babitz held without bond until his trial on charges of murder, armed robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm and criminal solicitation to commit robbery. However, no pretrial detention hearing was held for Babitz, who is now in federal custody, before his state charges were dismissed.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque charged Babitz in mid-August with carjacking and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in connection with Wilson's death.

That's the case that will go forward.

Prosecutors in Las Cruces also have charged Babitz with crimes there — including two counts of armed robbery, conspiracy, being a felon in possession of a firearm and escape from the custody of a peace officer. Prosecutors there did not respond to a message seeking comment Monday on whether the state would continue pursuing those charges.

Babitz — a former California resident who had been living in Edgewood — has a lengthy criminal history that includes prison time in California for armed carjacking and in New Mexico for armed robbery. He had been released on parole from the New Mexico prison system in March.

Investigators believe he cut off his electronic monitor at the beginning of August before embarking on his alleged statewide crime spree.