Former city commission candidate sentenced

A former Tucumcari city commission candidate avoided jail time after pleading guilty to a charge of assault (attempted battery) stemming from a dispute with his former landlord.

Tommy Snapp, 52, in a plea agreement, on Wednesday was given a suspended 182-day jail sentence, with credit for one day of jail time served, plus 181 days of unsupervised probation, according to online court documents.

A total of $73 in fees or fines was lowered to zero because of Snapp’s one day in the county jail.

Assault (attempted battery) is a petty misdemeanor that could have led up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.

Snapp was arrested and briefly jailed on a battery charge in early September, less than 10 days after officially filing as a candidate for the Tucumcari City Commission District 1 election.

According to court documents, Robert Moore told a city police officer that Snapp threw a soda at him and spat in his face when Moore served an eviction notice for Snapp’s 4 Corners Bait, Tackle and Sporting Goods shop in the 1000 block of East Main Street for failure to pay rent.

Snapp in a social media post denied the allegations and stated he would fight the charge in court.

Snapp declined to comment on the case when reached by phone Saturday.

Snapp, who was the first in line to file for candidacy in District 1, finished last in the November election among the four candidates, earning four votes.

Jerry Lopez won the race and was seated on the city commission earlier this month.

Snapp rebranded his business as 4 Corners Self Defense & More and announced last week he soon would move it into the back of a building at 112 E. Main St. in Tucumcari.

Snapp was represented by Clovis attorney Erin Sumrall Van Soelen in his case.