Montezuma County DA Christian Hatfield charged with DWI

Charges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New Mexico

from The Journal

By Debra Mayeux Tri-City Record

Monday, Dec 23, 2024 5:41 PM Updated Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024 3:35 PM

Montezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield was charged Friday with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield.

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office charged Hatfield, 59, with petty misdemeanor charge of DWI and an open container in connection to the Aug. 30 single-car crash.

The charges come after results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.

“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.

Two vials of blood were taken from Hatfield at 1:33 p.m. Aug. 30, which was more than 12 hours after the crash occurred about 1 a.m. Those vials were received by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory at 10:26 a.m. Oct. 11, which was six weeks after the crash, according to records from the lab.

An investigation into the blood warrant by The Journal newspaper in Cortez, Colorado, showed that the blood sample sat in a refrigerator at the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office until Oct. 3, because paperwork to send it to the state laboratory was not processed.

“I think it’s a non-prosecutable case because of all the errors made by law enforcement,” said Arlon Stoker, a high-profile defense attorney secured by Hatfield to fight the charges.

The charges made by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office are “based on the observations made by law enforcement officers on scene and the presence of intoxicating drugs and liquors in Christian's blood,” according to the report that was given to The Journal by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.

Amanda Lavin, legal director for NMFOG, assisted The Journal in accessing public records from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Aztec. The records had been redacted, leaving out Hatfield’s name and information about the blood warrant filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.

Public records requests by The Journal and the Tri-City Record went unresolved for 14 weeks.

The Journal requested body camera footage and lapel camera video on Sept. 3.

The Tri-City Record requested any and all warrants, investigative reports and laboratory reports as well as photos, lapel cam videos and dash cam videos on Oct. 23.

On Dec. 9, Lavin made the same requests.

The Journal received access to photos and videos in an email on Dec. 19, and Lavin, after making a legal argument for unredacted information, received the full report Dec. 19 and was advised that charges would be forthcoming.

The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.

Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass,” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.

The affidavit for search warrant for blood submitted by sheriff’s deputy Avery Killifer states he had an “opinion that the defendant was driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.” The deputy “placed the defendant under arrest” at the time, but Hatfield was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, because of “extensive injuries.”

A summons was issued for Hatfield, and an arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8 in Aztec Magistrate Court.