Appeals court upholds Las Cruces man’s conviction for assaulting 8-year-old relative
The New Mexico Court of Appeals has upheld Jeremy Sandoval’s convictions for sexually assaulting his 8-year-old relative, ruling that alleged jury-instruction errors and other objections raised by the defense did not affect the verdict.
Judges rejected Jeremy Sandoval’s arguments over jury errors, double jeopardy and Miranda rights, affirming his 2021 convictions.
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - The New Mexico Court of Appeals has affirmed the convictions of Jeremy Sandoval, a Las Cruces man found guilty in 2021 of sexually assaulting his 8-year-old relative.
Sandoval, 37 at the time of trial, was convicted of two counts of criminal sexual penetration of a minor under 13 and one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor. Police said he molested and raped the child in December 2011.
A Doña Ana County jury returned guilty verdicts on Sept. 10, 2021, after a three-day trial before District Judge Douglas R. Driggers. Defense attorney Jonathon Miller later sought a new trial, arguing that clerical errors in the jury instructions might have confused jurors. Driggers denied the motion, agreeing with prosecutors that the errors were discovered and corrected before deliberations.
In a memorandum opinion filed Thursday, the appellate panel — Judge Shammara H. Henderson, joined by Judges Gerald E. Baca and Katherine A. Wray — rejected all of Sandoval’s arguments.
The court ruled that each act of penetration constituted a separate offense and did not violate double-jeopardy protections. It also upheld admission of Sandoval’s statements to sheriff’s investigators, finding the interview was non-custodial because he voluntarily came to the station, was told he was free to leave and did so.
According to sentencing documents, Driggers sentenced Sandoval on Nov. 22, 2021, to 17 years, 9 months and 20 days in prison, with 72 days of credit for pre-sentence confinement. Upon release, he will serve five years to life on parole, the indeterminate supervision term mandated for first-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child under 13.
Sandoval’s offenses were designated serious violent felonies, requiring that he serve at least 85 percent of his prison term before becoming eligible for release.
The decision leaves intact his convictions and sentence in Doña Ana County’s Third Judicial District Court.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
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