Attorney general fights to put suspected shooter behind bars until trial

The New Mexico Department of Justice has appealed a judge's decision to keep a suspect accused of shooting someone at a graduation ceremony under house arrest. “Everyone is frustrated. The police and prosecutors are frustrated. The victims are frustrated,” Attorney General Raul Torrez said. On May 8, Southwest Charter School celebrated its graduation at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Your Neighborhood: Local News from KOAT Action 7 News Police say after the ceremony, Cristian Bencomo approached his mother-in-law and shot her in the neck. She is still in the hospital recovering. “What is shocking is that he was deemed a danger by the judge. And despite the prosecutors' best efforts, the judge allowed him to be released into the community on a GPS monitor,” said Torrez. Follow us on social networks: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube's hearing noted that Bencomo had no criminal history aside from charges related to this incident. Prosecutors hoped to change the judge's mind by presenting more evidence, including video footage of the shooting. The judge again denied pre-trial detention. “The judge in this case insisted that this was a person who could be safely monitored in the community. This is, I think, a great example of why the general public doesn’t have confidence in the pretrial system,” Torrez said. Today, the New Mexico Department of Justice filed an appeal against that decision, attempting to keep Bencomo in custody until trial. Torrez adds that the passage of bail reform created this problem. “In other words, if people in our community and across the state knew that individuals like Cristian Bencomo would be released after committing this kind of violent crime caught on videotape, apprehended at the scene, and it would be when even released into the community, they would never have voted for bail reform,” Torrez said.Action 7 News On The Go: Download our app for free