Coleman to undergo mental evaluation

By Bill Donovan
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Local Indian trader Steve Coleman was back in county jail on Friday, on his way to a state prison in Los Lunas for a 60-day mental evaluation.

District Court Judge Robert Aragon ordered Coleman to undergo the evaluation despite requests from Coleman's attorney, Sigmund Bloom, that putting Coleman into state prison may be tantamount to giving him a death sentence because of his previous employment as a Gallup police officer some two decades ago.

Coleman had pled no contest more than two months ago to charges stemming from the attempted burning down of a local counseling office and firing into the unoccupied home of a sheriff's deputy, who had cited him for DWI.

Since then, Michael Calligan, chief prosecuting attorney for the McKinley County District Attorney's Office, has been trying to get him sentenced. DA Karl Gillson had already approved agreeing to reduce the maximum sentence Coleman could face from nine years to four and a half years; however, Bloom is asking for probation.

The hearing before Aragon Friday centered on the effect prison life would have on Coleman's medical conditions.

Bloom said that Coleman and his family were worried that if he were sent to prison for the evaluation, his medical condition, which is now under control through medication, would deteriorate. He argued that state prisons are notorious for not treating prisoners with medical problems and private doctors are not allowed to treat prisoners.

He provided Aragon with medical reports that showed Coleman was being treated for a number of ailments, including kidney problems and high blood pressure. He said the kidney condition could develop into something quite serious if he failed to take his medications.

Calligan responded by saying that prisons deal with prisoners who have to take medications all of the time. He didn't see that there would be any problems. As for Coleman being a former police officer, Calligan said this is also a common situation for prisons.

Normally, former police officers are segregated from the general prison population, and court officials said they expect the prison in Los Lunas will deal with Coleman in that manner.

The other argument brought up by Bloom at the hearing was that if Aragon decided to go through with the mental evaluation, he asked that Coleman be given 24 to 48 hours to prepare, allowing him to turn himself in on Monday for transport to the prison.

Aragon said Coleman has had enough time to prepare, so he called for him to turn himself in immediately. He said he would sign a court order requiring jail and prison authorities to make sure that Coleman is provided with his medication. Family members agreed to turn over medication to the jail within the hour.

Once the evaluation is done, the court has agreed to conduct a sentencing hearing.