State Supreme Court vacates some convictions in triple homicide, citing double jeopardy

The New Mexico Supreme Court announced Monday it has upheld the first-degree murder convictions of a Northern New Mexico man for the 2018 slayings of three people in a home near Dixon — but vacated three of his brother’s convictions in the deaths.

Justices determined the six convictions for Roger Gage — three counts each of first-degree willful and deliberate murder and three counts of felony murder — violated constitutional protections against double jeopardy. They vacated the counts of felony murder.

“While only one capital sentence was imposed for each murder, under the judgment and sentence, Defendant stands convicted of six first-degree murder convictions for three killings,” Justice Michael E. Vigil wrote in the court’s opinion.