In court Wednesday, a judge ruled that 20-year-old Miguel Chavez will remain behind bars after his involvement in a deadly car crash Tuesday afternoon.
“Let’s transfer this matter to District Court. Defense you got to get in contact with Mr. Miguel Chavez, who has a failure to appear today. He is in custody,” said Judge Safier.
KOAT legal expert John Day said these kinds of DUI cases are becoming more common since New Mexico legalized marijuana.
“There are a lot of people who assume, well, it’s legal so I can drive with marijuana in my system, and that’s just not the case,” Day said.
According to the criminal complaint, Chavez was speeding on Paseo Del Norte as he got off on Second Street. Investigators said he then ran a red light, continued back onto another ramp the wrong way, hitting a traffic light pole and two other cars.
