Prosecutors seek pretrial detention of defendants in Easter shooting, crash

Apr. 4—Days after a fight at an Easter Sunday gathering escalated into a violent crash and shooting that critically injured two people, prosecutors are pushing to keep two men jailed until their trials.

A Santa Fe defense attorney representing one of the defendants called the request a "total abuse" of the state's pretrial detention system and noted a man injured by gunfire who appeared to be an aggressor in the incident — accused of striking two people with a truck — has not been charged with any crimes.

David Foster said the argument for his client, accused shooter Santiago Prada, 34, would be "clearly one of self-defense, for himself and another."

"Clearly he was acting in self-defense, and the state is filing a motion to hold him without bond," Foster said Thursday.

The motion seeking pretrial detention of Prada and co-defendant Steven Sena, 32 — filed Wednesday in state District Court by the First Judicial District Attorney's Office — acknowledges Prada has never faced a prior felony charge but argues he "is going from traffic cases to shooting someone in the face," and electronic monitoring would "provide insufficient guarantees the harm in this case will not recur while the case is pending trial."

Prada and Sena remain in the Santa Fe County jail, each facing a slew of charges. Santa Fe police said both men were wielding guns Sunday evening outside Prada's home on Verdinal Lane when a man identified as Ricky Leyba drove a pickup at "a high rate of speed" into another man and then backed over a young woman, critically injuring her, amid an altercation involving at least five people.

Criminal complaints against Sena and Prada allege Prada fired several shots at Leyba, striking him in the upper torso and jaw. Police said Leyba also was critically wounded.

Prada initially faced counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and shooting at an occupied building. The charges later were changed to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and shooting at or from a motor vehicle. An amended criminal complaint filed Wednesday against Prada accuses him of three new counts of criminal damage to property and one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Sena originally faced charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and negligent use of a deadly weapon. An amended complaint filed Wednesday says he now faces two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Leyba and Destiny Quintana, the woman he is accused of striking with a truck, both remained hospitalized in critical condition, police said Tuesday.

Santa Fe police Capt. Aaron Ortiz said Tuesday investigators anticipated more charges would be filed in the incident, but so far none have been filed against Leyba.

Criminal complaints for Sena and Prada allege the incident began when Leyba arrived at Prada's home, knocked over a motorcycle and then engaged in a fight with its owner, Nick Quintana. After the fight escalated as more men joined in, police allege, Leyba drove his truck into Nick Quintana before reversing into Destiny Quintana. He was struck by gunfire shortly after hitting Nick Quintana as he began driving in reverse. The complaints say investigators reviewed home surveillance video that captured the incident.

Prada and Sena could be seen in surveillance video pointing guns at Leyba and another man, police wrote in statements of probable cause against the defendants. Both men told officers Prada was the only one who had fired his gun, the statements say.

Police said in a news release Monday a vehicle had crashed into a home on Verdinal Lane, striking a gas line, and New Mexico Gas Co. had arrived to make repairs. Two houses on the street showed signs of damage, one with a detached garage door and both covered with plywood and tarps where siding had been damage. Yellow "caution" tape surrounded a yard of one of the homes.

The three counts of criminal damage to property Prada faces were attributed to gunfire that hit two properties. Police say in the amended complaint his gunfire struck the brick siding of one house and the windshield of a car in a garage across the street.

Prosecutors wrote in their motion seeking pretrial detention Prada had "injected a rifle into an argument. Defendant brought the rifle out of his house. He used that rifle, and another person was put in critical condition as a result. He fired more than one shot, and hit Mr. Leyba in two different places. The facts of this case show Defendant is dangerous."

Public safety assessments completed by the court note neither Prada nor Sena has been convicted of a violent crime or felony and neither has ever failed to appear to the court. The assessments recommend release for both men.

"We certainly think there are conditions of release Mr. Prada could be on that would satisfy all parties involved here," Foster said.

He added, "It's amazing that the state has not charged the instigator in this matter."

Prosecutors have joined the criminal cases against Prada and Sena, and a hearing was set for April 15 to decide whether they will be held in jail pending trial.