ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A new unit in the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office is dedicated to young offenders and guns, and there’s already dozens of new cases within its first month.

They say these cases deserve more attention because of the issue as a whole of violence involving young people, but also because of the offenders themselves. They hope to not only drive crime down, but also restore some feelings of safety in Bernalillo County. 

Casey McKim came home to New Mexico just in time to help tackle what she considers one of the most pressing issues in Bernalillo County – gun violence involving young adults.

“This is something that I have seen firsthand, the way that it affects the community as a whole. The way that people become afraid to go out in public, the way that people are afraid to go to bars to go to movie theaters. These are not things that should be life-threatening,” said Casey McKim, a Bernalillo County assistant district attorney. 

McKim is one of three attorneys in a new unit within the district attorney’s office. They’re focused on cases involving offenders between 18 and 25, charged with violent felonies involving guns.

“Gun violence is a major component of the crime that has real impacts on people in Albuquerque, and that makes it important to prosecute it,” said Gabriel Kallen, a Bernalillo County senior trial attorney. 

The unit is funded through the New Mexico Sentencing Commission. It’s already taken on 46 cases in its first month. A few from the end of 2023, but most cases are brand new.

“Considering our very tight specifications for these cases, that’s a number that should be concerning to the community that we’re picking up so many cases so quickly,” said McKim. 

One of the newest involves 18-year-old Zane Katzenberger. He’s accused of shooting and injuring two people in downtown Albuquerque over the weekend.

“We’re talking about an open gunfight on Saturday night in the middle of Central. No member of this community should feel like they can’t go out and have a good time on Saturday night, because they’re worried about being collateral damage in someone else’s reckless criminal conduct,” McKim said. 

McKim believes the unit is important because of the issue as a whole, and because of the offenders themselves.

“They are at such an important stage of their life, where they are either going to become lifelong offenders, or we’re going to cut their criminal career short now,” said McKim. 

She believes younger offenders need a certain amount of accountability and responsibility to avoid that cycle.

“It’s never the goal that you want to take an 18, 19-year-old kid and put them in a cycle of just going to prison over and over and over again for the rest of their life,” McKim said. 

Keeping them out of the cycle, and keeping the community safer. 

“These cases are not slipping through the cracks, they are not flying under the radar. You are, you know, these cases are being watched, and they are being prosecuted,” said McKim. 

This unit is funded for a year, but reps from the DA’s office says they will reapply if the unit is successful.