Darner pleads guilty

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — In a last minute plea deal with the prosecution, Kirt Darner — who formerly owned and operated a big game park on Mount Taylor — pleaded guilty to two felonies and one misdemeanor, a far cry from the more than 20 charges by the 13th Judicial District grand jury.

Darner was indicted in February 2006 on illegal possession, transportation and sale of elk, and possession of two endangered sheep’s skulls, as well as having no bill of sale or health certificate for elk he held within his game park.

District Attorney Lemuel Martinez said Darner pleaded guilty to one third degree felony possession of stolen property, an elk; transportation of stolen livestock, an elk; and one misdemeanor of having no bill of sale.

In a interesting twist in the case, Martinez said the plea agreement was the same one offered Darner three to six months following his indictment.

During the past nearly two and a half years, Darner had been able to delay the trial more than five times through motions his high powered Albuquerque attorney, Billy Ray Blackburn, filed in court as well as having medical problems.

Martinez said Darner “read the writing on the wall,” that the prosecution’s case was airtight, especially after 13th Judicial District Judge Camille Martinez-Olguin ruled at the end of May that the prosecution could have Game and Fish agents sit at the prosecution’s table while court was in session and denied the defense’s motions to dismiss the case and suppress evidence.

The original indictment included the following charges: Receiving stolen property , one each Rocky Mountain and Desert Bighorn sheep skulls; unlawful possession of big game, elk; transportation of stolen livestock, elk; conspiracy to transport livestock, elk; failure to submit an invoice for sale of big game, elk; failure to have two forms of identification, elk; and having no health certificates, elk.

Martinez said (Independent, June 21), that the prosecution as ready to go to trial.

Other parts of the plea deal include a $10,000 fine, over and above any fine levied by the court from the two felonies (up to $10,000) and Darner may not be allowed to hunt, guide or act as an outfitter.

Sentencing will be some time between four weeks to six weeks, maybe more, following a pre-sentence report completed by the Adult Probation Office, Martinez said.
Darner could receive up to 4.5 years in state prison, in addition to the fines, or probation, “we are going to seek the full prison time when we are before the judge at sentencing time,” Martinez said.

When asked whether a plea agreement was possible just days before the trial, Martinez said he could not talk about the case in those terms.

Darner was ruled competent to stand trial in mid-April, after he was off pain medication for kidney stones.

His trial was due to begin on Jan. 8, 2008, and that morning Blackburn told the court Darner was on medication for kidney stones, the trial was then rescheduled for Monday.

The judge also ruled that Darren Holly, who is a convicted felon and was allegedly hired by Darner to steal two trophy sheep skulls from a taxidermist in Colorado, will be allowed to testify on behalf of the prosecution.

Kent Klineberger, a Seattle, Wash., expert on sheep skulls, was scheduled to testify on the prosecution’s behalf.

If Darner had been convicted on all counts from the indictment, he could have served a maximum penalty of nine days short of 44 years in state prison, a fine up to $58,000, or both.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin e-mail call (505) 285-4560, or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.