The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office has decided not to seek the death penalty against two men charged in connection with the execution of an alleged cocaine dealer last summer.

District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco filed a motion Thursday withdrawing the office's intention to seek the death penalty against John La Bombard, 36, and Justin "Gumby" Romero, 26. The request to take the death penalty off the table was made by the family of Frank Segura, 39, who was shot to death in July in an area of the Santa Fe National Forest between Tesuque and Hyde Park, according to the motion.

Pacheco said Monday that the family's request was made before Gov. Bill Richardson signed a law repealing the death penalty in March, and that the motion had nothing to do with the repeal. Segura's family also requested not to be contacted by the media, Pacheco said. She declined to comment further.

Jeff Buckels, head of the state public defenders capital-crimes unit and La Bombard's lawyer, praised the decision Monday.

"Obviously we're pleased with it," he said. "It's simply a decision that makes sense."

The death penalty repeal doesn't go into effect until July 1, so defendants whose cases meet the previous statute's requirements, as well as those charged before the repeal, are still eligible for the death sentence.

"Except I don't think seeking the death penalty in any cases makes sense now in a state in which it has been repealed," Buckels said.

The chain of events that led to Segura's death began July 16, when Segura's ex-girlfriend called La Bombard and Romero to help her force a violent Segura to leave her home, according to police reports. The two men successfully persuaded Segura to leave, but he returned to her home, prompting La Bombard and Romero to return as well.

During the second altercation, La Bombard and Romero brutally beat Segura, then loaded him into La Bombard's truck and drove him to the forest. La Bombard later confessed to forcing Segura to lie on the ground and shooting him twice in the head with a shotgun. In statements to police, La Bombard and Romero have said La Bombard thought Segura was "going to be a rat or was a rat," a former prosecutor in the case has said.

La Bombard and Romero are each charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery, two counts of conspiracy and four counts of tampering with evidence.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.