Former District Attorney Files Lawsuit Alleging Defamation and False Arrest

Former District Attorney Files Lawsuit Against Sheriff’s Office Following DWI Acquittal

Former Montezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield has filed a lawsuit against the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office following his acquittal on drunk driving charges. The lawsuit, filed November 3 in 11th Judicial District Court, names both Deputy Avery Killifer and Captain Justin Reiker as defendants.

Hatfield alleges false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation of character in the wake of a 2023 incident that he claims derailed his re-election campaign. The legal action seeks compensation for emotional distress, damage to his reputation, and lost income.

The case stems from an August 30 single-vehicle crash at the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099 in San Juan County, New Mexico. According to a New Mexico State Police report, responders found an open can of Mexican lager and a bottle of Ambien with pills inside Hatfield’s vehicle.

However, crucial details emerged during Hatfield’s September 17 bench trial that ultimately led to his acquittal. The beer can, which was never collected as evidence, was crushed and the liquid had not been tested for alcohol content. This evidentiary issue became central to the case’s dismissal.

More significantly, Hatfield’s lawsuit alleges that Deputy Killifer, acting under Captain Reiker’s orders, “filed a false affidavit for a blood warrant” despite both officers allegedly knowing that “the law prohibited a blood warrant under the circumstances of the accident.”

New Mexico State Statute 66-8-11 specifically limits when blood can be drawn from DWI suspects. According to the law, a warrant for a blood draw can only be approved when there is probable cause that the suspect caused great bodily harm or death to another person while driving intoxicated, or when there is probable cause that the suspect committed a felony while intoxicated.

Neither condition applied in Hatfield’s case. He was the only person injured in the single-vehicle crash, and he faced only misdemeanor DWI charges, not felony charges.

Despite these legal limitations, Hatfield’s blood was drawn approximately 11 hours after the accident while he was unconscious at San Juan Regional Medical Center. Adding to the controversy, the blood sample sat in a refrigerator at the Sheriff’s Office for over a month when a processing request failed to make it through the department’s records management system, according to emails obtained through a public records request.

When the sample was finally tested by the New Mexico State Laboratory, it showed 0.05 g/100 ml of ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of zolpidem (Ambien), both central nervous system depressants. However, this evidence was thrown out during a March 25 motion hearing when 11th Judicial District Chief Judge R. David Pederson agreed with defense attorney Arlon Stoker that the warrant was “unlawful.”

The legal journey that followed was complex and, according to Hatfield, damaging to his career. Initially arrested and charged in San Juan County Magistrate Court, his case was dismissed on February 6. However, the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office immediately refiled the case at the district court level—a move Hatfield’s attorney described as “improper, prejudicial, unlawful and fundamentally unfair.”

The lawsuit alleges this transfer was orchestrated by the Sheriff’s Office, Killifer, Reiker, and the DA’s office “with malice and intent to harm him, and to receive favorable publicity for obtaining a criminal conviction of a public official.”

The fallout for Hatfield was substantial. His campaign adviser resigned, and he claims he was forced to return campaign contributions due to negative press coverage in newspapers across both Montezuma County, Colorado, and San Juan County, New Mexico.

The lawsuit represents the latest chapter in a legal drama that spans two states and has already affected local politics in the Four Corners region. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office has not yet issued a public response to the allegations.