Will the Yacone slaying help focus people on reasonable efforts to restrict gun ownership by the troubled and violence-prone – and on using the tools we have?
My introduction to Bob Yacone came when, on Facebook, he viciously trashed a friend. Bob owned and ran a Deming pizza joint called “Forghedaboudit.”
The Yacones opened a “Forghedaboudit” here. Felons can’t obtain a liquor license. Bob had pled “No Contest” to child abuse (2014) and pulled a gun on someone over a parking space (2018). Thus (after getting married) the Yacones sought the license in his wife Kim’s name. At the August 2019 County Commission hearing, I unsuccessfully opposed the liquor license, even though under New Mexico law Bob might technically not be a felon. (His child abuse sentence was deferred and the road rage incident pled down to a misdemeanor,) Afterward, Kim advised me that going to their restaurant would not be healthy.
A violence-prone criminal who’d abused his family and repeatedly demonstrated why he shouldn’t have a gun, has now shot his wife dead. Does that suggest we must create better safeguards or educate people about using the ones we have? Or both? It should spark a collegial conversation by people of good will about what efforts could be made, consistent with law and with fairness to gun owners, to make such events less frequent. Can’t say we could have prevented this one; but even though DWI laws don’t prevent all drunken-driving, we try to decrease the totals.
The system should have taken Bob Yacone’s gun. Even if he’s not a felon, someone could have alerted the sheriff to the danger.
 |
| Mr. Yacone - photo from Sun-News |
Kim repeatedly filed (then withdrew) papers seeking a restraining order against Bob. Then she filed and didn’t chicken out. (When she died, a court hearing was imminent on Bob’s request for a restraining order requiring Kim to move out.) Family Court judges or commissioners granting restraining orders have a form on which a required question concerns gun ownership. They rarely ask.
Sheriff Kim Stewart is more than concerned. She repeatedly explained to one Domestic Violence Commissioner that asking the violent spouse whether s/he has guns (then taking them) is not optional. The commissioner vaguely said she’d do better. Stewart says spot checks show no record that the question is asked. The problem is statewide.
Stewart called the situation “tragic and frightening,” and added, “People say the cops don’t do anything; we do; but we’re part of a law-enforcement system.”
There’s a lot to say. But one old Sun-News article stopped me cold. It reported Nick Yacone’s triumph in a regional cross-country meet, as a Mayfield senior. In the photo of his young face, his eyes are closed with exhausted exultation over hard-earned victory. It’s a pure and beautiful moment. But those same eyes discovered his mother’s dead body, believing his father murdered her. Nick’s first two decades have been tough.
So above I hope we do better by Nick from now on, and even for Bob. We should imprison Bob, but recall that something in Bob’s life bent him too.
- 30 -
[The above column appeared Sunday, 25 September 2022, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website. A related radio commentary will air during the week on KRWG (90.7 FM) and on KTAL (101.5 FM / http://www.lccommunityradio.org/) and be available on both station’s websites.]
[I believe Mr. Yaccone was charged with both 1st degree homicide (murder) and being a felon in possession of a firearm. (The latter charge may not stand, under New Mexico law, because one of his felonies resulted in a deferred sentence and the other was pled down to a misdemeanor; but we’ll see. IF that’s the effect of deferring sentence, perhaps the law on that should be changed!) Reportedly he confessed the murder to his daughter, so the fact that he shot her may not be disputed; but whether or not whatever led up to the shooting justifies a lesser charge may be an issue at trial.]
[The important lesson, if there is one, is that it’d be worthwhile to educate citizens (and perhaps courts) regarding the tools we have for trying to minimize these kinds of occurrences. Notably, the red-flag law is not used as frequently as perhaps it should be. It’s new; and one expert suggested to me that some folks are confused because where the law lists parties who may initiate the complaint, and uses the phrase “including,” it does not specify “included but not limited to,” as lawyers always do in contracts and most other legal documents. That means that if Mrs. X complains that she’s scared stiff that her husband may shoot her, then resists filing a red-flag request because that might set Mr. X off, a law-enforcement agent can file the request. A lawyer would know that “the word ‘dogs’ includes German shepherds, collies, and Pomeranians” does NOT mean Poodles or Chihuahuas (or mongrels) are not considered dogs. That would require: “The word ‘dog’ means Shepherds, collies, and Pomeranians.” While lawyers usually insert “but not limited to,” after “includes,” to make it very clear, it’s not essential. But, unfortunately, some law enforcement personnel read the list after “including” to exclude folks not listed.
New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence has resources and information to help, including an expert who teaches law enforcement and citizens about use of New Mexico’s Red-Flag Law. Whatever your views on gun ownership or regulations, contact them (through the website or by calling (505) 984 – 3058, particularly if you are living in fear of someone with a gun, know someone who is, or work in a position where you’re helping people who may be in fear.
Secondly, I’m curious about the suggestion that courts and commissioners considering applications for restraining orders rarely ask the required question about gun-possession. One source suggests that it’s because the question is near the end, and may come after a long, acrimonious hearing, in which other issues such as child custody seem more urgent, and everyone is tired and on-edge. ]
[At any rate, it’s tragic. I wish the Yacone family the best.]
– 30 –
IMO, this issue requires thorough decisive analysis and multi-agency collaborative public policy change that will rapidly identify and remove guns/firearms from situations involving restraining orders. DASO was the lead agency responding to multiple domestic violence calls and the Sheriff simply failed to take appropriate action to prevent this tragedy.
ReplyDeleteWhy? All I heard from the Sheriff during her press conference was politics, finger-pointing, scapegoating and 'there-oughta-be-a-better-law' rather than 'We're going to work together with all agencies involved to protect the public, potential victims and the rights of alleged perpetrators from future gun violence WHATEVER IT TAKES!'.
New Mexico is lax in its treatment of property crime, but life and death gun violence coupled with possible mental health issues of Bob Yacone should have triggered a more aggressive response from DASO to remove weapons with the intent of curtailing this violent murder from happening.
It would be interesting to learn of Bob Yacone's entire criminal past; his move from the east coast raises questions about what other acts of criminal violence he may have committed prior to moving to New Mexico. Now he has shattered the lives of surviving family members as well as shocked this community left to ask questions about how this could happen here when DASO had multiple and repeated interactions with him and his now-murdered wife.