The five-day jury trial of former New Mexico State University men’s basketball player Deshawndre Washington is set to begin on Oct. 20 after a flurry of last-minute court filings seeking to delay the trial were either denied or remain pending.
As of the end of business on Oct. 17, the New Mexico Supreme Court had yet to issue an order regarding an emergency petition for writ of superintending control and a request for stay filed on Oct. 14.
Additionally, on the eve of trial, the latest continuance motion from Washington’s attorney, Michael Cain, was again denied by 3rd Judicial District Court Judge Conrad Perea, who has presided over the case.
Washington faces multiple felony sexual assault charges for allegedly assaulting former teammates and student managers during the 2022-2023 basketball season.
On Oct. 14, Albuquerque-based attorney Scott Davidson filed an emergency petition for writ of superintending control and a request for stay with the New Mexico Supreme Court on Washington’s behalf. Perea is named as the respondent.
The writ argues that Cain has attempted to withdraw from the case five times and that Washington has indicated Cain is not his counsel of choice. It also cites an undisclosed “insurmountable ethical conflict.”
“(Perea’s) course of action will likely lead to structural error; a conviction is destined to be reversed on appeal due to the violation of Mr. Washington’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel of choice,” the writ reads.
“On a practical level, this calamity can be avoided by staying the trial and allowing Mr. Cain to withdraw, so Mr. Washington’s chosen counsel can effectively represent him.”
DeShawndre Washington leaves the courtroom after his arraignment hearing at the 3rd District Court on Wednesday, May 22, 2023.
Additionally, Washington waived his right to a speedy trial in an Oct. 13 filing, stating Cain “has notified me that he cannot properly proceed to trial due to the fact that I wish to retain new counsel and Mr. Cain cannot be prepared for trial.”
Cain entered into the case as local counsel in June 2024. He filed the first of five motions to withdraw on Oct. 15, 2024.
While the state Supreme Court considered the writ filed Oct. 14, Cain again filed an emergency motion for a brief continuance, which Perea denied the same day. Cain asked for a 15-day continuance to allow the Supreme Court to render a ruling, again citing an undisclosed “insurmountable conflict,” and said he will announce “not ready” at the outset of trial.
“This will avoid un-necessarily calling in almost 100 people for a jury panel that may well end up being sent home without hearing the matter,” Cain wrote in his motion.
After two years and three delays, trial is set to begin
The New Mexico Department of Justice charged Washington, along with former teammates Doctor Bradley and Kim Aiken, in November 2023. Bradley and Aiken accepted plea agreements in 2024 and are both on the state’s witness list.
Washington was charged with five counts of false imprisonment, five counts of criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree (aided or abetted by another), one count of conspiracy to commit criminal sexual contact (aided by another), and one count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. In January, two additional false imprisonment charges were added to an amended indictment.
The alleged crimes took place between August and November 2022, according to court records.
Perea originally scheduled the trial to begin in October 2024. The trial has since been rescheduled three times, most recently when the New Mexico Supreme Court granted a stay, also filed by Davidson, on the eve of an April 14 trial date.
The state Supreme Court ultimately denied the writ in June 2025, allowing the case to proceed in Perea’s court. However, during a September hearing, prosecutor John Duran revealed Washington turned down a plea deal over the summer that would have included pleading to four counts of criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree and one count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. Had Washington accepted the plea, he would have faced a prison sentence between zero and nine years.
Washington faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Washington’s charged offenses allegedly took place during a tumultuous 2022-23 season that was ultimately canceled shortly after former NMSU player Deuce Benjamin reported the alleged assaults to New Mexico State University police in February 2023.
The criminal case and subsequent civil lawsuits that followed prompted a lengthy investigation into NMSU policies regarding hazing and sexual assault that the NMDOJ released in a 68-page report in December 2024.
The listed witnesses expected to testify include Benjamin and other alleged victims, former head coach Greg Heiar, former players and Washington.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Deshawndre Washington trial set to begin as NM Supreme Court weighs stay
