On June 4, Estevez was placed under arrest after failing field sobriety tests, which she attributed to hip trouble and having been "up all night" with an ailing relative, as documented on officers' body camera footage.
In 2018, Estevez pleaded guilty to reckless driving and two counts of disorderly conduct — all misdemeanors — in a case that arose from a 2016 traffic stop and allegations that she used her public office to intimidate law enforcement and obstruct their investigation.
SILVER CITY – Former Sixth Judicial District Attorney Francesca Martinez Estevez is again accused of careless driving, and this time may face a formal charge of driving while intoxicated with the New Mexico Attorney General's Office handling the case.
At the time, she was serving her second term as the district attorney representing Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties. She did not run for reelection in 2020, but served out her term despite calls for her resignation from Attorney General Hector Balderas, a fellow Democrat. Estevez was succeeded as DA by Democrat Michael Renteria.
Francesca Estevez, former district attorney for southwest New Mexico’s Sixth Judicial District, was arrested just after 10 Friday morning and charged with one count of first-time “aggravated driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug.”
Former Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Bradburn, who hung a shingle for his private law practice outside the Bell Block downtown after new District Attorney Michael Renteria took over the office in January, is listed in court documents as Estevez’s attorney.
The same day Estevez was arrested, Bradburn requested that the prosecution produce evidence in the case, and demanded a jury trial.
180 west of Silver City. Estevez lives in Gila.
Shortly thereafter, she had an extended interaction with police in Silver City, where she had pulled her car over on Pope Street with a flat tire — but despite voicing suspicions about Estevez’s sobriety, officers did not administer sobriety tests to the then-DA.
Criminal ethics charges related to allegations that Estevez abused her authority as DA and was using a state vehicle for personal use in the 2016 incident — mileage records for that time were found to be missing — were reinstated by the state Court of Appeals last year, part of a larger decision regarding several separate allegations of unethical conduct involving other public officials. Four defendants, including Estevez, have asked the N.M. Supreme Court to review the appellate court decision.
Deputy Brandon Reese, the arresting officer, described the events leading up to Estevez’s arrest in a statement filed in Grant County Magistrate Court.
That’s according to state District Judge Douglas Driggers of Las Cruces, who made the finding in a May 1 court order appointing the public defender’s office to represent Estevez as prosecutors pursue alleged violations of the Government Misconduct Act against her.
In April, James Foy, who had been Estevez’s lawyer throughout the case, withdrew after he was appointed to a judgeship. A few days later, on April 24, Estevez filed a court motion through another private attorney, Albuquerque-based Keren Fenderson, claiming her indigence and asking Driggers “for appointment of appellate counsel and free process.”
She eventually pleaded guilty to reckless driving and disorderly conduct, but Driggers dismissed counts alleging she had abused her position during and after the incident. The AG’s office has appealed the dismissal of one count alleging Estevez had violated a law governing “ethical principles of public service;” that’s what kept the case alive and eventually led to Driggers’ order in May.
Baur was held in contempt of court and his office was fined in late 2016 for failing to provide lawyers for indigent defendants in Lea County. He told lawmakers on the interim Courts, Corrections, and Justice committee last September that the public defender’s office lacks the minimum resources necessary to meet current needs in the state, according to the committee minutes .
Baur described the move as “concerning” and questioned whether Estevez would qualify for the public defender’s services given her salary.
The public defender’s office has not yet been asked to do any work on Estevez’s behalf, Baur said, even though the case is moving forward after Foy submitted briefings to the state Court of Appeals before he left the case. If his office is asked to work for Estevez, Baur said he would challenge Driggers’ order.
That’s how it works in most jurisdictions around the state, unlike in Silver City, where there is no public defender’s office. In such places, judges typically appoint public defenders for indigent defendants after reviewing facts about their income.
On June 4, Estevez was placed under arrest after failing field sobriety tests, which she attributed to hip trouble and having been "up all night" with an ailing relative, as documented on officers' body camera footage.
In 2018, Estevez pleaded guilty to reckless driving and two counts of disorderly conduct — all misdemeanors — in a case that arose from a 2016 traffic stop and allegations that she used her public office to intimidate law enforcement and obstruct their investigation.
SILVER CITY – Former Sixth Judicial District Attorney Francesca Martinez Estevez is again accused of careless driving, and this time may face a formal charge of driving while intoxicated with the New Mexico Attorney General's Office handling the case.
At the time, she was serving her second term as the district attorney representing Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties. She did not run for reelection in 2020, but served out her term despite calls for her resignation from Attorney General Hector Balderas, a fellow Democrat. Estevez was succeeded as DA by Democrat Michael Renteria.