Man gets nine years in prison for 2020 shooting at Farmington gas station

• James Salgado, 35, was sentenced to serve nine years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections during a Dec. 21 hearing in Aztec District Court.
• He pleaded guilty on July 19 to a second-degree felony count of shooting at or from a motor vehicle (great bodily harm) and a third-degree felony count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to court documents.
• San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien told The Daily Times the DA's office sought the full 12-year prison sentence but believe the sentence is appropriate.

FARMINGTON — An Albuquerque man will serve nine years in a state prison for shooting a man three times at a Farmington gas station in 2020, leaving the victim unable to work and in considerable pain.

James Salgado, 35, was sentenced to serve nine years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections during a Dec. 21 hearing in Aztec District Court.

He pleaded guilty on July 19 to a second-degree felony count of shooting at or from a motor vehicle (great bodily harm) and a third-degree felony count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to court documents.

District Court Judge Daylene Marsh issued a nine-year prison sentence for the shooting at or from a motor vehicle conviction and a three-year sentence for the aggravated battery conviction.

She ran the sentences concurrently, so he will serve prison time on both sentences at the same time.

Jack Fortner, Salgado’s attorney, told The Daily Times it was a difficult case for everyone involved.

He stated his client was very remorseful and was off his “medication” at the time of the incident, after losing his health care provider due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien told The Daily Times the DA's office sought the full 12-year prison sentence but believes the sentence is appropriate. 

O'Brien added the victim has a permanent injury from the shooting that left him in considerable pain and unable to work.

Salgado was convicted of shooting a man three times around 9 p.m. on Aug. 24, 2020, at the Speedway gas station at 531 E. Broadway Ave. in Farmington, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

The victim was shot twice in the chest and once in his “lower extremities.”

Farmington police were unable to speak to the victim after the incident as he had a tube inserted to help him breathe while hospitalized.

One witness saw Salgado shoot the man. The incident was not captured by the gas station security camera system.

Salgado told the officers he messed up and was sorry and that he kept a firearm in the center console of his vehicle.

He will get credit for the time he served at the San Juan County Adult Detention Center, where he has been held since Aug. 25, 2020, according to jail records.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.

Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e