Deadlocked jury leads to another mistrial in Tai Chan case

LAS CRUCES - Accused murderer Tai Chan's first trial last year ended with a deadlocked jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict. His second trial did, too.

A Doña Ana County jury of nine women and three men deliberated for about three hours Tuesday afternoon before announcing to the court that it was at an impasse and could not arrive at a unanimous verdict, forcing Judge Fernando Macias to declare a mistrial and ending a lengthy trial that began on May 8 in 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces.

Chan, 30, was on trial for the second time on a first-degree murder charge in the Oct. 28, 2014, shooting death of Jeremy Martin, 29, at the Hotel Encanto in Las Cruces. Chan and Martin, both off-duty deputies with the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, had planned to stay overnight at the hotel after transporting a prisoner from Santa Fe to Arizona.

Following a night of drinking and arguing, Chan fired 10 gunshots at Martin shortly after midnight on the seventh floor of the hotel in what police described as an alcohol-fueled fight. Martin was struck five times from behind as he fled from their room. He was pronounced dead about an hour after the shooting at a Las Cruces hospital.

Prosecutors have argued — now unsuccessfully at two trials — that Chan’s actions amounted to first-degree willful and deliberate murder. But Chan has maintained since his arrest that he acted in self-defense, alleging that Martin had threatened to kill him in the hotel room moments before the shooting.

Six jurors believed Chan shot Martin in self-defense and voted not guilty on the three possible charges — first-degree murder, second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter — according to defense attorney John Day, who represented Chan along with Tom Clark and Monnica Garcia.

Clark added that “no juror agreed to convict” Chan of first-degree murder, while the jury voted 7-5 to acquit on second-degree murder and 11-1 to acquit on voluntary manslaughter.

District Attorney Mark D’Antonio insisted that some jurors had voted to convict Chan of first-degree murder. “To the best of my memory,” he said after the mistrial was declared, “there were several passes, and on the first pass, there were votes for first (degree murder) but not on the second pass.”

What's next?

D’Antonio said his office would decide in the next week or so whether to retry Chan a third time. Day, meanwhile, said that the continued prosecution of Chan would only result in the loss of more taxpayer money.

“The outcome today shows that reasonable people can differ on what happened that night,” Day said. "Juries have looked at this case twice and no jury is willing to convict him at all. So, we’re hopeful the state takes that into consideration in determining what to do next.”

Chan did not comment about the mistrial on Tuesday, but two of Martin’s family members did, including his wife, Sarah Martin, and brother, James Martin.

“My husband was stolen, and he doesn’t get to come and tell his side of the story,” she said outside the courtroom before vowing to continue to seek justice for her slain husband. “He was taken from us, but his life matters. … And he wouldn’t give up on us, and I won’t give up on him.”

Through tears, she added: “His four children deserved to be told that the man who shot their father in the back — that there are consequences for that behavior.”

Martin’s brother, James Martin, said the family believes justice cannot be served in Las Cruces.

“I’m not sure we’ll be able to find justice for Jeremy in a Las Cruces court,” he said, while alluding to possible civil action. He declined to elaborate further.

D’Antonio disagreed, saying, “I believe justice can be held right here at home in Las Cruces.”

Closing arguments

For nearly three hours Tuesday morning, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented their closing arguments to the jury.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gerald Byers told jurors that Chan’s claim of self-defense “does not exist.” Martin’s life, Byers said, “was terminated by that defendant for no good reason.”

Byers later said that Chan’s testimony conflicted with “forensic science” that suggested, among other things, that Chan was the first to fire the gunshot inside the hotel room.

For a portion of his closing argument, Byers used a prop door to demonstrate the sequence of the gunfire. Byers held the alleged murder weapon, a semiautomatic Glock, in his hand as he re-enacted the struggle that broke out between Chan and Martin in their hotel room that led to the shooting.

D’Antonio, speaking separately from Byers, said it was a “deliberate act” when Chan crossed the threshold of the door and continued to fire at Martin as he fled down the hall.

“Every action he took after killing Jeremy Martin was indicative of a guilty conscious,” he said.

TIMELINE: Tai Chan case

But defense attorney Day told jurors that the prosecution’s case was rife with “alternative facts” — an infamous phrase birthed earlier this year by a spokeswoman for President Donald Trump.

“When Jeremy Martin fired the shot at Tai Chan,” Day said, “Tai Chan did not choose that moment — that was in the hands of Jeremy Martin. … He chose that moment, and Tai Chan acted to save his life in accordance with his training.”

Day also decried the investigation by the Las Cruces Police Department, calling it “faulty.” He pointed out discrepancies in testimony from the lead detective, Irma Palos, and her supervisor, Sgt. Casey Mullins.

Palos testified that her request to receive assistance from the New Mexico State Police crime scene team had been denied. But Mullins said he never received the request.

Day later reminded the jury of a transcript of a police audio recording wherein Chan – not long after the shooting – tells a police officer: “I just shot my friend, man. But he shot at me first. He tried to kill me. He tried to kill me.”

“At that moment,” Day told jurors, “Tai Chan is giving an honest and accurate account of what happen.”

Carlos Andres López can be reached 575-541-5453, carlopez@lcsun-news.com or @carlopez_los on Twitter.

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