James T. Locatelli
A Las Cruces municipal judge has been suspended without pay after he threatened an employee for cooperating with an investigation into the judge’s actions.
The Las Cruces Sun-News has the scoop:
“James T. Locatelli allegedly became ‘outraged’ and admitted to threatening ‘bodily injury’ on Las Cruces Municipal Court judicial manager Lisa Almaguer for her cooperation with pending investigations against Locatelli by the state’s Judicial Standards Commission, according to the commission’s petition for suspension.
“Locatelli ‘admitted to staff that he knew battering Ms. Almaguer would be wrong, and that he would probably spend time in jail for this crime, but spending time in jail ‘would be worth it,’’ the petition states.”
“In response, the Municipal Court had to change the lock on the outside courthouse door adjacent to Almaguer’s office to keep Locatelli out, according to the petition.”
Locatelli is under investigation, according to the Sun-News, for allegations that he improperly dismissed traffic citations for a friend and related allegations. According to the Sun-News, Locatelli also dismissed several cases out of court for family members of his bailiff. In all, he dismissed more than 800 cases in 2009 and this year without letting prosecutors plead their cases.