Missing DNA reports at heart of defense motion

Missing DNA reports that allegedly could tie Jesse I. Chavez to the 2012 murder of Ralph Chavez, no relation, are the focus of a defense motion seeking to reduce Jesse Chavezs bond.

A court wants answers on the delays, which the prosecution chalks up to a lab analyst who left the official request for analysis sitting in a drawer after she left her job at the crime lab.

Second Judicial District Judge Christina Argyres heard a defense motion Wednesday to reduce the $1 million, cash-only bond for Jesse Chavez, 32, or release him from custody. Argyres ultimately decided to conduct an evidentiary hearing at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 6.

Jesse Chavez was arrested Oct. 19, 2012, and charged with killing the son of state Rep. Ernest Chavez on Oct. 8, 2012, at Ralph Chavezs home in the 1400 block of La Vega SW during a burglary. Ralph Chavez was killed by a gunshot, and a friend who was at the home at the time, Michael Mirabal, was wounded.

Assistant Public Defender Cindy Leos said in her written request that the state has no evidence that links defendant to this crime.

Forensic evidence does not link her client, she said in a motion, and the confidential informant, interviewed by the defense, said he never made statements to law enforcement about the murder.

Meanwhile, Jesse Chavez has been jailed for over a year.

Even the state concedes that a change in conditions of release is appropriate.

The confidential informant recanted, Assistant District Attorney Kevin Holmes said in a written response, so links that could be made via forensic evidence have been the primary reason for the delay.

The metro crime lab, which handles both Albuquerque Police Department and Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office cases, was asked in June by the DAs Office to conduct a large-scale analysis of evidence to compare DNA samples with individuals, including the accused.

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Missing DNA reports at heart of defense motion