近距离内射合集

Attorneys representing the homeless in an ongoing lawsuit over the legality of encampment sweeps have filed a motion to enact sanctions for evidence destruction after top-level officials in Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller鈥檚 administration admitted to deleting text messages and other communications.

Among those who told attorneys that they had deleted 鈥渢exts, emails, photos and other documents鈥� were Chief Operations Officer Matthew Whelan 鈥� who said he erased thousands of messages with Keller regarding encampments and the unhoused 鈥� and Gilbert Ramirez, director of the Health, Housing and Homelessness department.

鈥淭he City鈥檚 widespread failure to preserve potentially relevant evidence plainly violates New Mexico law and has significantly prejudiced Plaintiffs,鈥� the Aug. 19 motion reads. 鈥淭he violation is exacerbated by the City's failure to advise key employees of their duty to preserve evidence.鈥�

The depositions of trial witnesses Whelan, the former director of Solid Waste; Ramirez; Eric Gonzalez, the former Gateway West facilities manager; Denise Rodriguez, head of HHH鈥檚 encampment outreach team; and Charlie Verploegh, a senior HHH official, took place from March through June.

In those depositions, the witnesses 鈥渁dmitted to deleting large volumes of relevant text messages, emails, photographs, and other documents from their City-issued work phones.鈥�

The motion states that Gonzalez said 鈥渘o one advised him of his obligation to preserve potentially relevant information鈥� and Verploegh said they had 鈥渘ot taken any steps to preserve evidence.鈥� Additionally, according to the motion, Ramirez testified 鈥渢hat the City does not record information about what personal property it has thrown away鈥� during sweeps.

鈥淭hese are just some of the many documented examples of City evidence spoliation by individual City officials and employees uncovered during discovery,鈥� according to the motion, which has not been heard by 2nd Judicial District Judge Joshua Allison.

As sanctions, the motion asked Allison to preclude the witnesses from testifying to several points: that conditions at Gateway West 鈥� the city鈥檚 largest shelter on the far West Side 鈥� are acceptable; that offers of social services, shelter and property storage are made prior to sweeps; and that the city does not destroy the property of unhoused individuals.

Additionally, the motion filed in 2nd Judicial District Court requests an inference be entered into the case that states conditions at Gateway West are not acceptable and that the city does not regularly offer shelter or property storage prior to encampment sweeps. 

Dan Mayfield, a spokesperson for the city of Albuquerque, said the city does not have a general requirement 鈥渢hat employees retain all communications indefinitely." 

鈥淲hen litigation requires preservation beyond ordinary practices, it is standard practice for the City Attorney's Office to advise individuals to preserve potentially relevant records,鈥� according to the statement. The statement said the city 鈥渁cted in good faith鈥� in the case to preserve records 鈥渋n a matter that is unusually complicated and unusually burdensome鈥� 鈥� involving 100,000 records and testimony from 鈥渘early two dozen witnesses.鈥�

鈥淢ultiple witnesses confirmed that they received a preservation instruction and that they preserved their records,鈥� according to the statement. 鈥淎 few individuals testified that they might have deleted texts. Those witnesses, however, they also testified that they did not believe the deleted messages contained substantive information. The City will address the specific allegations raised through the court process.鈥�

The case is set for a November bench trial.

To retain or not retain?

According to signed in March by the city鈥檚 chief administrative officer, Samantha Sengel, public records cannot be destroyed if there is 鈥減ending, foreseeable, or ongoing litigation matters.鈥�

The document said the city abided by retention periods outlined in the New Mexico Administrative Code and timelines could be found on 鈥淭he Records Retention Schedule鈥� webpage on the city clerk鈥檚 site, a page that did not appear to exist Tuesday.

Amanda Lavin, legal director for the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, said the state code, adopted by the city, said internal or external communications from 鈥渆xecutive level personnel should be retained permanently.鈥�

鈥淥bviously, this is just an attempt to avoid transparency obligations because they probably know that people are going to be interested in these communications,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's a topic of a lot of heated debate, a lot of public interest in terms of how the city is handling the unhoused population and policies around encampments 鈥� just a clear attempt to transact public business in secret.鈥�

Plaintiffs鈥� attorney Adam Flores, with Ives & Flores law firm, said the deletion of messages is 鈥渁 regular practice at the city鈥� and one that should not be allowed.

鈥淪ome of these people have testified that they're deleting their messages, all of their messages, every couple weeks,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t should be a real problem for the city because it causes a real problem for us when one side can selectively delete evidence in a case and then deprive us of what we need to prove our case.鈥�

Flores called the city 鈥渁 repeat offender鈥� that needs to get its evidence retention practices 鈥渋n order.鈥� Flores pointed to a similar complaint of spoliation on the city鈥檚 part came up during a 2024 whistleblower lawsuit filed against it.

In that case, then-Police Chief Harold Medina testified that he deleted text messages related to the case and was advised to regularly delete communications by then-City Clerk Ethan Watson. That case, which is being appealed, resulted in a $1 million jury award to the plaintiffs, several Albuquerque officers.

鈥淲e have been advised, time and time again, to ensure that, for the efficiency of our department, that we delete text messages in a rather continuous operation,鈥� Medina said under testimony. Watson, selected last month as director of the state Legislative Council Service, did not respond to calls and messages for comment.

Medina testified that, since 2018, Watson and the city鈥檚 legal counsel told top-level staff at the Albuquerque Police Department to regularly delete texts and emails from personal phones. Medina testified that Watson advised them to only save certain communications: those on official policy changes and information to be preserved under a court order. 

鈥楢 large scale failure鈥�

The suit surrounding encampment sweeps was filed in 2022 by attorneys representing eight unhoused plaintiffs, who alleged the enforcement of public camping laws against an involuntary homeless population was unconstitutional.

In October, the state Supreme Court 鈥� without explanation 鈥� declined the city鈥檚 appeal to reverse Allison鈥檚 ruling to permit the argument that city policy violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment when the homeless person has no place else to stay. After that loss, the city appealed the judge鈥檚 separate decision to certify the lawsuit as a class action, an effort that was denied in January.

Meanwhile, the encampment sweeps undertaken by Keller鈥檚 administration have led to the unhoused being repeatedly cited for code violations and later jailed for missed hearings. As a result, homeless people make up the largest population cycling through the Metropolitan Detention Center, a facility that has for years grappled with rising inmate deaths amid substandard healthcare provisions.

In addition to deleted text messages, the motion for sanctions states the city has continued to seize and destroy homeless people鈥檚 property amid the ongoing lawsuit and has not documented what property it has destroyed, 鈥渞esulting in systemic spoliation of evidence regarding its property destruction.鈥�

鈥淧laintiffs have requested that the City confirm that it has not been able to recover any of the deleted evidence, but as of the date of this motion, the City has not responded,鈥� according to the motion. 鈥淕iven that the spoliation is not a one-off mistake but has occurred across departments and at different levels of seniority, the Court would be well within its power to issue a default judgment as a remedy.鈥�

The motion states the issue 鈥渞epresent a large-scale failure on the part of the City to meet its document-preservation obligations.鈥�

鈥淢oreover, the single text message produced in this case by the City confirms that the large volumes of deleted text messages very likely contain highly relevant information,鈥� according to the motion.

The text in question, a message from Medina to Keller: 鈥淵es, let's plan we hammer the unhoused but be prepared for the next compliant (sic) we will hear."

Matthew Reiser is a senior reporter for the Journal. Contact him at mreisen@abqjoournal.com.