Man in Custody re Death Threat to Judge; Courthouse Evacuated
A 22-year-old burglary suspect is in custody after threats to kill a judge led to the evacuation yesterday of the courthouse at which he was to be sentenced.
Steven Martinez hasn’t been charged in connection with the threats yesterday afternoon, but Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano says he expects related charges to be filed, reports the New Mexican.
An individual called 911 at about 1:20 p.m. yesterday and threatened to kill an unspecified judge at the courthouse. Another call was placed about 20 minutes later to District Judge Michael Vigil, who is overseeing the burglary case against Martinez, and at that point the caller threatened to kill Vigil, according to the sheriff.
“We’re thinking he thought he was going to be sentenced and was probably trying to buy more time,” Solano tells the newspaper.
The article doesn’t include any comment from Martinez or his lawyer.
