Alleged Gustin's Hardware Thief Arraigned

Via Google Meet, Judge Shannon Murdock heard the entry of a not guilty plea from Patrick Lucero today, Monday, February 20, 2023. Lucero is alleged to have broken into and stolen from the Gustin's Hardware Store in Mountainair. Lucero entered a not guilty plea through his attorney, John Rhinehart. Judge Murdock accepted Lucero's not guilty plea and scheduled a pretrial hearing for September 11, 2023 and a trial date of October 16, 2023.

Lucero has another active criminal case, this one related to separate allegations of larceny from 2022. The previously filed larceny case is relevant to the present larceny case because both fit into the terms of a plea deal apparently proffered to Lucero. The Mountainair Dispatch has no further information regarding this plea offer. Judge Murdock has set a pretrial conference for May 15, 2023 and a trial date of June 12, 2023 for this 2022 case.