Man set up in DWI bribery scandal on his birthday, attorney says
By Jason McNabb, T.J. Wilham
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KOAT) — Target 7 reported a couple of weeks back that former Albuquerque Police officer Justin Hunt, who resigned as a lieutenant in February 2024, admitted in a federal plea deal to collaborating with attorney Thomas Clear’s private investigator and paralegal, Ricardo Mendez, to target certain individuals for DWI arrests as part of the DWI enterprise scandal. Hunt’s plea revealed that Mendez would get Clear’s clients drunk, have them drive with him in the car, and then tip off officers like Hunt about their location and vehicle.
A case outlined in the plea states that in 2014, Mendez took a man, previously represented by Clear in another DWI case, to a strip club, got him drunk, and then had him drive. Mendez then tipped off Hunt, who arrested the man shortly after. The man rehired Clear for his defense, and Hunt said Clear gave him tires and parts for his Jeep in exchange for not appearing in court, leading to the case’s dismissal.
Target 7 obtained officer-worn lapel camera video of that arrest.
In the video, Officer Hunt is seen conducting the traffic stop, pulling over the man for riding between lanes. Hunt said, “You can do me a favor, step out real quick.” The man struggled with sobriety tests, and Hunt said, “Okay, sir, I’d like to give you some tests if you’re safe to keep driving you and your passengers tonight, all right? “Yes, sir,” responded the man.
Shortly after, he was handcuffed for DWI, with Hunt stating, “The best thing I can tell you is you got yourself into this situation, not me.”
Target 7 also tracked down the man who was arrested and sat down with his new attorney, Frances Carpenter.
Carpenter reiterated that the traffic stop was a setup, saying, “[Officer Hunt] knew exactly where he was going to be.”
She told Target 7 how Mendez called her client on his birthday, saying, “Hey, do you want to hang out? Let’s go out. My client was not good friends with him. He didn’t socialize with him, but he was like, sure. You know, I’ll go out with you and a bunch of guys.”
Carpenter says Mendez kept ordering her client rounds of drinks, and promised him he would drive. However, Mendez told the man later in the night that he was too drunk, and that he would have to be the one to drive instead. Minutes after leaving the strip club, they were pulled over.
Carpenter stated, “There’s no doubt about it. It was completely set up.” Hunt admitted in court documents that Mendez coordinated with him for the traffic stop. “Rick was communicating with the officer about where they were going to, what time they were gonna be there, and when they were leaving,” she said.
Carpenter also told Target 7 the arrest was just the beginning of her client’s troubles. “He was in there for a couple days, and during the time that he was in jail, his home was broken into,” she said. Around $300,000 worth of watches, gold bars, and guns were stolen, with police reports filed. Carpenter suspects whoever was responsible for the burglary knew the man was in jail, saying, “These individuals knew that he was affluent and likely knew what he had in his safe, and he was targeted.”
Carpenter is leading the class-action lawsuit against the city for victims of the scandal and is urging anyone who may have been targeted to come forward.
Thirteen people have pled guilty so far in the DWI enterprise scandal, including nine officers from the APD, one deputy from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, and three legal professionals.
At this time, no one has been sentenced for their roles.
Mendez was among those who pled guilty and was granted permission last year by a federal judge to travel outside of the country before a sentencing date was set. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
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