COURTS
Murder trial postponed for attorney's health
Defense attorney said he's been affected by the 'lettuce recall'
A parasitic illness causing frequent and explosive diarrhea across the nation has disrupted proceedings in an Albuquerque murder case.
A judge on Wednesday ordered the postponement of a trial in the 2025 shooting death of an Albuquerque man after the defense attorney complained of an ongoing stomach bug.
A jury was selected Monday for the first-degree murder trial of Juan Gonzalez, 66, in the March 18, 2025, shooting death of 41-year-old Walfrido Lopezrequi-Laserie.
District Judge Jennifer Wernersbach ordered the trial rescheduled for Sept. 28 in 2nd Judicial District Court.
During jury selection Monday, defense attorney Mark Ramsey told prospective jurors that he had recently traveled to a state affected by the 鈥渓ettuce recall鈥� and was feeling 鈥渦nder the weather.鈥� That was a reference to the national outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has been linked to shredded lettuce and has been confirmed in 34 states 鈥� including several cases in New Mexico.
Ramsey asked the prospective jurors if any of them felt that his health would affect his ability to represent his client, to which none replied.
Following jury selection, court adjourned for the day with the plan to continue with opening statements the next morning. On Tuesday morning, Wernersbach postponed opening statements until Wednesday to give Ramsey a day to recover.
An apparently ailing Ramsey informed the court Wednesday morning that his health was continuing to decline.
鈥淚 was worse yesterday than I started out Monday,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 worse today by a factor than I was yesterday.鈥�
Ramsey requested to postpone the trial so he could provide his client with the best counsel possible.
Prosecutor Emilie Edmonds raised concerns that postponing the trial would violate Gonzalez鈥檚 right to a speedy trial, but Wernersbach ultimately postponed the trial.
The jury selected Monday was dismissed and a new jury will be selected in September.
When he recovers, Ramsey said he would file a motion to reconsider Gonzalez鈥檚 pretrial detention.
