NEWS
New Mexico DOH parts ways with anti-violence coordinator with recent battery conviction
State agency says no background check was performed on ex-staffer before he was hired
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SANTA FE 鈥� New Mexico鈥檚 Department of Health has parted ways with its new violence prevention program coordinator after the Journal raised questions about the employee鈥檚 2024 battery conviction.
A DOH spokesman said this week the agency鈥檚 leadership was not aware of the recent court proceedings involving Angel Garcia until receiving an inquiry about the matter.
鈥淎 full background check was not conducted prior to his hiring as it is not required by the state unless the position is a direct caregiver,鈥� Department of Health spokesman Robert Nott also told the Journal.
Once top agency officials were made aware of his recent record, there was swift action, with Nott saying Wednesday that Garcia was 鈥渘o longer an employee of the New Mexico Department of Health.鈥�
Garcia was hired by DOH on Aug. 1 to coordinate violence prevention programs across the state. According to a job description, the coordinator is supposed to 鈥減lan, organize and supervise effective prevention programs and initiatives aligned with the department鈥檚 goal of reducing violence rates in New Mexico.鈥� The job also involves writing grants for federal funding.
But his hiring came just two years after Garcia as social services coordinator for Albuquerque鈥檚 violence intervention program in 2024 while facing battery charges.
He was specifically accused of choking a woman at an Albuquerque restaurant, forcibly kissing her and groping her, according to a KOB-TV report. Garcia eventually pleaded guilty to battery in September 2024 and successfully completed probation later that year, court records show.
New Mexico State Personnel Director Dylan Lange said Wednesday that state agencies are generally in charge of hiring and other personnel decisions when it comes to rank-and-file employees.
He also confirmed background checks are only required for certain positions, with state law specifying when such preemployment checks must be conducted.
Before his 2024 arrest, about turning his life around after coming of age as a gang member in Los Angeles and spending time in prison on felony drug charges.
He told the Journal in 2020 his job with Albuquerque鈥檚 violence intervention program, which was modeled in part on a similar program in Oakland, involved working with local residents to try to break the cycle of gun violence.
As for DOH鈥檚 Violence Prevention Program Unit, the in 2023 to seek ways to reduce suicide, gun violence and sexual violence rates.
According to its website, leaders of the unit work closely with outside organizations, including the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs and the New Mexico Coalition for Suicide Prevention and Awareness.
New Mexico had the nation鈥檚 in 2024, trailing only Mississippi. Firearms were also the leading cause of death among children between the ages of 1 and 17, according to data from Johns Hopkins鈥� Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.
