Revised: Baby Rabbit, Sheriff's Dept. and Discombobulation

Baby Rabbit, Sheriff's Department and Discombobulations
By Mike Bibb

Good grief, has the entire law enforcement system in Silver City, New Mexico gone haywire?

Silver City police forces are experiencing personnel difficulties within their ranks; Grant County Sheriff's Department is having similar problems; and the Magistrate Court is acting in a peculiar manner.

Down the road in Las Cruces, another Magistrate Judge and his wife were arrested a couple of months ago at their home by federal authorities for cavorting with Venezuelan gang members.

What the heck is going on in Southern New Mexico? Is everyone eating too much Hatch chili — or not enough?

Whatever it is, it's obvious the wheels of various police agencies and local courts have become a little wobbly.

I previously opined in The Beat some of the unusual behaviors of these various agencies in New Mexico. — "Deputy sheriff kills baby rabbit," May 2, 2025.

Now, comes word things haven't seemed to improve much — if at all.

According to the Grant County Beat online newspaper article "Defender of rabbit fired by Sheriff [Raul] Villanueva," Aug. 17, 2025, the Sheriff also terminated the deputy who tried to save the baby rabbit because he "failed to act" — even when a fellow officer was pointing his taser at him and demanded he hand over the little creature.

That officer then hurled the tiny animal against his patrol vehicle with sufficient force to fatally injure it.

Two questions immediately come to mind: What was the officer who was trying to save the little rabbit supposed to do when confronted by another officer pointing his weapon at him and ordering he surrender the rabbit? And, what is the mental stability of the officer who pulled his weapon and then killed the animal?

Presently, we've learned the Magistrate Judge, Matt Runnels, who decided the case, is the former chair of the Democratic Party of Grant County. Apparently, Sheriff Villanueva is also a Democrat.

Reportedly, when asked in a pre-election candidate questionnaire if he had any training or experience in law, Runnels replied "I have life experience and am not tainted by any pre-disposed prejudices from any specific background."

Which I would take to mean he hasn't had any training or experience in law.

The fact both the Sheriff and Magistrate are Democrats isn't really unusual. New Mexico is predominantly a Blue Democrat state. Has been for decades. A sheriff and judge being members of the same political party isn't cause for suspicion. Not an ideal situation, but not illegal.

However, the judge also declared the accused deputy in the case would have "all charges were dismissed except for animal cruelty. That surprised people." — The Beat, Aug. 17, 2025.

I imagine it did surprise people. Guess the judge couldn't dismiss the fact there was actually a dead baby rabbit involved whose violent demise was witnessed by several other deputies.

Word of this convoluted mess stretched clear across the country to New York City where the incident was detailed by the New York Post on July 19, 2025. In all probability, other news medias have also reported the bizarre account.

It would seem further investigation into the matter should be conducted by an impartial government agency. Just the ingredients of the case — a sheriff, several deputies, unholstered duty weapons, a dead rabbit, threats and distrust between officers, delays in the Sheriff's Department publicly announcing the problems and a newspaper's struggle with obtaining the facts should be sufficient cause to raise interest.

I mean, something looks to be out-of-sync. I don't believe this is the normal way of doing things within a department that is obligated to enforcing the law — even among its own employees.

Unfortunately, this probably isn't the end of the story. As more reports gradually dribble out there's a very good chance we'll no longer be surprised at what we hear. After all, if a dead baby rabbit is at the center of this saga, and resulting actions of a sheriff's office seems to have been restrained in reporting and correcting the situation, then what follows next may only be excuses and presumed justifications.

I'd bet the current sheriff's involvement in this matter will be the focus of public interest in the next sheriff  election. The present sheriff served two prior terms, then sat out one election cycle, and was reelected to a third term in 2023.