Judge sets Nov. 28 retrial for ex-deputy Chan
LAS CRUCES - Accused murderer and former Santa Fe County sheriff’s deputy Tai Chan is tentatively scheduled to stand trial again in November in Las Cruces for the shooting death of fellow deputy Jeremy Martin, court records show.
A mistrial was declared last week on the second day of jury deliberations in Chan’s trial after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors could not agree whether to convict or acquit Chan, 29, of murder and left unanswered whether they believed Chan deliberately killed Martin, 29, or acted in self-defense when he fired 10 gunshots at Martin on Oct. 28, 2014, at the Hotel Encanto.
On Tuesday, Chief District Judge Fernando R. Macias, who is presiding over the high-profile case in Las Cruces District Court, set a new trial to begin on Nov. 28, according to court records. It is scheduled for 10 days.
However, it appears that prosecutors with the Doña Ana County District Attorney’s Office and Chan’s defense attorneys may agree to push the trial to early next year, after the holiday season.
Santa Fe attorney John Day, who representing Chan along with Thomas Clark, said Wednesday that the District Attorney’s Office had recently indicated that prosecutors would be seeking to postpone the trial until early next year, after the holiday season.
But the district attorney’s spokesman, Patrick Hayes, did not directly confirm that and issued a statement that said: “Prosecutors talked with the defense attorneys and both parties agreed to address the court with their concerns about starting a trial the Monday after Thanksgiving.”
Day said he would not oppose moving the trial to early next year, adding that it “makes sense not to have witnesses traveling during the holidays.”
Still, Day said he and Clark would be ready for trial beginning Nov. 28. He said their defense will remain the same: that Chan acted in self-defense. “We believe we still have a strong case for self-defense,” he said, adding that “the facts of the case remain the same. The facts don’t change.”
The District Attorney’s Office declined Wednesday to comment on how prosecutors would present their case against Chan at the second trial, citing that the case is still pending.
After the mistrial was declared on June 7, Deputy District Attorney Gerald Byers, who prosecuted the case with Davis Ruark, gave a similar statement the Sun-News when asked to comment on a new trial.
“The case is still open and pending, and that means that I have an obligation not to say anything that could jeopardized any outcome or taint any jury,” he said, “and I’ll decline to do so at this time.”
However, given that Chan remains charged with first-degree murder, the assumption is that Byers and Ruark will attempt to argue again that Chan willfully and deliberately murdered Martin, as they did during the first trial, which lasted 11 days and included testimony from about 60 witnesses.
But the prosecutors were only able to convince one juror that Chan had committed first-degree murder. Before the mistrial was declared, the jury foreman told Judge Macias that 11 jurors voted against the charge.
On Wednesday, Day said the result of the jury votes “show a reasonable person could come up with differing opinions” on a verdict. Jurors had the option to convict Chan on one of three murder charges, including first- and second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, or acquit him altogether.
Day also said he was not concerned about selecting another jury, even though the case “received a fair amount of attention.”
“I am confident that we will be able to find a fair jury,” Day said.
It remains unknown if Chan will testify again during the second trial, as he did in the first.
“That remains to be seen,” Day said, adding that Chan “got up on the stand and told the truth.”
Carlos Andres López can be reached 575-541-5453, carlopez@lcsun-news.com or @carlopez_los on Twitter.
Previous stories from the Chan trial:
- Day 11: Judge declares mistrial in Tai Chan murder case
- Day 10: Closing arguments; no verdict reached
- Day 9: Chan takes the stand: 'I had to defend myself'
- Day 8: Chan's wife, friend testify
- Day 7: Expert: Chan 'perceived a threat' before shooting
- Day 6: Recording shows erratic remarks from Chan; DNA expert testifies
- Day 5: Hotel Encanto guests heard arguing, gunshots
- Day 4: Jurors hear from responding officers
- Day 3: Bartender: Chan had 'death look' on his face
- Day 2: Conflicting testimony from hotel guests
- Day 1: Opening arguments; trial underway