Incumbent District Attorney Gerald Byers seeks second term amid crowded Primary Election field

Gerald Byers ran unopposed in 2020, and, as a result became the first black district attorney in the state of New Mexico.

Byers seeks his second term in 2024, but he has challengers this time around, fellow Democrats Shaharazad Booth, Ramona Martinez and Fernando Macias, in the June 4 Primary Election. The winner will face Republican Michael Cain in November.

"It's been different but I welcome that because the public has an opportunity to know what we have been doing," Byers said.

Byers graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1980. Following his military career, Byers graduated from the University of New Mexico Law School in 1995. He has worked in the District Attorney's office in Albuquerque, Gallup, Amarillo, Texas, Lordsburg and Deming before he joined the Third Judicial District in 2013 under former District Attorney Mark D'Antonio.

"He (D'Antonio) was transitioning from the prior administration and there were a lot of cases," Byers said. "I had 154 felony cases. At that time, attorneys were coming and going. That was just the nature of prosecution. In the pathway of my career, I had to leave one place and arrive at another place. That is not uncommon."

More: District Attorney candidates face off in forum ahead of competitive race

Byers touched on two of the most common criticisms his opponents have raised in the leadup to the primary ― a perceived lack of staff in the office which has contributed to case dismissals.

In a recent interview with the Sun-News, Byers said the DAs office currently has 18 attorneys. He said during COVID, the office was staffed at 50 percent and that the state legislature determines how many positions can be funded.

"The realities of staffing ... is that it's controlled by the positions the legislature allows the office to be budgeted for," Byers said. "I can't snap my fingers and say hire 15 people.

"One of the things we look at in making those requests is the case numbers and other factors that the legislature looks at to justify the assignment of money. We will continue to make reasonable requests along those lines."

To that end, Byers touted the implementation of a new case management software system among his accomplishments during his first term. Byers implemented the software in February. The software better allows the DAs office to compile various statistics to support funding requests and grant writing.

"It increases and improves the flow of discovery, defense can prepare their cases and we can prepare for what we need to do," Byers said.

Byers also cited a recent agreement with U.S. Border Patrol and his office, which allows for cases that are not accepted for federal prosecution to be presented to the Third Judicial District Attorney’s Office for consideration of appropriate state charges. The DAs office can prosecute for several types of cases including breaking and entering, harboring a felon, extortion and human trafficking.

"It has been well received by our Federal partners and Border Patrol," Byers said. "We are working on our first case in that."

If re-elected, Byers said his office will continue to focus on cases involving repeat offenders. He cited a recent New Mexico Supreme Court revision to pretrial detention rules, which will hold people who are awaiting trial in jail if they are accused of a new crime if the recent crime falls into certain categories.

"We are working with the courts to execute the change and working with law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute repeat offenders," Byers said.

Byers said he hopes that the upcoming special session in Santa Fe will make it easier to retain law enforcement officers state wide, as well as prosecutors.

"I was glad to see the Governor calling for a special session," Byers said. "It brings legislators together to create reasoned laws that will make our community safer."

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Incumbent District Attorney Gerald Byers seeks second term amid crowded Primary Election field