[NM] Ex-Officer Largo found GUILTY of killing girlfriend, Corrections Officer Freda Mae Smith & tampering with evidence

Former Navajo Police Officer Harrison Largo, 46, is going to prison until he's at least 76. Seven men and five women finished hearing testimony Friday - and less than two hours later decided Largo's fate. They took away his liberty for at least 31 1/2 years when they found him guilty of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence...

New Mexico News Brief
koat.com
July 13, 2009
GALLUP, N.M. - A former Navajo police officer has been convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend. A state court jury deliberated two hours Friday evening before convicting Harrison Largo of the murder charge and a charge of tampering with evidence in the death of Frieda Smith. [LINK]

Previous Post:
[NM] Officer Largo beat his 1st wife, now has killed Freda - mother of 7 - ...Frieda Smith, of Thoreau, died Tuesday afternoon from gunshot wounds... According to local law enforcement, [Harrison] Largo has a history of domestic altercations that date back to at least 2002. According to court records, Largo was arrested on Dec. 15, 2002, on kidnapping and aggravated assault charges. The charges were filed after he was accused of the kidnapping of his then wife and teenage daughter at gunpoint and taking them to a remote area near the Zuni Mountains. The woman was then beaten until she and the teenager found a way to escape... Largo remained a cop for two years more after his documented domestic violence kidnap and aggravated assault...

Tearful testimony
Witness tells of seeing shooting by former Navajo Police officer
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
July 9, 2009
GALLUP - Jurors heard from an eyewitness Wednesday to the killing of Frieda Toledo Smith, during day two of former Navajo Police Officer Harrison Largo's trial for first-degree murder. Senior Trial Prosecutor Kerry Comiskey told the jury during opening statements that Stevick Jim, 23, watched an execution-style killing just before 8 a.m. on May 20, 2008, - a day, Jim said Wednesday, that he has been trying to forget ever since. Jim lived with his mother and siblings in the trailer adjacent to Smith's trailer the day Smith died. He testified that he woke up about 7 a.m., and then fixed breakfast for his siblings before settling in at the computer to browse Myspace. The computer was against a window facing Smith's trailer. Capital Crimes Division Public Defender Steve McIlwain showed the jury photos during cross-examination of Jim's vantage point from the window. The photos, McIlwain argued, prove that Jim could not have seen what he says he did - at least not with the clarity and detail that are the substance of Jim's eyewitness testimony. [LINK]

Ex-cop a killer Jury finds Harrison Largo guilty of first-degree murder
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
July 11-12, 2009
GALLUP - Former Navajo Police Officer Harrison Largo, 46, is going to prison until he's at least 76. Seven men and five women finished hearing testimony Friday - and less than two hours later decided Largo's fate. They took away his liberty for at least 31 1/2 years when they found him guilty of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Largo's attorney, Capital Crimes Public Defender Steve McIlwain, admitted during opening statements that Largo did in fact shoot and kill his ex-girlfriend, Frieda Smith, on May 20, 2008. The jury's decision to convict Largo on either first- or second-degree murder, or involuntary manslaughter, boiled down to whether the jury believed McIlwain's argument that Largo was too drunk, too lacking in wits that morning to intentionally shoot and kill Smith in cold blood. The difference in sentencing for each crime is substantial. First-degree murder carries a mandatory 30-year sentence, while second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 18 years. The lesser penalty is not a mandatory sentence and allows for some leniency from the judge, as well as the accumulation of "good time." Tampering with evidence is a third-degree felony, for which the penalty is three years in prison. [LINK]

OLDER:

'Harrison shot me'
Former NPD officer faces murder charge
Gallup Independent
By Philip Stake
August 19, 2008
...[Excerpts] ...Monday wasn't the first time Largo sat at the defense table. On Dec. 16, 2002, he was accused of savagely beating his girlfriend and her daughter... Now, the victim Freda Toledo Smith, is dead. She was shot four times with a .22-caliber rifle near her home inside Thoreau Trailer Park on May 20. When Deputy Ed Marble of the McKinley County Sheriff's office responded that day, she was still conscious and complaining of pain in her abdomen. She said "Harrison shot me"... [District Attorney Karl] Gillson, who is prosecuting Largo along with Assistant District Attorney Kerry Kamiski, said the case probably will not go to trial until mid-2009 because of its "sophistication"... [Full article here]


Hi my name is Leah I am Freda's oldest daughter and I would like to thanks those of you who have posted comments and encouraged us. We're still grieving and we are missing our mother very dearly. We well keep smiling and staying strong, our mother would have wanted us too....

Freda was a dear friend we all loved her. She was a great friend and a hard worker. Visiting Officer Freda Smith you will be missed. I enjoyed the time we served together in corrections. Kids keep your head up and keep smiling like your mom would want you to. Were all here for you if you need anything. Love you guys...
[police officer involved domestic violence law enforcement fatality fatalities murder new mexico repeat history prison]