Three days after being charged with battery for allegedly headbutting someone at a Circle K, Ashton Butler was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after pointing a rifle at driver’s in Northeast Albuquerque.
Butler was released from the Metro Detention Center three days later after a probable cause determination could not be made.
“Several people told police 37-year-old Ashton Butler was standing at the corner of Louisiana and San Antonio with a rifle pointing it at people as they drove by. Police say Butler is the same man who was reported by police at a nearby apartment complex walking around with a gun and causing problems.”
KRQE news report (June 10, 2021)
According to a statement from the District Attorney’s Office released to KRQE, Judge Joshua J. Sanchez released Butler because the criminal complaint from the Albuquerque Police Department “did not show that the victims felt in fear of being hurt when Ashton Butler brandished a rifle and pointed it at them.”
Either residents are so desensitized to violence in Albuquerque that they no longer fear having a rifle pointed at them, or Albuquerque really is a revolving door for criminals.
The DA plans to file new charges and refile a motion for preventative detention. A preliminary examination hearing is scheduled for August 4, 2021.
Categories: Crime Beat
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