Evaluation continues of teen charged with killing family

It’s been nearly a year since a Valencia County teenager was charged in the shooting deaths of four family members. The case is in a holding pattern as the defendant is evaluated for competency.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 14., 16-year-old Diego Leyva called 911, telling the dispatcher he had killed his parents, later adding he had killed “my whole family.”

When emergency responders arrived at the home on Camino Escondido, southwest of the city of Rio Communities, they found Leyva outside and his family dead in the house.

He has been charged with four open counts of first-degree murder in relation to the deaths of his parents, father, Leonardo Leyva, 42, and mother, Adriana Bencomo, 35; and brothers, Adrian Leyva, 17, and Alexander Leyva, 14.

Leyva was indicted on the charges by a Valencia County grand jury on Dec. 30, and on Jan. 6, a motion by his attorney for a competency evaluation was granted by 13th Judicial District Judge Cindy Mercer.

In a recent interview, Jessica Martinez, 13th Judicial chief deputy district attorney, said Leyva’s competency review is still ongoing.

“Until that’s resolved, we can’t go forward,” Martinez said.

Whenever someone is charged with a crime, they have to be competent to stand trial, she explained.

“The person has to have the capacity, basically have an idea of what they’re charged with, be able to assist their attorney in their defense and have a general understanding of the legal system,” Martinez said.

A psychologist examines a defendant when the issue of competency is raised, applying the same standards to both adult and juvenile defendants. However, there is a different process used for adults versus juveniles if the person is found not competent.

“If a juvenile is not charged as an adult and if they are found incompetent, then the state has to dismiss the charges,” the chief deputy said.

Leyva was charged with a violent crime as an adult, so the case won’t automatically be dismissed even though he is still a juvenile. If Leyva is found incompetent, the prosecution can still move forward with a trial.

“He has to be treated back to competency,” Martinez said. “Where we get stuck is we have nowhere in the state to send juveniles for treatment.”

If an adult is charged with a violent felony against a person and they are found incompetent, they undergo treatment at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, N.M., the only state-owned and operated psychiatric hospital in New Mexico.

“If they are found incompetent, they can be treated back to competency and brought back for trial. The challenge comes in when we have a juvenile — even though they are charged as an adult — NMBHI doesn’t have the ability to accept anyone under 18,” Martinez said. “When juveniles are found not competent, there’s nowhere to send them in state. So, one of two things can happen. They can sit in custody until they turn 18 or we can find out-of-state treatment.

“The issue these cases often run into is there’s nowhere to treat them. We don’t have facilities to treat people under 18, so that makes it harder to treat them back to competency.”

There’s isn’t a set time to complete a competency evaluation of a defendant, Martinez said, but the DA’s office must take precautions to not violate a defendant’s due process rights. The court’s review the competency evaluation process regularly to make sure the Juvenile Probation and Parole Office, the state and defense are “working to move things along,” she said.

“This goes to the bigger issue we’re seeing with our competency laws. I know the legislature is trying to fix them and, with the juvenile process, it still needs some work. We need resources and places to treat juveniles,” the chief deputy said.

During the last legislative session, legislators were considering laws that would increase penalties for some juvenile charges, but those didn’t pass, she said.

“It’s not just juveniles. They are trying to correct competency laws so there’s not this revolving door. We need places to send people, both juveniles and adults,” Martinez said. “Places for adults are still lacking. NMBHI is the only locked, secure facility in the state and it’s pretty much at the max.”