Charges dropped in attempted murder case after victim recants

Sep. 23—A Santa Fe man who was accused in a June shooting is set to be released from jail after the victim testified in court Monday he had wrongly accused the suspect.

Brian Lemus-Baez, 29, had faced charges of attempted murder and kidnapping in the June 27 incident in a car dealership parking lot on Cerrillos Road that left Daniel Medrano with a gunshot wound to the back.

Medrano told the court under oath Monday he did not know who shot him, but he was “sure” it was not Lemus-Baez. He had named Lemus-Baez, a man he called “Porky,” as the shooter at Santa Fe police.

“When I talked to investigators, I had just got shot and didn’t really feel good,” Medrano testified. “Honestly, sir, I was, I was trying to blame someone. I was trying to blame someone in honesty.”

State District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she would sign an order to release Lemus-Baez from custody.

Police allege in charging documents surveillance video showed the shooter chasing Medrano briefly before pulling what appeared to be a gun from his waistband and firing at him.

Medrano’s reversal came during a court hearing scheduled to decide whether Lemus-Baez would be held in jail pending his trial on the charges.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.