Ten months ago, Joleen Nez was accused of the crime of improper trash disposal in a southeast Albuquerque neighborhood. The petty charge ultimately cost Nez her life.
Nez, an unhoused Native American woman, was cited, released and issued a criminal summons for the petty misdemeanor of littering on public property by officer Preston Panana of the Albuquerque Police Department on April 16, 2020. The original complaint filed by Panana said that Nez was issued a civil citation for kicking over a cup and bowl at the intersection of Texas Street and Zuni Road and refusing to pick up and throw away the cup "after (Nez) was given several opportunities to pick up her litter."
On Jan. 30, 2021, Nez died in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center custody.