Former Montezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield has filed a lawsuit against the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution and defamation after being acquitted of a 2023 drunken driving charge.
Hatfield claims deprivation of his civil rights and defamation of character, saying the alleged “false arrest” by Sheriff’s Deputy Avery Killifer and the “malicious prosecution” caused him to lose “his bid for reelection,” according to the complaint filed Nov. 3 in 11th Judicial District Court.
The lawsuit stems from an Aug. 30 single-vehicle crash at the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099. A New Mexico State Police report stated there was an open can of Mexican lager and a bottle of Ambien with pills inside the vehicle.
However, during a two-hour Sept. 17 bench trial, it was revealed that the can, which was not seized as evidence, was crushed and the liquid had not been tested.
What was tested was Hatfield’s blood, which, according to the lawsuit, was obtained after Killifer allegedly “filed a false affidavit for a blood warrant.”
The deputy reportedly was acting under the orders of his superior, Capt. Justin Reiker, and the lawsuit claims that both knew “the law prohibited a blood warrant under the circumstances of the accident.”
New Mexico State Statute 66-8-11 states that a “search warrant for a blood draw from a DWI suspect” can only be approved by a judge if there is “probable cause that the suspect caused...
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