NM Political Report (https://nmpoliticalreport.com/tag/jaquise-lewis/)
I’ve heard the question so many times now: Why is Greg Buchanan still walking Albuquerque’s streets? It makes no sense. And, at first glance, it doesn’t. Buchanan is the 24-year-old who shot 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis in the back at Los Altos Skate Park in March 2015 during a brawl that started over a skateboard. This piece first appeared on the ABQ Free Press website.
Greg Buchanan, the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis last year at the Los Altos Skate Park, was released on his own recognizance following arraignment on felony drug trafficking charges. State District Court Judge Christian Argryes let Buchanan, 24, stay free, and she imposed no special conditions of release on him, said attorney Greg Payne, who is representing Lewis’ mother in a civil case and who was in court during the arraignment. Argryes said Buchanan has to refrain from excessive use of alcohol and can’t do drugs, but she refused to order him to not have guns, as the District Attorney’s office had requested. And Payne said that since Buchanan doesn’t have to report to authorities about his conditions of release, there is no mechanism for authorities to ensure that he meets the limited terms.
Buchanan was indicted on May 25 on charges of trafficking by possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, concealing his identity and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. “This is a guy with a history of drug trafficking, gun violence; he is facing second-degree felony charges,” Payne said.
Three days after a mass shooting at an Albuquerque skate park that took the life of one, paralyzed another and injured five more, Albuquerque Police Department Detective Tara Juarez sat in a room interviewing the man who, according to transcripts of police interviews, shot and killed 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis. An arrest warrant written for Gregory Buchanan sat in another room, according to statements made by another officer in a transcript from the interview. The interview marked Gregory Buchanan’s third with Juarez since the March 22, 2015 shooting. Until now, Buchanan insisted in police interviews that the gun he used on Lewis wasn’t his. Instead, he told Juarez that he picked it up from a friend who was shot in the chaos of the night. Buchanan said he fired the gun “at the assailants who were shooting at us,” killing Lewis in self defense.
We are going to be counting down the top ten stories of the year now and after Christmas. In this installment, we are looking at the number 10 through number 6 stories of the year. Then, starting on December 26, we will count down the top five stories of the year with expanded recaps or personal recollections from the three members of the team. Tune in each morning to see what the next story is. We are counting down the top ten stories through the end of the year with expanded recaps or personal recollections from the three members of the team.
A team of legal representatives for the mother of a slain Albuquerque teen offered their interpretation of recently released cell phone video of the deadly shooting in March. The video captures parts of the Los Altos Skate Park shooting that killed 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis and wounded six others. Albuquerque police released the previously withheld video last week after losing a lawsuit in which a judge found the city in violation of the state’s public records law. Munah Green, the mother of Lewis, filed the lawsuit in July after requesting documents related to the shooting that police had withheld since April. Police have stated that Lewis fired a gun that night and was killed in self defense.
Following a court ruling ordering for immediate public disclosure, the Albuquerque Police Department released a cell video from a shooting in March. The shooting, which occurred during the night of March 22, killed 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis and wounded six others. One of the wounded was paralyzed from the waist down. Munah Green, Lewis’ mother, had been seeking the video and other records related to the shooting since April. The following month, APD released still images from the video in a press conference where they also said Lewis was killed in self defense.
An Albuquerque District Judge has ordered city police to immediately release a cell phone video from a March 22 shooting that left a teen dead and six wounded. The video, which the mother of slain Jaquise Lewis and others who’ve seen it said shows Lewis was pursued and shot as he was running away, has been the focus of contention since the summer. Related Story: APD released copies of the video on Friday. You can view them here. Lewis’ mother, Munah Green, sued the Albuquerque Police Department in July for release of the video and other records from the shooting.
The City of Albuquerque is using the state Inspection of Public Records Act to only its own end, according to closing arguments in the trial of a lawsuit alleging the city violated the law. Ahmad Assed, the attorney for Munah Green, contends in written arguments submitted this week that under the city’s interpretation, “IPRA becomes meaningless and subject to the pleasure and whim of governmental power.”
“Instead of IPRA being a public check and balance, or a statutory tool by which the public can extract the greatest possible information about governmental actions, IPRA can be thwarted, eviscerated and otherwise rendered meaningless by two words: ‘on-going investigation,’” Assed writes. Green is the mother of Jaquise Lewis, the 17-year-old who died from gunshots in the March shooting at Los Altos Skate Park. The shooting left six others wounded, including one who was paralyzed. Albuquerque police have said that Lewis had a gun, fired at people that night and was killed in self defense.
A lawsuit seeking records related to a March 22 shooting in Albuquerque that left one dead and several others injured won’t be resolved for at least another week and a half. However, the day-long trial Friday shed light on the city’s approach to investigating and disclosing to the public what happened that night. Attorneys for both sides now have 10 days to submit their closing arguments in writing. Then District Judge Victor Lopez will make a ruling. The shooting, which left 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis dead and six others wounded, occurred at Los Altos Skate Park.
A public records lawsuit filed by the mother of a slain Albuquerque teen will head to trial later this month. Albuquerque city attorneys were a no-show today for a court meeting to determine the scheduling of a trial relating a March 22 shooting that left 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis dead. Munah Green, Lewis’s mother, is suing the city for allegedly withholding public records related to the shooting. Albuquerque District Judge Victor Lopez scheduled a hearing for the lawsuit on Nov. 20 at 10:30 am.