Has James Towles made any public statements or entered a plea in the Santa Fe case?

1. Who the reporting actually names: victim and suspect

Local coverage and police posts consistently name the victim as James Towle (sometimes James Earl Towles appears in unrelated items) and identify the suspect as Mark Delgado or Mark Delgado Jr.; the Santa Fe Police Department bulletin identifying a suspect and news stories about a February 2025 arrest describe Towle as the homicide victim and Delgado as the person charged ^{[2] [1]}.

2. Arrest, confession and charges reported by police and local press

Reporting from the Santa Fe New Mexican and SFPD postings says investigators identified and later arrested a suspect; a news story notes detectives interviewed the arrested man and that he “confessed to shooting Towle but claimed he did not do so intentionally,” and that Delgado is being charged with first‑degree murder ^[1]. Those are police investigative claims relayed by local outlets ^[1].

3. No source shows public statements by “James Towles” or a plea entered by him

The materials in the provided set do not contain any public statement made by a person named “James Towles,” nor do they show that a person with that exact name entered a plea in court in this matter; the available reporting focuses on Towle as the victim and on police actions regarding a suspect (available sources do not mention a public statement or plea by “James Towles”).

4. Possible confusion from similar names in records

One search result refers to “James Earl Towles” in a separate law‑enforcement context involving an affidavit and alleged child‑pornography tips; that item appears unrelated to the Santa Fe homicide reporting and demonstrates how similar names can create confusion across records ^[3]. Readers should not conflate the homicide victim named James Towle with other individuals who share similar names without corroborating reporting ^[3].

5. Court docket sources and gaps in public court reporting

Public court docket landing pages for Santa Fe County (magistrate and district) are listed among the sources, but the links and snippets are general and do not supply docket entries about a person named “James Towles” or plea entries in this file set ^{[4] [5]}. For definitive information about pleas or hearings, official court dockets or clerk records would need to be consulted; those specific docket entries are not present in the supplied material (available sources do not mention docket entries or plea filings for “James Towles”).

6. Competing viewpoints and limitations in sourcing

News accounts relay police statements (identification, arrest, alleged confession) but do not include court transcripts, formal charging documents, or defense statements in the provided items; that leaves open unresolved questions about how prosecutors will proceed and whether the suspect’s claim of an unintentional shooting will be tested at trial ^[1]. The set also lacks follow‑up reporting on arraignment pleas or trial developments; those absences limit any firm conclusion about court outcomes (available sources do not report arraignment pleas or trial results in this selection).

7. What to check next for verification

To resolve whether any person named “James Towles” made public remarks or entered a plea, consult the Santa Fe County court clerk’s online docket pages or contact the First Judicial District clerk for specific case numbers, and review subsequent Santa Fe New Mexican or AP coverage for arraignment and plea reports; those official docket entries and later reporting are not included in the current sources (available sources do not provide that follow‑up information).