Portales, NM – Ninth Judicial District Attorney Quentin Ray announced on June 25, 2025 that Magnolia Prince, 43, of Portales, has been sentenced to 1.5 years in prison following her conviction for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on April 11, 2024, when officers from the Portales Police Department responded to a report of a disturbance in the 800 block of East Canadian Street. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the reporting party, who stated that Prince had attempted to hit her with a red truck while she was walking. Multiple eyewitnesses corroborated the account, reporting that a red truck driven by Prince veered toward the victim, nearly striking her and a parked vehicle. Officers located Prince’s vehicle in an alley near 1st Street and detained her at the scene. While Prince claimed that a male passenger had grabbed the steering wheel and caused the vehicle to veer, her account was inconsistent with witness statements.
The case proceeded to trial before the Honorable Judge Donna J. Mowrer and was presented to a jury on April 15, 2025. After hearing the evidence, the jury found Prince guilty of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
Judge Mowrer sentenced Prince to two and a half years in the New Mexico Department of Corrections, with one year suspended in favor of supervised probation. Prince will serve 1.5 years in custody.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Scott Stover. Magnolia Prince was represented by defense attorney Lance Sumrall of Clovis.
For more information, please contact the Office of the District Attorney, at 575-769-2246.
