Month: July 2011

El Paso police identified the woman killed in an early morning wreck Sunday on Interstate 10 West near Hawkins Boulevard. Police said 40-year-old Veronica Scobell was driving a Nissan Versa about 2:45 a.m. when she crashed into the back of a pickup. Investigators said both vehicles moved into the right-hand emergency lane when Scobell put

It was a celebration with mixed emotions for a church in West El Paso. Parishioners of the former St. Francis Episcopal church now have a new place of worship after splitting from the national church in 2008. “I’ve been looking forward to this day when we express our faithfulness by leaving here,” says Bishop-elect Felix

A former police officer who allegedly admits ordering 1,500 killings during a campaign of terror as a drug gang chieftain along the U.S. border has been captured in northern Mexico, federal officials said Sunday. Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez also is a suspect in last year’s slaying of a U.S. consulate employee near a border crossing

Federal police have captured the alleged leader of a ruthless gang of killers who work for a drug cartel in the violent border of Ciudad Juarez, Mexican news media said Saturday. The suspect, Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, is wanted by the U.S. government on charges of murdering a U.S. consulate employee and her husband last

A Las Cruces father was arrested Thursday on child abuse charges after police said he struck his 9-year-old daughter multiple times. It all began Wednesday, when Las Cruces police said 26-year-old Reyes Francisco Perez was injecting himself with a hypodermic needle while his 9-year-old daughter was watching. That’s when police said Perez became angry and

Traffic was shut down along I-10 west Thursday night following a rollover crash involving a semi-truck. The wreck happened around 9 p.m. near Yarbrough Drive, just past Lomaland Drive in east El Paso. An ABC-7 crew on the scene spotted the 18-wheeler flipped over on its side, blocking several lanes of traffic. A small, white

The Texas Education Agency recently released the 2011 District Accountability ratings, a system used to classify district schools into four categories: Exemplary, Recognized, Academically Acceptable and Academically Unacceptable. The 2011 ratings dropped significantly compared to last year’s statewide. The number of unacceptable school rose from 104 to 569. Exemplary schools fell from 2,637 to 1,224.

Young musicians came together to organize a benefit concert at Cohen Stadium to raise funds for the families of two teens killed in a deadly car wreck. Friends and family remembered Aaron Carrillo and Jon Cervoni. Both were helping jump-start the car of a fellow band member, on the side of Loop 375 when they

Investigators with the Socorro Police Department are looking into the latest wreck that sent one man to the hospital with very serious injuries. It happened at 2:51 a.m. Friday on North Loop Dr. near Worsham Rd. in Socorro. City spokesman Dave Garcia told ABC-7 a man, 24, was driving east on North Loop when he

Time is running out. That was the message from President Barack Obama on Friday morning, as he urged Congress to act before Tuesday’s deadline to raise the federal borrowing limit or face unprecedented default on its debt. The Republican-controlled House passed legislation Friday night to prevent a threatened government default and sent it to certain

Rain, rain, go away. Or as a woman east of Las Cruces said, just keep it out of her house. Wilma Williams says monsoon rains are not causing flooding inside her home, but the Highway 70 overpass near the Brahman Road exit is. Williams said a threatening sky is her worst fear because any time

The National Weather Service in El Paso issued a severe thunderstorm warning for southwestern Otero county in south central New Mexico until 3:30 p.m.; however, the alert has been cancelled. The storm that prompted the warning rapidly moved out of the warned area. Wind gusts of at least 50 mph were estimated by a cooperative

EL PASO, TEXAS ? The UTEP men?s basketball team will open the 2011-12 regular season at home on Nov. 11 versus UT San Antonio ? one of eight teams the Miners could potentially face in their non-conference schedule that posted 20 or more wins a year ago. UTEP will also play road games at Oregon

A 24-year-old man who crashed early Friday in Socorro has died, a source close to the family said. Socorro city spokesman Dave Garcia said the man was driving east on North Loop Drive when he lost control and drove onto the muddy shoulder about 2:50 a.m. Worsham Road in Socorro. The car hit a concrete

Supporters trying to get a former El Paso elementary school designated a historic building cleared another hurdle Thursday afternoon. The Houston School of Choice, formerly Houston Elementary, is 89 years old. City Plan commissioners voted to approve a zoning change that would place a historic overlay on the building after hearing a presentation from a

Next week 320 incoming ninth-graders at Socorro High School will study algebra on their brand new iPads. “These are students who are born into a technology age,” said Socorro High School math teacher Elizabeth Giebler. “It’s amazing what they have at their fingertips.” The iPads will be used to access the HMH Fuse application. It’s

The El Paso Plan Commission is expected to vote Thursday afternoon on whether to protect the building that once housed Houston Elementary School. This comes more than a year after the El Paso Independent School District had plans to shutter Houston due to low enrollment. The plan sparked an outcry in the community, causing many

The city of Las Cruces wants to buy a major water plant on the east Mesa, a plant it values at close to $4-million. But the owners say it is worth more and they are not selling. Jeff Gariano, who owns Moongate Water Co. with his dad, says he was never asked for an appraisal

Former UTEP running back Donald Buckram has been released by the Cleveland Browns. According to his Facebook page, Buckram says he failed the team physical. He says during the physical, he was told his knee was not stable. An X-Ray showed arthritic buildup and the team did not want to risk putting him through training

Marco Antonio Alferez, a former El Paso teacher and dance instructor accused of making and sharing child pornography, agreed to plead guilty to sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography, his lawyer said Wednesday. Alferez, now 35, was arrested after authorities said he possessed nearly 200 homemade videos of children as young as

A severe thunderstorm with winds of 78 mph slammed central and east El Paso Tuesday evening. The storm packed hurricane-force winds, lightning and flooding rains. Residents in East-Central El Paso were left in the dark after transformers in the Ascarate, Dallas, Trowbridge and Austin areas, said Teresa Souza, spokeswoman for El Paso Electric. The outage

It all started on June 4th. Families in the Ramos Court neighborhood were forced out of their homes due to flooding from a levee breach at the nearby Franklin canal. Several houses sustained heavy water damage and some were declared too dangerous to live in. Since then Ramos Court residents had been staying at temporary

Nearly three weeks being transported to University Medical Center, a baby boy continues his fight to survive while his mother and her boyfriend are in jail for allegedly abusing him. The statement of facts contains graphic details about the abuse 7-month-old Malakai Workman suffered, allegedly at the hands of his mother, Danielle Workman, 22, and

Tuesday night’s heavy downpour dumped rain on a neighborhood that was still recovering from a levee breach nearly two months ago. Wednesday morning, many residents of Ramos Court in the Lower Valley found about two inches of water standing in their homes. Family members scrambled to sweep the muddy water out of their homes. Yards

A surveillance camera at Juarez’s Cereso prison captured armed men and inmates firing automatic weapons at a holding cell Monday night. Investigators in Juarez said that at least 17 inmates were found dead after what was originally described as chaotic prison riot. Investigators also said they found 729 shell casings. The video shows two men

The Global Reach gate at Fort Bliss will remain closed as the post replaces a canopy that was destroyed by strong winds Tuesday night. Post officials said the canopy at the Global Reach gate was blown over by up to 80 mph winds. No one was hurt, but officials say part of the First Calvary

Summer is here and that means its time for the premier golf tournament in El Paso, the Joseph B. Karam Memorial Golf Tournament, with all proceeds benefitting the Joseph B. Karam Scholarship Fund through the El Paso Community Foundation. The JBK Golf Tournament takes place on Friday, August 19, 2011 at Painted Dunes Golf Course.

El Paso City Council has approved a smart-growth-like development that several surrounding neighbords oppose. On Tuesday, Council voted 7-1 to approve rezonging the proposed 60-acre Rio Valley Development on the corner of Westside Drive and Borderland in the Upper Valley. Only City Representative Emma Acosta voted against the move. Because several surrounding land-owners signed a

A 33-year-old man was accidentally shot and killed Early Wednesday in Socorro, police said. Investigators said the shooting occurred about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday on the 10700 block of Lippert Road. The victim was identified as 33-year-old Alberto Ricardo Arce. Investigators said Arce was sitting inside a car with his 14-year-old cousin when a gun accidentally