Caleb Elledge, already serving federal time for the February 2022 shooting of a New Mexico State Police officer, now faces new state-level charges. Elledge, who pleaded guilty to firearm charges, was sentenced to nine years for the attack on Officer Jeremy Vaughan. The incident occurred during a car chase in which Elledge was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Alana Martinez. When the car was stopped, Elledge opened fire, injuring Vaughan, who survived the attack.
Last month, Elledge was indicted on new charges at the state level, despite the case initially being handled by federal authorities. During his pretrial detention hearing, Elledge’s defense attorney, Stefanie Gulley, argued that the state had previously dropped the charges when the federal government took over the case. Gulley stated that Elledge had entered a plea under the assumption that the state would not pursue further charges.
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However, the prosecution countered that the federal government only prosecuted the felon-in-possession gun charge, and other charges were not under its jurisdiction. The prosecution emphasized that Elledge was already in federal custody. Judge Cindy Leos ruled in favor of the state’s motion to keep Elledge in detention until trial.
Meanwhile, Alana Martinez, the driver of the vehicle, pleaded guilty to harboring or aiding a felon and received a sentence of six months of probation, which she completed in October.
