Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez were ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing, the date of which has not yet been set, said District Attorney Kari Brandenburg of New Mexico’s Second Judicial Circuit.
Sandy and Perez are accused of killing James Boyd in March. The 38-year-old homeless man spent the night before his shooting in a shelter, but when the shelter closed for the winter, Boyd tried to camp in the hills above the city, officials said.
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Records show that 26 civilians have been shot, a dozen of them fatally, by city police since 2010. Before Monday, no officer had been charged in connection with any shootings.
The Justice Department in April 2014 found that “there is reason to believe” the city’s Police Department had a “pattern and practice” of excessive force. The city has since agreed to a memorandum of understanding allowing the Department of Justice to monitor the department.
