Saturday, October 11, 2008

Accused arsonist heading to court

Former Eagles Club gaming manager Pyke facing 19 charges, including embezzlement

Gerald Garner Jr. El Defensor Chieftain Editor, ggarner@dchieftain.com

The man accused of embezzling more than $100,000 from the Eagles Club, and then setting fire to the building to cover his tracks, is finally headed to court.

Martin Glen Pyke, 42, makes his first appearance in Magistrate Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21. The civic club's former gaming manager stands accused of 19 felony counts ranging from embezzlement to arson — all of which either contributed to or arose from the ashes of a March 1, 2006, fire, prosecutors contend.

All told, Pyke faces two second-degree felony embezzlement charges; six third-degree felony charges; one second-degree arson/negligent arson charge; two third-degree felony tampering with evidence charges and eight fourth-degree felony reporting and record violations relating to gaming devices.

If convicted on all counts, the defendant could face 63 years behind bars and up to $110,000 in fines.

Pyke could not be located for comment.

Pyke accused of bilking

club's gaming funds

According to the Oct. 6, 2008, criminal complaint, Pyke embezzled an estimated $141,000 in funds generated from the on-site gaming machines — owned by the N.M. Gaming Commission — between June 2005 and Feb. 28, 2006.

It also reveals that on March 3, 2006, Pyke intentionally started the fire to destroy the building and financial reports in an attempt to prevent prosecution on the embezzlement charges.

The reporting and record violation charges stem came into play after it was determined that Pyke failed — over a 9-month period of time — to file monthly financial statements to the State Gaming Commission as mandated by state statute.

A long time coming

Despite early legwork by multiple agencies, the case became stagnant and, almost a year after the suspicious fire, 7th Judicial District Attorney Clint Wellborn opted to put his investigator — Levi Lovato — on the case.

"District Attorney Wellborn informed me that several law enforcement agencies had participated in the investigation, but up to that point, very little detailed information had been forwarded to the District Attorney's Office and the information received was insufficient to file charges and prosecute those suspected of violating the law," Lovato wrote in his probable cause statement.

Lovato then reviewed reports from the Socorro Police Department, including detective reports and security alarm reports; firefighter reports; state fire marshal investigator's reports; insurance investigator reports; State Gaming Commission reports and financial documentation, among other things as part of his investigation.

That, Wellborn said, is the reason it took another 18 months to build the case against Pyke.

"Because of my investigator's extensive experience with embezzlement cases, I decided to put him on the case in 2007," the district attorney said. "These are very documentation-intense, time consuming investigations."

Despite taking 2-1/2 years from the original incident, Wellborn said he's glad that charges have finally been filed.

"We're happy that we got the investigation completed and filed," he said. "Levi put a lot of time into this."

Pyke is expected to go before Magistrate Jim Naranjo in less than two weeks time. At the first appearance, the judge will determine whether or not probable cause exists. If so, the case will be bound over to District Court where an arraignment will be held.

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