Substance-abuse manager guilty of DWI

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A Bernalillo County employee who helps troubled workers and is up for promotion to run a substance-abuse program was convicted Monday of drunken driving.

However the trial was delayed for more than an hour when the officer who arrested Carl Broach failed to appear in court.

Broach already is a manager in the county's Department of Substance Abuse Programs . He withdrew from being considered for a promotion to run the department.

Officer Stefan Torres pulled Broach over in December, and Broach's attorney challenged his reasons for doing so based on inconsistencies in the police reports.

"Did you sign a citation in connection with this case?” defense attorney David Serna asked. “No.” Torres answered.

“Are you sure about that?” Serna said. “Yes.” Torres replied.

A few questions later Serna showed Torres a different citation and asked him, “Is that your signature on the citation that is sitting in the court file?” Torres conceded it was.

Serna then told the court that because the officer later changed his reasons for pulling Broach over those actions should be enough throw the case out.

"The officer's version of the facts are not worthy of belief," Serna said outside the courtroom.

However prosecutor Letitia Carroll with the district attorney's office said the officer knows he screwed up.

"It's a mistake that he owned up to," she told reporters. "It was a pretty big mistake, and I think he paid for it on the witness stand.”

But she said that doesn't change the facts about Broach's level of intoxication.

"He was drunk," Carroll said. "A 0.18 is a high breath score.

"That's what he blew that night, and he was driving a car."

The judge agreed and found Broach guilty of aggravated DWI and driving in the wrong direction.

Now the question is what happens to Broach's position with the county?

County spokesperson Liz Hamm said his job and future with the county are under administrative review, she added.

"The county manager is aware of the conviction, and he is also aware of the seriousness of the offense," Hamm told KRQE News 13.

Broach will have to serve two days in jail. He will also be on probation for a year and have to have an interlock device in any car he drives.

After the hearing Serna said he and Broach will appeal the conviction. They have 15 days to do so.