Fired deputy gets second chance

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) -
A former McKinley County Deputy who was fired for falsifying his time card has been hired as a deputy in neighboring Cibola County.

Cibola County Sheriff Johnny Valdez says his new deputy, Pat Martinez, brings 18-years of experience to the job.

Martinez was fired in 2008 from the McKinley County Sheriff's Department after an internal investigation found he filled falsely filled out his time card and pocked more than $1,000 for work he never did.

"He wasn't there and so our Internal Affairs looked into it and found several accusations on the time card," McKinley County Attorney Doug Decker said.

Martinez was never charged despite being fired.

His New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification was also suspended for 90 days.

Sheriff Valdez says Martinez was upfront about the incident. He says Martinez did get re-certified and passed all of his background checks.

"The fact of the matter is, he brings a lot of experience to the department," Valdez said.

Decker says he'd never hire Martinez again.

"It seems like New Mexico does that a lot," Decker said.

"They (government employees) get in trouble in one location and move to a different location."

Sheriff says the bottomline is that Martinez is the best man for the job and he deserves a second chance.

"We have done everything necessary to assure we got the best candidate for this position," Valdez said.

Martinez made $45,000 a year as a lieutenant in McKinley County.

He makes $32,000 a year as a regular deputy in Cibola County.

Martinez has filed a lawsuit against the McKinley County Sheriff's Department claiming age and race discrimination.