Appeals Court upholds Justin Hansen's conviction
Mar. 18—ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Court of Appeals upheld a conviction in the high-profile case of a man accused of beating a high school student with a shovel — almost killing her — in 2008.
In 2018, Justin Hansen, now 36, pleaded no contest to attempted murder and aggravated burglary. He was sentenced to 18 years.
Brittani Marcell, a 17-year-old Cibola High School student in 2008, was left blind in one eye and deaf in one ear and was in a coma after the attack. It wasn't until years later that Marcell began to remember Hansen's name. Detectives collected a discarded McDonald's cup with his DNA on it and it matched blood found at the house.
Following his plea, Hansen appealed the case, saying his convictions are barred by the statute of limitations and, if his conviction stands, he should receive credit for the time he spent on house arrest.
The basis of the argument is that Hansen wasn't arrested until 2017 — after the statute of limitations had run out. However, two years after Marcell was attacked the state filed a "John Doe" indictment charging whomever left the blood sample at her house.
The courts have not yet ruled on whether a "John Doe" indictment qualifies as an indictment, but the Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Hansen's conviction is upheld "because he waived his statute of limitations defense by entering a no contest plea."
However, it did decide to give him credit for the time he served on house arrest — 371 days on pre-trial services plus 14 days in jail. The court said it found Hansen's freedom of movement was restricted by pretrial services, therefore the house arrest is confinement.
