Racketering case is delayed

Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The status conference for the Kurt Darner racketeering case, scheduled for Monday, has encountered another delay.

"It's been postponed once again, and we're waiting on the defense. It's possible it could get under way by May 14 or May 21, but it is possible to get bumped again," Deputy DA Randall Collins said.

This type of conference is where the prosecution and the defense make presentations to determine when a trial date could be set. According to Collins, this is the first racketeering case in Cibola County; so, it has generated much interest in the public and the law enforcement community.

When Darner, a noted big game trophy hunter, goes to trail, he could face maximum penalties of up to 33 years in prison on all the charges lodged against him.

His wife, Paula, also indicted, could face up to 24 years in prison if she is convicted on six felony and 13 misdemeanor counts lodged against her.

The case has far-reaching ramifications, as it not only involves racketeering, but also has done harm to the image of sport hunting in New Mexico. Non-resident hunters bring a gret deal of money to the state's economy and loss of those revenues due to bad public exposure would hurt the states industry greatly.

In February 2006 Darner was accused by a Cibola County Grand Jury of illegally drugging and moving up to four wild elk, three of them state owned, on a 40 acre Lobo Canyon ranch to the Pancho Peaks Ranch and Game Park.

In the original indictment against Darner, there were two counts each of transporting stolen livestock, receiving stolen property, conspiracy to transport stolen livestock and tampering with evidence.