State v. Almanzar

OPINION

VIGIL, Justice.

{1} In this case we address whether the phrase “at the scene” in NMSA 1978, Section 31-1-7(A) (1995) authorizes law enforcement officers to make a warrantless arrest for domestic violence beyond the precise geographic location where the disturbance occurred. In this case, Daniel Almanzar (“Defendant”) was arrested without a warrant across the street from where he allegedly battered his girlfriend (“Victim”). When the police searched Defendant pursuant to his arrest, they found a golf-ball-sized mass of cocaine in his pants pocket. He was subsequently charged with a drug…