Jeff Proctor
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — City Public Safety Director Darren White called a news conference Monday afternoon to talk about Kevin Garner, a man he’s been chasing since his days as a beat cop in the Southeast Heights more than two decades ago.
Garner, 43, was arrested for the 127th time shortly before 2 a.m. on suspicion of methamphetamine possession, according to a police report.
White had been outspoken about Garner after his 125th arrest in March - on charges of meth trafficking, evidence tampering and conspiracy - citing him as a prime example of problems with the state’s criminal justice system.
White learned of Garner’s most recent arrest around 5 a.m. Monday when an alert came over his Blackberry.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said in an interview. “This guy’s rap sheet is like ‘War and Peace.’ I mean, it’s 44 pages thick.
“I thought maybe, just maybe, we had seen the last of this guy in March. I guess I was wrong.”
About five minutes into the news conference Monday, an aide slipped White a note. Things had gone from bad to worse.
“I’ve just been told that he bonded out,” White said after taking his head out of his hands.
Indeed, Garner had once again been set free after posting a prearraignment, $2,500 cash or surety bond. He will likely make his first appearance before a judge today.
Garner’s 126th arrest came earlier this month when police picked him up on assault charges, authorities said. He posted bond on that case and was released. That charge should have constituted a violation of the conditions of release set in the March drug case against Garner, officials said. It is unclear why no one caught the violation.
The Albuquerque Police SWAT Team raided Garner’s Todos Santos NW home in March, court records state. Narcotics detectives had been watching Garner’s home for more than two weeks.
Detectives found large quantities of methamphetamine in baggies and phony shaving cream bottles; the makings of a meth lab; possibly stolen auto parts in the living room and garage; scales; marijuana; and a 9mm handgun in the stove.
Garner was jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center, and his bond was set at $100,000 cash-only. In April, a judge lowered that bond to $30,000 cash or surety. Garner posted that amount and was released.
“Turnstile justice has failed miserably in New Mexico,” White said Monday. “Kevin Garner is the epitome of what’s wrong with the criminal justice system in this state. When is a judge just going to say: ‘We’ve had enough of Kevin Garner’?”
About half of Garner’s 127 arrests were for probation violations, which don’t typically lead to prison time. But many of the remainder were for serious offenses.
Garner spent four years and four months in prison between 1998 and 2002 on a laundry list of charges including aggravated assault, felony drug possession, possession of firearms, assault on a police officer and shooting at or from a motor vehicle, according to the state Department of Corrections.
It’s unclear how much time Garner has spent in the county jail.
Copyright 2010 Albuquerque Journal