Testimony read in Astorga death hearing

SANTA FE (KRQE) - The sentencing hearing that will decide whether cop-killer Michael Astorga lives or dies began like a do-over of his criminal trial.

Astorga was convicted in 2010 for the 2006 murder of Bernalillo County sheriff's Deputy James McGrane Jr. during a traffic stop on a dark road near Tijeras.

Since then he's also been convicted of second-degree murder for killing his childhood friend Candido Martinez in 2005.

Investigators believe Astorga killed McGrane because he had a warrant out for his arrest for Martinez's murder.

In court Friday, Deputy District Attorney Troy Davis told the jury there's enough evidence to give Astorga a death sentence.

"When the state's finished and the defense is finished, you'll know beyond a reasonable doubt that James McGrane was killed on duty by this person," assistant district attorney troy Davis told the jury.

Gary Mitchell, Astorga's attorney, raised new questions about whether Astorga was guilty in the first place

"He was never there," Mitchell said. "He didn't intentionally kill deputy McGrane, never had anything to do with it, nor was his pickup.

"If his license plate was there, it was taken by somebody else."

A lot of the trial testimony is being reenacted from transcripts with attorneys playing each other and witnesses.

The death penalty was abolished in New Mexico in 2009. Astorga, however, is eligible because the crime happened before the repeal.

The hearing is scheduled to last for two weeks but is likely to take longer than that.

It was moved from Albuquerque to Santa Fe over concerns Astorga couldn't get a fair sentence because of all the media coverage.

The 12 members of the jury--11 men and one woman--must agree unanimously if Astorga is to be sentenced to death. Otherwise a life sentence is imposed automatically.