Hearing for man facing rape and murder charges postponed again as he remains hospitalized

A Rio Arriba County magistrate on Monday again postponed the first court appearance for a Hernández man accused of killing a neighbor in October while awaiting trial on nearly two dozen counts in a rape case.

An attorney for 22-year-old Kevin Martinez — who eluded Rio Arriba County sheriff’s deputies for about three months before his arrest last week at a home in Española — told the court he was still being treated at a local hospital.

Martinez was injured by tear gas and bitten by a police dog during a three-hour standoff Wednesday at a home on El Llano Road, Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Maj. Lorenzo Aguilar said.