Man beaten by police gets 364 days of probation
LAS CRUCES - A man who is suing the city and the Las Cruces Police Department over alleged police brutality was sentenced to 364 days of supervised probation for a misdemeanor charge he was convicted of last month.
Man beaten by police gets 364 days of probation LAS CRUCES - A man who is suing the city and the Las Cruces Police Department over alleged police brutality was sentenced to 364 days of supervised probation for a misdemeanor charge he was convicted of last month. Check out this story on lcsun-news.com: https://lcsun.co/1rNnGJT
Carlos Andres López, Las Cruces Sun-News Published 6:47 p.m. MT May 9, 2016
Ross Flynn, center, embraces his attorney Jeff Lahann, right, as associate attorney Chris Cardenas looks on Thursday, April 7, 2016, in 3rd Judicial District Court after a jury found Flynn not guilty of aggravated assault and assault on an officer. Flynn was convicted on a charge of evading arrest.(Photo: Robin Zielinski / Sun-News)Buy Photo
Ross Flynn, 49, was convicted of resisting or evading arrest, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of up to a year in jail, on April 8 in Las Cruces District Court, following a three-day trial before District Judge Marci E. Beyer.
Flynn, who arrested in December 2014 after a late-night incident in which he was accused of threatening a woman with a firearm, was acquitted on two assault charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a peace officer.
After his arrest, Flynn was taken to LCPD headquarters and placed inside a holding cell, where he was severely beaten by two officers. Surveillance video from the incident shows Flynn being punched and slammed to the ground by the officers, Richard Garcia and Danny Salcido, who were fired from the department in May 2015.
Flynn and his Las Cruces attorneys, Jeff Lahann and Christopher Cardenas, are seeking a multimillion dollar settlement in a federal lawsuit against LCPD, the former officers and the city of Las Cruces.
During Monday's brief sentencing hearing, Lahann argued for sentence of 30 days of unsupervised probation. But the case's lead prosecutor, Keytan Park, asked for 30 days in jail.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Beyer gave Flynn a deferred sentence of 364 days of supervised probation, plus 80 hours of community service. He will be given time for the 4½ days he served in jail, Beyer said.
If Flynn successfully completes the probation, Lahann said, "The charges will be legally dismissed." But if he violates the probation terms, the court could impose the full sentence of 364 days in jail.
After the hearing, Lahann he was "pleased" with the judge's sentence.
When Flynn addressed the court on Monday, he said he was "confused" when the officers were issuing their commands on the night of his arrest. "It wasn't that I was trying to deny the officers what they were asking me to do," he said, "it's just the commands were so varied from different officers. … I certainly will never put myself in this situation again."
Meanwhile, the former officers accused of beating Flynn are still awaiting trial. Online court records show Salcido's trial, which was scheduled to begin April 26 before District Judge Fernando R. Macias, was continued for a later date that has yet to be scheduled. Garcia's trial, however, is scheduled to begin June 27, also before Macias.
They are are each charged with aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm, a third-degree felony. Both have previously pleaded not guilty and face a maximum of three years in prison if convicted.
Carlos Andres López can be reached 575-541-5453, carlopez@lcsun-news.com or @carlopez_los on Twitter.
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