2023-09-07 07:00:00
No criminal charges will be filed in the December 2021 accidental shooting death of 2-year-old Lincoln Harmon in Rio Rancho.
“Last year, under the previous administration, this office assumed the review of this matter from the Thirteenth Judicial Attorney’s Office,” states a declination letter from the state Attorney General office dated Sept. 1. “After a complete review, the recommendation was a declination of any criminal charges.
“Since then, supervisors in the new administration have re-examined the case file,” the letter continues. “After independently evaluating the matter involving Jonathan Harmon (Lincoln’s father) we agree with the determination of the prior administration that any prosecution would be unable to meet the required burden of proof for a criminal case — the highest burden in our legal system — of beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, we decline to bring criminal charges.”
The letter was signed by Greer E. Staley, deputy attorney general.
Declination Letter – Jonathan Harmon
It went on to state that at the time of the incident, there were no laws requiring parents to secure firearms from children. On July 1, the Benny Hargrove Gun Safety Act became law, which makes it a crime to negligently make a firearm accessible to a minor who causes injury to another person. “That new law may have applied to the facts presented in this case had it been in force at the time, but that law cannot be applied retroactively,” Staley wrote.
“The passage of Benny’s Bill highlights the inadequacies of the previously existing child abuse laws and the need for that specific statute to fill the unintentional void they created,” Staley continues. “After a review of other possible child abuse statutes, our office has determined that the facts here do not meet the elements required for prosecution under applicable laws.
“This decision on criminal charges does not preclude further administration and civile action for the matter involving the death of a child,” the letter concludes.
According to reports and documents provided to the Albuquerque Journal last year, the toddler’s 4-year-old brother found his father’s off-duty gun while reaching for chewing gum around 8 a.m. Dec. 8, 2021. Jonathan Harmon is a senior officer with the Santa Fe Police Department but was on FMLA at the time of the incident for the recent birth of a third child.
The gun had reportedly been stored behind coffee mugs on the highest shelf in a kitchen cabinet above the counters and was loaded and not safeguarded from others. Both parents were present in the home when the 4-year-old accessed the gun while reaching for chewing gum in the same cabinet and tried to put it on his father’s belt in an effort to be like him and unintentionally fired the gun.
The police report, the 2-year-old was shot beneath and the bullet exited the back of his head. The death was ruled an accident by the Office of the Medical Investigator.
In November, District Judge James Noel of Sandoval County ruled the city of Rio Rancho had to pay $43,729 in fees and costs after finding that the city violated state open records laws in the case. It was to be paid to the Rodey Law Firm, which represented New Mexico Foundation for Open Government and the Santa Fe New Mexican, challenging the city’s refusal to turn over requested police records.
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