Dustin J. Bingham appeared Tuesday for a detention hearing in First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com

Staff Report

A Los Alamos man charged with eight counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor will remain in jail at least until Friday, May 12, when more evidence will be heard in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. Dustin Bingham was arrested May 3 and arraigned May 4 in Los Alamos Magistrate Court.

The motion filed by Deputy District Attorney Michael A. Nunez states that Bingham poses a danger to himself if released as he has threatened to kill himself if arrested. It said Bingham has also made statements that implicate those family members who reported him and a detective handling the case.

Nunez said Bingham has access to guns and has training using guns as a former law enforcement officer. He is a former detention officer for Los Alamos Police Department and a former Santa Fe Sheriff’s deputy. The motion said Bingham is “unstable, angry and vengeful” and that “no reasonable conditions would protect those in direct danger or the community”.

The motion indicated that there is evidence and an incident being investigated and that “these are not minor incidents” and that Bingham has allegedly “pursued minors recently”.

If Bingham was found guilty of all eight charges, he could face a minimum of six years and a maximum of 48 years in prison, up to $70,000 in fines and five to 20 years of probation. If he is convicted of even one of the crimes, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life. Counts 1 and 2 against Bingham are second degree felonies, Counts 3 and 4 are third degree felonies and Counts 5 through 8 are fourth degree felonies.

Judge Ellington continued the hearing until Friday so that the court could hear testimony from Cpl. Tim Lonz. Lonz was involved in the investigation of Bingham and participated in his arrest. Los Alamos Police Det. Sgt. James Rodriguez and Det. Ryan Wolking were both in court Tuesday.