ACTION SEVEN NEWS AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. THE DWI SCANDAL CONTINUES TO GROW. OFFICERS ACCEPTING BRIBES TO NOT SHOW UP IN COURT. AND WE NOW KNOW ATTORNEYS WERE WORKING WITH THEM TO INTENTIONALLY GET PEOPLE DRUNK. TONIGHT, TARGET 7 JASON MCNABB HAS UNCOVERED MORE DETAILS ON HOW THIS SCHEME WAS CONDUCTED. WELL, YEAH. THAT’S RIGHT. DUGAN DARNELL. WE FOUND ONE OF THE VICTIMS WHO WAS SET UP. HIS ATTORNEY TELLS US HE GOT A CALL ON HIS BIRTHDAY FROM HIS ATTORNEY TO GO OUT FOR DRINKS. AND THIS IS HOW IT ENDED. DO ME A FAVOR. STEP OUT REAL QUICK. THIS MAN HAS JUST BEEN PULLED OVER FOR RIDING BETWEEN THE LANES. OFFICER JUSTIN HUNT IS THE ONE CONDUCTING THE TRAFFIC STOP. OKAY, SIR, I’D LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOME TESTS, IF YOU’RE SAFE TO KEEP DRIVING YOU AND YOUR PASSENGERS TONIGHT. ALRIGHT? YES, SIR. THE MAN APPEARS TO HAVE A HARD TIME WITH SOBRIETY TESTS. OR WHAT? GO AHEAD. SIR, I’M NOT GOING TO EXPLAIN IT AGAIN. IT’S NOT LONG BEFORE HE’S PLACED INTO CUFFS FOR DWI. THE BEST THING I CAN TELL YOU IS YOU GOT YOURSELF INTO THIS SITUATION, NOT ME. BUT WHAT? THE MAN ABOUT TO BE HEADING TO JAIL DOESN’T KNOW. THIS ENTIRE TRAFFIC STOP WAS A SETUP. THIS WAS ENTRAPMENT. ABSOLUTELY. HE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE HE WAS GOING TO BE. ATTORNEY FRANCIS CARPENTER NOW REPRESENTS A MAN WHO GOT THAT DWI OVER A DECADE AGO. A PRIOR ARREST LED TO HIM HIRING ATTORNEY THOMAS CLEAR WITH HIS PARALEGAL, RICARDO MENDEZ, STANDING CLOSE BY. HE MET RICK MENDEZ AND TOM CLEAR AS A RESULT OF DWI THAT HE HAD RECEIVED. CARPENTER SAYS IN 2014, MENDEZ GAVE HER CLIENT A CALL ON HIS BIRTHDAY. HE KNEW THAT IT WAS HIS BIRTHDAY FROM OBVIOUSLY THE LEGAL PAPERWORK AND SAID, HEY, DO YOU WANT TO HANG OUT? LET’S GO OUT. AND, YOU KNOW, MY CLIENT WAS NOT GOOD FRIENDS WITH HIM. HE DIDN’T SOCIALIZE WITH HIM, BUT HE WAS LIKE, SURE, YOU KNOW, I’LL I’LL GO OUT WITH YOU AND A BUNCH OF GUYS. THE OFFICER THAT ARRESTED CARPENTER’S CLIENT RECENTLY PLED GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES FOR HIS ROLE IN WHAT’S BEING CALLED THE DWI ENTERPRISE SCANDAL. HE ADMITTED THAT NIGHT THAT MENDEZ INTENTIONALLY GOT THE MAN DRUNK AT THIS STRIP CLUB, EVEN TO THE POINT WHERE HE TOLD MY CLIENT THAT HE WAS LIKE, DON’T WORRY, MAN. I CAN DRIVE. BUT SHE SAYS MENDEZ ENDED UP TELLING HER CLIENT HE WAS TOO DRUNK AND THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO DRIVE. JUST MINUTES AFTER LEAVING THE STRIP CLUB, THEY WERE PULLED OVER. SO DO YOU BELIEVE MENDEZ INTENTIONALLY GOT YOUR CLIENT DRUNK? OH, THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. IT WAS. IT WAS COMPLETELY SET UP. FORMER OFFICER HUNT ADMITTED IN COURT DOCUMENTS THAT MENDEZ CALLED HIM TO PULL THE MAN OVER. RICK WAS COMMUNICATING WITH THE OFFICER ABOUT WHERE THEY WERE GOING TO BE, WHAT TIME THEY WERE GOING TO BE THERE AND WHEN THEY WERE LEAVING. BUT CARPENTER SAYS GOING TO JAIL WAS JUST THE START OF HER CLIENT’S TROUBLES. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CLIENT AFTER THE ARREST? HE WAS IN THERE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS, AND DURING THE TIME THAT HE WAS IN JAIL, HIS HOME WAS BROKEN INTO. CARPENTER SAYS AROUND $300,000 WORTH OF WATCHES, GOLD BARS AND GUNS WERE TAKEN FROM THE MAN’S HOME. POLICE REPORTS WERE FILED. SHE SUSPECTS THE PERSON WHO BROKE IN KNEW HE WAS IN JAIL. THESE INDIVIDUALS KNEW THAT HE WAS AFFLUENT AND LIKELY KNEW WHAT HE HAD IN HIS SAFE, AND HE WAS TARGETED. CARPENTER, ALSO SPEARHEADING THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY FOR VICTIMS OF THE SCANDAL. HER OFFICE IS URGING ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN TARGETED TO COME FORWARD. TARGET 7 I’M JASON MCNABB. IF YOU HAVE A STORY FOR US TO INVESTIGAT
Man set up in DWI bribery scandal on his birthday, attorney says
Details continue to emerge in a scheme where attorneys and officers allegedly conspired to set up individuals for drunk driving arrests. One victim, represented by Frances Carpenter, was set up on his birthday when his attorney’s paralegal invited him out for drinks, leading to his arrest.
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, ” 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.
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.
