ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) – A Roswell man will stay behind bars after the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld his murder conviction. Luis Jimenez was attempting to appeal his conviction from 2022, claiming the court should not have allowed some photographs into the trial.
In 2012, Jiminez and Joseph Barnhill were robbing a home when the family staying there pulled into the driveway. The family entered the home and saw the two men; one of them then shot and killed the father of the family, Saul Sanchez. Although the crime happened in 2012, the men were not charged until 2018.
Jiminez was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Jimenez says Barnhill shot the victim, but the jury convicted him as the shooter.
In his appeal, Jiminez also claimed his partner’s testimony should have been viewed with skepticism by the jury. The state Supreme Court says they found no error in his trial and denied his appeal.
