Tucumcari murder trial rescheduled

A Tucumcari man’s murder trial will be rescheduled from August to October after his lawyer and a prosecutor said last week they still were awaiting laboratory tests from the state and were finishing pretrial interviews.

Joshua Braziel, 30, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) after being accused of shooting his friend and co-worker Bryan Youman, 19, of Tucumcari in the head at his home Sept. 4. Braziel has said the shooting was an accident.

First-degree murder is a capital felony that could lead to up to life in prison. Braziel is charged under an open murder count, which includes killing by an act deemed as “greatly dangerous to another's life and evidences a depraved mind which has no regard for human life.”

During a status hearing June 15 in district court, public defender Anna Aragon told District Judge Albert Mitchell Jr. her office still needed to complete two pretrial interviews and was awaiting results from a state laboratory for Braziel’s case.

Assistant district attorney Heidi Adams elaborated, saying a weapons test on the gun allegedly used in the killing was pending. She said the state’s laboratory was “backed up” with cases, and she anticipated the results wouldn’t be ready for an August trial despite her office imploring the lab to finish its work.

Mitchell said he would reschedule the trial for sometime in October.

Braziel, who attended the hearing by videoconference from the Quay County Detention Center, made no comments during the hearing.

According to an affidavit filed by New Mexico State Police investigator Justin Tiemann, George Molinas, who was at the Tucumcari home when the shooting occurred. said Braziel “likes to mess around with his firearms and is very careless when it comes to handling of his guns.”

Braziel initially told officers he didn’t think his handgun was loaded but later said he was aware it was loaded when he pointed it at Youman.

The methamphetamine charge stemmed from admissions by Braziel and his girlfriend that they smoked the substance before the shooting.