Court dates set for passenger in Carlos Fierro's car

Alfred Lovato was back in court Friday.

The former state cop was a passenger in the car driven by attorney Carlos Fierro, who has been convicted of vehicular homicide for being drunk and driving his car into William Tenorio in downtown Santa Fe in 2008.

The New Mexico Court of Appeals in March overturned a decision to dismiss criminal charges against Lovato â€" a decision made by State District Judge Michael Vigil. The Court of Appeals ruling essentially established that Lovato, despite not being the driver, can face criminal charges.

Lovato now could face trial in November.

"My client was simply a passenger in a vehicle where there was a terrible accident," attorney Sam Bregman said in May after the state Supreme Court refused to hear the Lovato appeal. "My client did not commit vehicular homicide."

Friday, alongside the usually outspoken Bregman, Lovato donned a dark suit and stood in silence as Vigil and attorneys set upcoming court dates. Bregman said he still needs more evidence disclosed from the state and will have to interview all the witnesses from the case before going to trial.

Donna Bevacqua-Young, who is prosecuting the case for the state, has said Lovato's "accessory liability" in the death of Tenorio warrants criminal charges.

Fierro was convicted of vehicular homicide in 2009 and is incarcerated in the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Los Lunas.

Police said Fierro, after a night of drinking in Santa Fe bars with Lovato, had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit when his car hit Tenorio, 46, of San Felipe Pueblo as Tenorio crossed Guadalupe Street in front of the now-defunct WilLee's Blues Club on Nov. 26, 2008.

Contact Geoff Grammer at 986-3076 or ggrammer@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at santafecrime.com.

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