FruityBud
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A former Burger King employee charged with serving burgers laced with marijuana to two Isleta police officers was sentenced to three years probation on Monday.
District Judge John Pope sentenced 22-year-old Robert Nuckols to three years supervised probation for two counts of aggravated battery on a police officer. Deputy District Attorney Ron Lopez argued for 18 months in jail.
Nuckols and his former co-worker, Justin Armijo, pleaded guilty to the charges in October. Armijo, who was sentenced last month to a three-year suspended sentence, was also placed on three years of supervised probation.
During last month's sentencing hearing, when both Armijo and Nuckols were to be sentenced together, Pope abruptly adjourned the hearing after Lopez informed the court about a new charge the defendant had picked up in Ohio. Pope recessed Nuckols' hearing saying he was "not going to sentence someone to prison on an ambush."
At Monday's hearing, Nuckols again apologized for his actions and said he is in the process of turning his life around. He told the court that he is living and working in Ohio and is now planning on going back to school.
"I am sorry about what happened," Nuckols told the judge. "It was not my intention of doing it. I was under the influence of drugs, and I have quit doing drugs already I've been sober for the last two months. The only thing I can say is I'm sorry."
Pope told Nuckols that he wasn't impressed by two months of sobriety and that he needs to take responsibility for his "poor decision" and having put two police officers in an "extremely dangerous position."
"You have, from the very first, said what your involvement in this case has been. The problem is that you have admitted to responsibility, but you haven't taken responsibility yet and there's a difference."
The judge told Nuckols that he does think he has promise and couldn't, in good conscience, send him to prison when he didn't sentence Armijo to jail time.
"I think you understand that you have problems, and I'd much rather you recognize those problems and make good on your promise to make amends for the terrible act that you committed, and show those officers you can change," Pope said. "I know they're mad at me, and I don't blame them. They deserve to be angry at you.
"You owe it to them to prove them wrong that you can be something," Pope added. "You need to prove that you can be a good citizen."
Pope told Nuckols he can return to Ohio to attend his grandfather's funeral before coming back to meet with his probation officer.
According to court documents, Isleta Police Officers Henry Gabaldon and Mark Landavazo, who is no longer with the department, called Los Lunas police on the night of Oct. 8, 2006, after finding marijuana in hamburgers they had just purchased at Burger King.
After Landovazo bought the burgers for himself and Gabaldon, the two officers met at Tribal Road 69 and began to eat. Officer Gabaldon said that after eating more than half of his burger, he identified a taste in his mouth that he recognized as marijuana, court papers say.
Both officers looked in their food and found several small pieces of a green leafy substance, which later tested positive as marijuana. The two officers also tested positive for marijuana when they were tested the next day, Lopez said.
According to court documents, when Los Lunas police officers questioned the two suspects, Armijo claimed to have no knowledge of what had occurred but did say that he handed the officer his order through the drive-up window. As police questioned the teenager, the officer saw a glass marijuana pipe sticking out of his right front change pocket.
When asked if he had any marijuana on him, Armijo told the officer he had some in his front right pocket, the criminal complaint said.
Nuckols told police that he was in charge of preparing the hamburgers that night, but that it was Armijo who approached him with the idea.
"(Armijo) handed him a plastic baggie with marijuana in it," the complaint said. "Robert said Justin told him to put the marijuana on two different hamburgers he was preparing for customers. Robert said that he did put the marijuana inside the burgers that were already cooked.
"Robert said that he did not know who the burgers were for and added that Justin would not tell him who the burgers were for," the criminal complaint said. "Robert said that after he put the marijuana in the burgers, he handed Justin the empty plastic bag that earlier contained marijuana."
http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/77770-02-13-08.html
District Judge John Pope sentenced 22-year-old Robert Nuckols to three years supervised probation for two counts of aggravated battery on a police officer. Deputy District Attorney Ron Lopez argued for 18 months in jail.
Nuckols and his former co-worker, Justin Armijo, pleaded guilty to the charges in October. Armijo, who was sentenced last month to a three-year suspended sentence, was also placed on three years of supervised probation.
During last month's sentencing hearing, when both Armijo and Nuckols were to be sentenced together, Pope abruptly adjourned the hearing after Lopez informed the court about a new charge the defendant had picked up in Ohio. Pope recessed Nuckols' hearing saying he was "not going to sentence someone to prison on an ambush."
At Monday's hearing, Nuckols again apologized for his actions and said he is in the process of turning his life around. He told the court that he is living and working in Ohio and is now planning on going back to school.
"I am sorry about what happened," Nuckols told the judge. "It was not my intention of doing it. I was under the influence of drugs, and I have quit doing drugs already I've been sober for the last two months. The only thing I can say is I'm sorry."
Pope told Nuckols that he wasn't impressed by two months of sobriety and that he needs to take responsibility for his "poor decision" and having put two police officers in an "extremely dangerous position."
"You have, from the very first, said what your involvement in this case has been. The problem is that you have admitted to responsibility, but you haven't taken responsibility yet and there's a difference."
The judge told Nuckols that he does think he has promise and couldn't, in good conscience, send him to prison when he didn't sentence Armijo to jail time.
"I think you understand that you have problems, and I'd much rather you recognize those problems and make good on your promise to make amends for the terrible act that you committed, and show those officers you can change," Pope said. "I know they're mad at me, and I don't blame them. They deserve to be angry at you.
"You owe it to them to prove them wrong that you can be something," Pope added. "You need to prove that you can be a good citizen."
Pope told Nuckols he can return to Ohio to attend his grandfather's funeral before coming back to meet with his probation officer.
According to court documents, Isleta Police Officers Henry Gabaldon and Mark Landavazo, who is no longer with the department, called Los Lunas police on the night of Oct. 8, 2006, after finding marijuana in hamburgers they had just purchased at Burger King.
After Landovazo bought the burgers for himself and Gabaldon, the two officers met at Tribal Road 69 and began to eat. Officer Gabaldon said that after eating more than half of his burger, he identified a taste in his mouth that he recognized as marijuana, court papers say.
Both officers looked in their food and found several small pieces of a green leafy substance, which later tested positive as marijuana. The two officers also tested positive for marijuana when they were tested the next day, Lopez said.
According to court documents, when Los Lunas police officers questioned the two suspects, Armijo claimed to have no knowledge of what had occurred but did say that he handed the officer his order through the drive-up window. As police questioned the teenager, the officer saw a glass marijuana pipe sticking out of his right front change pocket.
When asked if he had any marijuana on him, Armijo told the officer he had some in his front right pocket, the criminal complaint said.
Nuckols told police that he was in charge of preparing the hamburgers that night, but that it was Armijo who approached him with the idea.
"(Armijo) handed him a plastic baggie with marijuana in it," the complaint said. "Robert said Justin told him to put the marijuana on two different hamburgers he was preparing for customers. Robert said that he did put the marijuana inside the burgers that were already cooked.
"Robert said that he did not know who the burgers were for and added that Justin would not tell him who the burgers were for," the criminal complaint said. "Robert said that after he put the marijuana in the burgers, he handed Justin the empty plastic bag that earlier contained marijuana."
http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/77770-02-13-08.html
