New Mexico mayor to stand trial in case stemming from fistfight with newspaper publisher

New Mexico mayor to stand trial in fistfight case

GALLUP, N.M. — A jury trial is scheduled for a New Mexico mayor accused of misdemeanor assault and battery in a case that stems from a fistfight between the mayor and the publisher of the city’s newspaper.

Gallup Mayor Harry Mendoza’s trial on Tuesday had been scheduled for June, but was delayed when three western New Mexico magistrates recused themselves.

Mendoza and Gallup Independent publisher Bob Zollinger both claim the other man started the Jan. 6 fight outside a Gallup bank.

The dispute between the men centers on newspaper articles linking Mendoza to the gang rape of a teenage girl in 1948 when Mendoza was 16 years old. The mayor denies the allegations and has filed a defamation lawsuit against Zollinger, who maintains his innocence.