ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Department of Justice announced Tuesday that they will appeal the pretrial release of a man charged in a graduation shooting.

Police say 21-year-old Cristian Bencomo shot his stepmom, Victoria, in the neck at the Albuquerque Convention Center during a charter school graduation ceremony.

Judge Emeterio Rudolfo ordered his release two weeks ago, calling it a random act of violence and saying prosecutors didn’t do enough to prove that no conditions of release could protect the public from Bencomo, who he noted didn’t have a criminal history.

Prosecutors asked the judge to reconsider that ruling Wednesday. They cited video of the shooting, along with a letter from victims and the charges as reasons to hold Bencomo in jail. They also asked the judge to consider how crowded the auditorium appeared to be in the video.

The defense said he lived with his grandma since he was three and would be there once he was released. The grandma also added she would have no firearms, drugs or alcohol around.

The judge reaffirmed his decision, releasing Bencomo on a GPS monitor and on house arrest. He also ordered him to stay away from the victim, her home and her workplace.

Now, the NMDOJ is appealing that.

“Cristian Bencomo’s release is just the latest example of a revolving door that places our entire community at risk,” Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement issued Tuesday. “If judges won’t detain someone who was captured on video shooting a woman during a graduation ceremony at the convention center, then who will they detain? The community is fed up. And it’s long past time for the legislature to step up and address this issue.”  

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