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SANTA FE, N.M. The man convicted of murdering a 75-year-old Santa Fe man and then burning his body had his “warrior gene” defense rejected yet again by the New Mexico Supreme Court.
The New Mexico Supreme Court last week upheld Anthony Blas Yepez’s 22½ year sentence for the murder of George Ortiz in 2012.
Yepez was found guilty in 2015 by a Santa Fe jury for second-degree murder, evidence tampering and motor vehicle theft.
Yepez, 34, appealed his case on a warrior gene defense that wasn’t allowed into evidence in his original trial by 1st Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. The judge ruled that there wasn’t any evidence that demonstrates the warrior gene results in a predisposition towards aggressive behavior.
Created: December 27, 2020 09:40 PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. For months, New Mexico has been warned about the community spread of COVID-19. Both inmates and corrections officers inside the state prison system believe some of that spread is linked to unsafe practices within prison walls.
Corrections Officers Speak Out
The KOB 4 Investigates Team met with Ernie Garcia, a corrections officer who left his job at the Central New Mexico Corrections Facility in Los Lunas and is just shy of twenty years. He said he left out of fear of getting sick and dying.
“[Corrections officers] have no clue if they re going to catch it,” Garcia said. “They could die. Me being a diabetic, I took it very, very seriously.
The Albuquerque native, and former Lobo, will succeed Justice Judith Nakamura.
“We are extremely pleased to learn that our alum, Judge Julie Vargas, has been selected by the governor to be the newest justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court. It is wonderful to see all the amazing things that our alums accomplish, said Sergio Pareja, School of Law dean
The governor selected Vargas from the list of candidates provided by the Judicial Nominating Commission after conducting multiple interviews.
“Judge Vargas has demonstrated her quality as a consistent and conscientious jurist,” Lujan Grisham said. “She is a fair, trustworthy and thoughtful representative of New Mexico’s judicial system, and I know New Mexico will benefit from her service now as a justice.”