By: ABQRAW staff
Posted: 01/24/2024 @ 2:30 PM
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Alexander M.M. Uballez, the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, along with Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Corey Patrick Saffell, Ceasar Enrique Mendoza, and Robert Edward Embly, also known as Eddie, appeared in federal court for an indictment charging them with two counts each of the deprivation of rights. Saffell, 34, of Jal, Mendoza, 28, and Embly, 43, both of Hobbs, will be held in custody pending detention hearings scheduled for January 29, 2024.
As per the indictment, between July 30 and July 31, 2021, Saffell, Mendoza, and Embly served as police officers with the Jal Police Department in Lea County. Allegedly, during this period, they violated John Doe’s constitutional rights, specifically the right to be free from unreasonable seizure by a law enforcement officer. This includes the right to be free from unlawful arrest and the right to be free from unreasonable use of force by a law enforcement officer. The officers’ actions resulted in bodily injury to John Doe and involved the use of a dangerous weapon.
It’s important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, all three men could face up to 10 years in prison.
The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office conducted the investigation with assistance from the Hobbs Police Department, Carlsbad Police Department, Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Jal Police Department, and New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matilda McCarthy Villalobos is handling the prosecution of the case.