Judge tosses murder charge on third day of trial

Jul. 17—A judge tossed a first-degree murder case on the second day of trial Wednesday after finding that investigators had withheld evidence from the defense, including a lengthy string of text messages between the accused man and his former girlfriend.

But 2nd Judicial District Judge Cindy Leos did not rule Wednesday on whether prosecutors can refile the charges against Fransisco Espinoza Almeida. Leos scheduled an Oct. 25 hearing to consider the new evidence.

If Leos decides to dismiss the charges with prejudice, prosecutors cannot refile charges against Espinoza Almeida.

The judge also ordered the release of Espinoza Almeida, who has remained in the Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in January 2022.

"I can't hold you in custody with dismissal," Leos told Espinoza Almeida on Wednesday.

At issue is a trove of text messages between Espinoza Almeida, 24, and a young woman in the days and weeks before he entered her home and fatally shot a man he found in her bed.

Espinoza Almeida was charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 22, 2022, shooting death of 25-year-old Allen Sandoval at a residence in Southwest Albuquerque.

Prosecutors allege that Espinoza Almeida barged into the home of his ex-girlfriend, Jenna Padilla, found Sandoval in her bed and killed him with multiple gunshots.

The new evidence was disclosed to the defense for the first time on Wednesday.

Scott McMurrough, an Albuquerque Police Department detective, and lead investigator in the case, testified Wednesday that he had considered the text messages irrelevant to the investigation.

Lisa Torraco, Espinoza Almeida's attorney, alleged that investigators had hidden the text messages from the defense.

"You know what we call that? Hiding evidence." Torraco told McMurrough.

Leos quickly dismissed the jury and ordered prosecutors to produce Padilla's cellphone, which contained the text messages.

After a two-hour hearing Wednesday afternoon, Leos found that prosecutors had committed a Brady violation, which allows a judge to dismiss a case if evidence is withheld from the defense.

"The only issue in this case is the defendant's state of mind at the time of this incident," Leos said. The text messages could show whether Espinoza Almeida believed he and Padilla were still a couple at the time he found another man in her bed, she said.

Any communication between Padilla and the defendant around the time of the killing is relevant, Leos said, "especially since Jenna testified, unequivocally, that they were not together" and had broken up in October 2021.

"The reason it's relevant is because it could greatly reduce the amount of time the defendant is facing," she said.

Voluntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, is a murder that occurs in the heat of passion and carries a far lighter sentence than first-degree murder, which has a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.