McKinley County DA Resigns, Leaving Cases Neglected and Victims in Limbo

Bernadine Martin resigned as McKinley County's elected district attorney just days before a scheduled New Mexico Supreme Court trial that investigators had described as historic, stepping down after State Attorney General Raúl Torrez petitioned to have her removed from office.

For months, complaints had been building inside the Gallup-based DA's office. Prosecutors resigned, citing a hostile work environment. Criminal cases fell through the cracks. Crime victims were left waiting, their cases unresolved and their futures uncertain while the office descended into what KRQE News 13 investigators characterized as a meltdown.

Martin's resignation brought an abrupt end to the unprecedented Supreme Court proceeding that had been set to examine the dysfunction. With that case now closed, some evidence may never reach public view, according to KRQE investigative reporting on the situation.

KRQE investigative reporter Ann Pierret detailed the dysfunction she uncovered inside Martin's office, joining podcast hosts Chris and Gabby on the New Mexico News Insiders to explain what drove the office to a breaking point and what the resignation means for McKinley County's justice system. The full discussion is available on the New Mexico News Insiders Podcast, with new episodes released each Tuesday at approximately 5:30 a.m. Mountain time on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Podbean.

The precise timeline of when prosecutors began leaving the office, how many cases were affected, and the exact subject matter of the Supreme Court proceeding remain undisclosed in reporting to date. What is confirmed is the sequence: complaints mounted, prosecutors departed, Torrez petitioned for removal, Martin resigned, and the Supreme Court case ended before it could be heard.

For McKinley County residents whose cases sat inside that office, the question of what happens next remains open.