Sixth Judicial District Attorney Employees Receive State-wide Excellence Awards

Category: Community News Community News
Published: 10 May 2022 10 May 2022

Sixth Judicial District Attorney Michael R. Renteria announced today that the New Mexico Association of District Attorneys selected three of his employees for statewide honors for their work in the Sixth Judicial District.

Deputy District Attorney Anne Swank was named New Mexico's Junior Prosecutor of the Year. The award, given to prosecutors with less than five years experience, recognized Swank for her work with victims of violent crimes and her prosecution skills. "Anne has the skills of a seasoned prosecutor although she is relatively new to the profession. She genuinely cares about victims of crime and her work shows it," said Renteria. "Her ability to analyze a legal case is top-notch." Swank is an attorney in Renteria's Grant County office and primarily handles cases involving violence and child sexual abuse.

Arthur Van Haselen III was named as the statewide Community Service Prosecutor of the Year. Van Haselen, who works in the District Attorney's Deming office, handles a variety of cases, including homicides, child sexual abuse cases and juvenile cases. He has been instrumental in creating a juvenile diversion program in Luna County to help them gain skills and support them in becoming responsible adults. Van Haselen was recognized for seeking resources for migrant families who have found themselves, through no fault of their own, victims of crime. Recently, he learned of a pilot project where immigrant and mixed-immigration status families could qualify to receive a guaranteed basic income of $500.00 per month for the next 12 months through funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and a non-profit named Up Together. Van Haselen applied to the program on behalf of a Luna County family in need, and they were awarded the funds. "Mr. Van Haselen is an outstanding prosecutor and is not only an essential member of the Sixth Judicial District Attorney's Office, but an invaluable asset to the communities he serves," said Renteria.

The District Attorneys named Jacob Villegas as the New Mexico Investigator of the Year. Despite his young age, Jacob brings an abundance of successful life experiences to his career as a District Attorney's Office Investigator. He has been a plumber, a diesel mechanic, a heavy equipment mechanic and served in the United States Army in Iraq and in the Army Reserve and Navy Reserve in California and Alaska. He found his true calling in law enforcement and served as a police officer in Deming and a Sheriff's Deputy in Grant County before being recruited as an investigator for the Sixth Judicial Attorney's Office. Renteria said "the combination of his background, work ethic, integrity, compassion, empathy and good humor makes Jacob a powerfully effective person. Jacob is a leader, who inspires those around him, but in an unassuming manner. He has a passion for justice for victims and the community in general, always being mindful of protecting defendant's constitutional rights." Villegas lives in the Arenas Valley and works in Renteria's Silver City, Lordsburg and Deming offices.

The state-wide awards were announced at the New Mexico Association of District Attorneys spring conference held in Albuquerque May 9-11, 2022. In addition to the state-wide awards, Deputy District Attorney Justin Garwood was named District Prosecutor of the Year and Anjuli Vega was honored as the District's Support Staff Employee of the Year. Garwood and Vega work primarily in the District Attorney's Office in Silver City. The Sixth Judicial District is comprised of Grant, Hidalgo and Luna Counties.

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