Ex-deputy who used stun gun on Espanola teen gets 30 days

ESPANOLA, N.M. (AP) — A former New Mexico sheriff’s deputy who used a stun gun on a teen with special needs will go to prison for 30 days.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Jeremy Barnes was sentenced Thursday for one count of false imprisonment. Once he is released, he will serve 17 months of supervised probation.

The sentencing was part of a plea deal with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, which included the condition that Barnes never work in law enforcement again. He will also give up any law enforcement certifications.

The former Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy was initially also charged with child abuse, aggravated battery and violation of ethical principles of public service.

In May 2019, a widely circulated video showed Barnes using a stun gun on a 15-year-old boy several times at Espanola Valley High School. He was later fired.

Then Attorney General Hector Balderas, whose office brought the charges, said there was no excuse for Barnes to deploy the stun gun.

The teen later settled a lawsuit with Rio Arriba County and the Espanola school district for $1.3 million.