Featured
Former MDC officer sentenced to two years in fatal crash
Published
Modified
A man was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for leaving the scene of a 2024 vehicle accident that killed a man at an sa国际传媒官网网页入口 dog park, court records show.
Christopher Facey, 34, initially was charged with second-degree murder for driving a truck that struck and killed the husband of a woman Facey was having an affair with during a confrontation at the park.
Facey pleaded guilty on Dec. 12 to a lesser charge of knowingly leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in the death of Guadalupe Maldonado in January 2024.
Second Judicial District Judge Bruce Fox could have sentenced Facey up to six years in prison at a sentencing hearing Tuesday.
Facey鈥檚 attorney, Lisa Torraco, said she argued that Facey should have avoided prison because Maldonado鈥檚 death was an accident.
鈥淭he evidence was very clear that this was an accident,鈥� Torraco said Tuesday in a phone interview. 鈥淔acey鈥檚 responsibility was that he didn鈥檛 stay and render aid鈥� as required by law. Facey feared for his life from others at the scene, 鈥渟o he ran,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e had good reason to be afraid.鈥�
A former Metropolitan Detention Center officer, Facey was sentenced to probation in 2018 after the then-officer beat an inmate at MDC, a case that also ended in a reported $70,000 settlement with Bernalillo County, according to previous news reports.
In 2021, he was charged in a domestic violence incident in which he allegedly beat his girlfriend, but the charges were dropped when she didn鈥檛 cooperate.
On Jan. 13, 2024, police responded to a fatal crash at the Santa Fe Village Dog Park, near Unser and Monta帽o NW, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
A witness told police that the driver had fled and Maldonado was taken to a hospital by his wife. Maldonado died at the hospital.
Maldonado鈥檚 wife told police she had been married since 2017 but was having an affair with Facey, who she worked with at MDC for more than two years, the complaint said.
The wife told police she met Facey at the park when Maldonado drove up, resulting in a confrontation between the two men, the complaint said.
As Facey was leaving, Maldonado stepped in front of Facey鈥檚 truck, the wife told police. Facey 鈥渁ccelerated at hit Guadalupe (Maldonado) with the truck,鈥� the complaint said.
