The following is a news release from the New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office:
Ninth Judicial District Attorney, Andrea Reeb, announced that on November 6, 2018, Aaron Clark, age 32, was sentenced to the maximum of 18 years in the Department of Corrections, with six years being suspended in favor of supervised probation. The sentence was enhanced after the Court found Clark to be a habitual offender, having two prior felony convictions.
On September 19, 2018, a Curry County jury convicted Mr. Clark of Child Abuse, a third degree felony; Possession of a Controlled Substance, a fourth degree felony; and Tampering with Evidence, a fourth degree felony.
At trial, the State presented evidence that on February 6, 2017, Clovis Police Department officers came into contact with Clark and learned he had an arrest warrant. When officers told Clark he was being placed under arrest, he leaned into his car and placed a baggie of methamphetamines under his sleeping infant.
The Honorable Fred Van Soelen presided over the case. During sentencing, Judge Van Soelen noted that Clark was lucky that the officers remained so calm when he reached into the car without permission as the situation could have been a lot worse. After hearing statements from Clark’s family, the Court told Clark that the hardships his family would face while he was incarcerated was the direct result of his actions and was “no one’s fault but his own.”
This case was prosecuted for the State by Brian Scott Stover, Chief Deputy District Attorney. Sandra Gallagher, Criminal Defense Attorney, represented Clark.
For more information, please contact the District Attorney’s Office at 575-769-2246.
(News release from the New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Office)