El Rito man pleads to DWI charge brought by Forest Service officer

David J. Martinez, 36, of El Rito, pleaded guilty today in federal court to an aggravated driving under the influence misdemeanor charge, and was sentenced immediately thereafter. He was arrested by an officer of the U.S. Forest Service, which as been under fire for recent criminal charges filed in Rio Arriba County and from a raid at Taos Ski Valley. A Forest Service official on Monday said federal agents are empowered to enforce state laws on Forest Service territory. Martinez was arrested on Sept. 27 and charged in a criminal complaint with aggravated driving under the influence and several misdemeanors and infractions for failing to comply with the New Mexico motor vehicle code and the U.S. Forest Service’s timber harvesting regulations. The complaint alleges that Martinez was concealing a 30-pack of beer that was missing 16 cans under a coat on the front passenger seat of his truck. After Martinez failed standard field sobriety tests, the officer administered a preliminary breath test on Martinez, which registered a breath alcohol content of .166 percent – about twice the legal driving limit...more

The part about being "empowered" to enforce state law caught my attention.  Toward the end of the Albq. Journal article was this:

 Also, some Rio Arriba County residents have complained about arrests on state charges that they say Forest Service agents have no right to make without being deputized by a local sheriff. Special Agent in Charge Robin L. Poague, of the Southwestern Region of the U.S. Forest Service, said in Monday’s news release: “Federal regulations authorize Forest Service officials to enter orders permitting Forest Service officers to issue federal violation notices for violations of the state motor vehicle code on National Forest System lands and roads. “This ensures consistent enforcement of the motor vehicle code throughout the state and across agencies. The current order authorizing Forest Service officers to issue federal violation notices in the Carson National Forest has been in place since May 2012. The prosecution of Martinez on this DUI charge was initiated pursuant to this authority.”

 My understanding of state law is the same as the residents.  Some feds are cross-commissioned by state statute, such as the FBI and U.S. Marshalls, and the rest had to go through the Sheriff.  I haven't looked at the law in years, but it kind of makes you wonder if the Forest Service is violating state law to be able to enforce state law.  The sentence was handed down by a Federal judge in a federal court.  Was he found guilty of violating the federal regulation or the state statute?  If it is the state statute, why wasn't this done in state court?