Kenneth Skeens Case: Target Arrest, Hung Juries, Dropped Charges

The Kenneth Skeens case ended in April 2025 when the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office dropped all remaining charges against the former Albuquerque Police Department officer, after two consecutive juries failed to reach a verdict on allegations that he falsely imprisoned a disabled man during an arrest inside a Target store.¹

The Arrest at Target

In August 2022, Skeens and two other officers were inside a Target at Coors and Irving boulevards in Albuquerque on an unrelated call when Skeens approached Matthew McManus, a 53-year-old man with disabilities. McManus was at a self-checkout register trying to buy a bicycle and was paying in cash, taking time to count out his money.¹

Body camera footage later played at trial captured Skeens telling McManus to gather his money and leave, saying, “You’re coming with us now.” When McManus explained that it had taken him a while to get his cash together, Skeens replied, “Gotcha. You took too long.” Before making contact with McManus, Skeens was recorded saying he wanted the man’s ID and adding, “We like taking bad people to jail, and I’m going to bet this fellow has got a warrant or two.”² Officers told McManus he was under arrest for refusing to identify himself, and video showed him being dragged out of the store from the self-checkout area.³

The Charges

APD alerted the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and removed Skeens from the department. On July 13, 2023, Attorney General Raúl Torrez and APD Chief Harold Medina announced criminal charges against Skeens: false imprisonment, perjury, making a false report, and battery. Torrez said Skeens had “engaged in abusive and unlawful behavior that undermined public safety and violated his oath as a peace officer.”⁴

Skeens pleaded not guilty in August 2023 and faced up to four years in prison if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors later dismissed the battery charge before the second trial, leaving false imprisonment, perjury, and making a false report.⁵

Two Hung Juries

The first trial took place in April 2024 before Judge Britt M. Baca-Miller. Prosecutors argued Skeens had no lawful authority to pull McManus out of the store and that his reports contained false claims about the encounter. The defense argued Skeens believed he had the store’s permission to remove McManus, pointing to Target’s history of bicycle thefts and the involvement of a store asset protection specialist. McManus testified that he had been trying to buy a bicycle.⁶ The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, and the judge declared a mistrial.⁵

Jury selection for the second trial began on March 31, 2025. Prosecutors again played body camera footage showing that Skeens had expressed an intent to arrest McManus before any interaction between them.² The central disputed question was whether Target employees had asked Skeens to remove McManus. On April 7, 2025, three Target employees testified. One who was working the self-checkout area said McManus “seemed to have enough money for the bike” and “wasn’t disturbing anyone.” Another said that, based on the video, McManus “didn’t look like he was trying to shoplift.” Skeens testified in his own defense that Target employees had asked him to criminally trespass McManus from the store.³

On April 9, 2025, the second jury also failed to reach a verdict, and a mistrial was declared.⁷

Why the Charges Were Dropped

On April 18, 2025, the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office moved to dismiss all remaining charges. Attorney General Torrez cited the “interests of justice,” noting that two consecutive juries had been unable to reach a consensus. The dismissal was without prejudice, which means the charges could in theory be refiled later.¹