Jeff Armijo, who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for state auditor until he was pressured to quit the race last year because of allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward a campaign volunteer, has been indicted on charges stemming from the Aug. 3 incident.
Armijo was indicted by a grand jury on March 15 on three counts of battery and one count of false imprisonment, according to the New Mexico courts Web site. The false imprisonment charge is a fourth-degree felony that carries a maximum of 18 months in prison. The battery charges are petty misdemeanors that each carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
Armijo, who refused to comment for this article, pleaded not guilty to the charges on April 9, according to the Web site. He was booked into the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center on April 17 but is now free while the case works its way through the system.
The case is being heard by District Judge Neil C. Candelaria in Albuquerque. Armijo is represented by attorney Jerry Daniel Herrera, and the case is assigned to prosecutor Richard Williams in the Second Judicial District Attorney’s office.
Armijo, 36, was the favorite to win the auditor race last year until police began investigating the allegations. A 21-year-old woman reported to police on Aug. 3 of last year that she had been at Armijo’s home doing volunteer work for his campaign. The two were at a computer, she said, when Armijo grabbed her and kissed her repeatedly, though she told him they should not be kissing. The woman told police Armijo removed some of her clothing, held her down on the floor and inappropriately touched her, though she told him to stop.
The woman was able at some point to leave and call police.
While police investigated, Armijo originally vowed to continue his campaign, but Gov. Bill Richardson and others pressured him to drop out. In mid-August, Armijo announced that he would quit the race, but he changed his mind days later and announced he would not file the signed, notarized withdrawal letter that had typically been required by the secretary of state’s office. The governor’s office and Democratic Party argued that Armijo’s prior public statements and actions constituted a withdrawal. The secretary of state agreed and took his name off the ballot.
Armijo and the party sued each other in an attempt to resolve the situation, but Armijo eventually dropped his fight in a deal announced in early September with Speaker of the House Ben Lujan.
The party replaced Armijo on the ballot with Hector Balderas, who was elected state auditor two months later.
Earlier this year, the Legislature approved a law requiring that candidates who drop out of races can do so only by filing signed, notarized withdrawal letters.
Jeff Armijo, who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for state auditor until he was pressured to quit the race last year because of allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward a campaign volunteer, has been indicted on charges stemming from the Aug. 3 incident.