7-19-2023 5:20pm

District Attorney Keys Responds to Community Concerns

Chris Edwards Editor

Pressure mounts on DA Keys and he responds to the Albuquerque press

The 12th Judicial District Attoney is Scot Keys. The district includes Lincoln and Otero County. In yesterday’s reporting on the death of Officer Anthony Ferguson, we mentioned that our media company was receiving a significant outpouring of emotional pleas for the DA to explain why the assailant was free. We reported we the DA and the judicial authorities were feeling pressure. We also reported Mayor Susan Payne encouraging individuals to write letters to to legislature to make changes to policy.

Since our reporting the District Attorney has gone on record. The Alamogordo community has together in a big way, with large turnouts and several events to remember fallen officer Anthony Ferguson. Monday night was procession that went by the police station, Wednesday a public candlelight vigil, Thursday a public funeral.

Now, the pain and anger over what happened is leading to new questions about the alleged shooter and the role of the District Attorney’s Office and that of the judiciary. Fingers are being pointed but the outcome needs to be change in public policy at the state level.

Otero County District Attorney Scot Key said to KOB News from Albuquerque that the Alamogordo “community has been here before.”

“It’s heartbreaking, and I’m very sorry that I’ve had to go through this two, or three different times in my career. Bad, bad time in Alamogordo,” said Key to KOB News.

This occurrence , the man accused of killing Ferguson was on Key’s radar and he is now feeling the pressure and scrutiny of both social media and public opinion. Additionally questions from other elected officials, though, not so public.

District Attorney Keys claims his office attempted to keep him in jail, for another case,but not at first.

“It’s a broken system,” Key told KOB news.

Dominic De La O’s criminal history shows an escalation starting with a DWI in 2022 and then it escalated from there. His mother claimed he battled meth addiction according to police statements.

This past January, police say he pulled a gun on them while they were serving a warrant.

De La O was shot, and Key explains why they didn’t try to keep him in jail then.

“Originally, he was charged with negligent use of a firearm, which is a misdemeanor, not even eligible,” Key said.

Several community members reached out to us and expressed concern with why would he be held? They explained that there was no real felony threat in his history nor one of significance or escalation of violence, until now.

Prosecutors from Keys office say De La O showed a pattern of violating his conditions of release. That’s when they were successful at getting him locked up for a while.

“And he was actually held without bond, pending trial,” said Key.

But Judge Angie Schneider reversed that decision in June when De La O argued his Medicaid was cut off.

He claimed he wasn’t getting proper healthcare behind bars, and he had to take care of his child according to the DA’s office

Schneider gave him “one more chance” “despite objections from the state,” per reporting on KOB.

A week ago, Key says De La O was at a party with drugs, alcohol, and a shooting – another violation.

This time, police say it ended with De La O shooting Ferguson in the face with a sawed-off shotgun.

“De La O was out and about with only conditions of release on a paper,” said Key. “It’s a condition of release that has no teeth.”

Is the law to blame or a judge? The individual owns the crime not the judge.

The law is complex, cumbersome and the system unclear and complicated. The judge appears to have been attempting to comply with a complex system of laws, that were passed in 2016, as judicial reform and enhanced since: that appear to benefit the accused more than society, according to some.

A point Key made; is that there are NO ankle monitors in Otero County. He says the state recently allocated more resources for their pretrial services department. But they have not kicked in yet.

Citizens should question, why does Otero County not have ankle monitors or tracking? Otero County and city police have a plethora of vehicles, but no ankle monitor or tracking of at risk individuals?

Key says there is no real accountability with the whole pretrial services department, and we’re seeing the result.

(Without ankle monitors that seems to be the case! AlamogordoTownNews.com and KALHRadio.org calls on the City Commission and the County Commission to immediately act and endorse funding to put the system in place of ankle monitoring and tacking, of those in pretrial services; that are a risk to the community, or have a history of being violent offenders. This cannot wait! Resolutions by the city and the county to and even stop gap funding needs to happen to have monitoring in Otero County.

Key concluded his conversation with the Albuquerque based press explaining that De La O’s case for the killing of Ferguson “is set to go to a grand jury next week.”

Stay tuned to AlamogordoTownNews.com and Krazy KALHRadio.org as we are requesting via IPRA’s more information related to the issues presented via the Judiciary and the DA’s office.