Month: January 2012

El Paso Police say they’re working to figure out whether a pair of convenience store robberies were the work of the same crook. The suspect descriptions are actually a ltitle different. The first robbery happened around 5:30 a.m. at the 7-Eleven on Dyer and Hondo pass. Investigators say the thief threatened the clerk with a

The El Paso Police Department arrested nine people in less than two hours for drunk driving early Saturday morning across the city of El Paso. The arrests were made between 1:15 a.m. and 2:52 a.m. Saturday. Of the nine arrests, four people were charges with DWI, three were charge with DWI with a blood alcohol

Saturday brings seasonable temperatures and sunshine with a high of 57 degrees. Winds will remain out of the northeast at 5-15 mph. The borderland will experience increasing clouds overnight out ahead of our next big weather maker which will increase winds on Sunday and Monday. Winds on Sunday will be out of the southwest between

The El Paso Police Department arrested a man on suspicion of drunk driving early Saturday morning after crashing his motorcycle. Police said 43-year-old Mark Villanueva was riding his motorcycle near 300 East Paisano Drive just before 3 a.m. when he lost control of the bike and collided with the pavement. Further investigation by police led

Fort Bliss soldiers and their families got a rare opportunity Thursday afternoon: the chance to ask the head of the U.S. Department of Defense anything they wanted. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta addressed a about 500 soldiers of the 1st Armored Division and family members at Fort Bliss in a “town hall”-style meeting. It was Panetta’s

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) – The father of a Tacoma soldier who died in Afghanistan says he died in a training accident. The Pentagon did not provide details about the death Wednesday of 21-year-old Pfc. Neil I. Turner, saying only on Friday that he died from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to a unit

Skies will begin to clear this morning, which will set up for a decent Friday with sunny skies and highs in the 50s. The weekend is looking warmer as southwesterly winds warm up the Borderland. Highs on Sunday return to the 60s and Monday could be our first windy day to 2012. Peak wind gusts

PDF:Read the lawsuit filed against Father Rodriguez. Catholic Bishop Armando Ochoa is suing one of his own priests — the controversial Father Michael Rodriguez. The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday afternoon, alleges that Rodriguez was funneling church money to personal accounts. In the lawsuit, Ochoa alleges that Rodriguez solicited donations to “construct a new grotto,

The discovery of two cases of beer led officers to 20 bundles of marijuana. Deputies with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Strike Team were patrolling in the 12000 block of Gateway West when they pulled over a black Ford Expedition for failing to signal during a lane change. When they approached the SUV, deputies

A driver convicted of running over and killing a man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday afternoon. Darrel Brown received the maximum sentence in the death of 22-year-old Fernando Vargas out side the Golden Nugget bar in 2010. Prosecutors said Brown ran over Vargas after getting into a fight inside the bar .

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the following have announced closures or schedule changes on Monday: ? The University of Texas at El Paso will be closed. ? El Paso Community College will be closed. ? New Mexico State University will be closed. ? Dona Ana Branch Community College will be closed. ?

After 20 years serving drug lords in a Juarez cartel, a former hit man shared his story with a team of filmmakers. Molly Molloy, an author and researcher at New Mexico State University, worked as the interpreter for “El Sicario: Room 164.” The documentary was shot in 2009 at an unidentified Borderland motel room where

The former public school dance teacher and performer in Viva! El Paso is scheduled to be sentenced on child pornography charges Thursday afternoon. Marco Alferez pleaded guilty in August 2011 to sexual exploitation of children and distribution of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors. According to the government’s sentencing brief, prosecutors are seeking 30

A former El Paso dance teacher who was sentenced of 50 years in prison Thursday after being convicted of child pornography charges, told the court he was abused as a child himself. There was little reaction from 35-year-old Marco Alferez, who created and distributed child pornography involving hundreds of local victims, when the maximum sentences

A cold front pushed through last night, producing clouds, winds, and much cooler temperatures. A band of light rain south of the border will move east, but stay away from El Paso and Las Cruces. Today, mostly cloudy and cool with a high of 49. Tonight, partly cloudy and cold conditions with lows below freezing.

Officers at the scene of a collision on Interstate 10 arrested a man after they said he crashed into their police car. Police said 39-year-old George Gay, of the 10100 block of Stoneway Drive, was driving east on I-10 about 2:15 a.m. Thursday when he slammed into the back of a parked marked police unit,

An East El Paso County family is worried after a drunken driving suspect crashed into their home’s rock wall and yard. Eva Valles said that on Christmas Eve, as the family was getting ready to open gifts at about 10:30pm, a car crashed into their back yard, smashing into her daughters’ swing set. Valles lives

Opening statements and testimony began in the trial for convicted murderer, Michael Astorga. Astorga is accused of shooting and killing 27-year-old Candido Martinez after the two got into an argument about car parts in Albuquerque. Witnesses who took the stand today said they saw Astorga with a gun just before Martinez was shot, but they

The Lincoln Recreational Center has been closed since the summer of 2006, when city crews found the building contaminated with mold. An overhaul of the 90-year-old building would cost $3.6 million, more than the city would like to invest. Yet, plans to demolish the structure have been put on hold. District 3 City Representative Emma

When a dishwasher seems like the fastest solution to wash a load a dishes, for some it’s becoming more of a problem. Before you replace your dishwasher take a look at the soap you are using. Government regulations have forced manufacturers to remove phosphates from its dishwashing detergents. Phosphates is the grease-fighting ingredient that dissolves

Good news for a pair of Borderland colonias on Wednesday. The Public Service Board approved water improvements that in upcoming months will connect more than 300 homes out in the county to El Paso Water Utilities for the first time. In the Mayfair Nuway and Schuman Estates colonias, which are located off of Doniphan out

A fourth suspect in an Anthony murder that occurred in November of last year was arrested on Wednesday, while the final suspect remains on the run, according to the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators found 19-year-old Ezequiel Gonzales at a relatives house in Vado Wednesday morning. Gonzales initially fled, but was captured after a

Investigators with the Stash House Unit of the El Paso Police Department said they found 8.31 pounds of cocaine in a stash house on Tuesday in Socorro, Texas. Officials said an ongoing investigation led investigators to a drug stash house in the 1000 block of Rio Vista just before 4 p.m. An investigation revealed 20-year-old

Border Patrol agents caught a convicted sex offender trying to cross into the U.S. near the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. U.S. Border Patrol Agents found the man, 45-year-old Luis Rene Lemus, crossing illegally into the U.S. one mile east of the Port of Entry. Authorities

The New Mexico Environmental Department is advising residents in the Timberon Water and Sanitation District, located approximately 30 miles east of Alamogordo, to boil their water as a precautionary measure. The boil advisory is a precautionary measure as a result of the water outage earlier this week. Officials said that even though no contamination has

City Council members have declared January as Crime Stoppers month in El Paso, according to the El Paso Crime Stoppers organization officials. Officials said that in 2011, the Crime Stoppers of El Paso tip line helped to solve four of the seven Crimes of the Week that were solved that year. According to the latest

Engineering students from The University of Texas at El Paso will be competing in a regional steel bridge building competition on Friday and Saturday at the Pasadena, Texas Convention Center. The team won last year’s Texas and New Mexico regional competition in Lubbock for its steel creation that was 21 feet long, 3 feet tall,

Downslope winds this morning have kept temperatures well above the freezing mark in El Paso. These winds tend to keep conditions warm for residents along the eastern slopes. Otherwise, expect partly cloudy skies with highs in the 60s along with breezy conditions. Winds will pick up tonight from the east due to our next cold

The chairman of the University Medical Center’s board, Dr. Jose Luna, said all qualifying hospital employees received a raise this year. “We want to be the best hospital in El Paso and to do that, we have to pay competitive wages,” said Luna. A few months ago UMC’s finances were in critical condition. State and

One thing is for sure: El Pasoans this spring will vote whether to oust Mayor John Cook and city representatives Steve Ortega and Susie Byrd out of office. One thing is not for sure: when this vote will take place. The county of El Paso traditionally handles area elections, both for the state and for