Month: January 2014

A man was shot by Drug Enforcement Agency officers Friday. The man is 25-year-old Mark Eriksen. He’s still in the intensive care unit of the hospital as of Saturday afternoon. His attorney said he’s still unconscious. Ericksen is in critical condition and scheduled to undergo a second surgery on Sunday. El Paso defense Attorney Gary

A drug operation gone wrong ended with one person ina hospital and others in custody. One suspect was shot. An EMS dispatcher told ABC-7 the person was in serious condition. Diana Apodaca, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman for the El Paso area, said the person was in surgery the last time she was briefed. The

A new report released by the Texas State Auditor’s Office states that the auditing process of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is flawed. In reviewing the TEA’s audit of the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD), the state auditor used words like “deficient,” “weak” and “neglect.” The 50-page report released Friday overviews how allegations against

El Paso Police confirm one person was killed in an early morning car wreck in northeast El Paso. Officers responded to the scene at about 2:15 a.m. near the intersection of Dyer Street and Alps Drive Friday morning. Special Traffic Investigators were called out to determine how the crash may have happened. No other vehicles

Waits were longer at the pharmacy and inside the emergency room at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center during this year’s mandated budget cuts. Despite that admission by the hospital’s commander Col. Michael Heimall, he doesn’t think that was the biggest effect on his hospital between April and August of this year. According to Heimall,

The City of El Paso released emails on Monday after 11 months of withholding them. On June 26, 2012, city council voted to bring the ballpark project to El Paso. Attorney Stephanie Townsend Allala watched the vote and immediately became suspicious when council members pulled out baseball caps to celebrate. “You’re not supposed to take

Former Mayor John Cook will be the new administrator for the U.S. Mexico Border Mayors Association but he will not be able to speak with Mayor Oscar Leeser about border mayor issues. Cook agreed to work for free for the Association because he said he still has knowledge he wants to put in use. He

While the NFL and thousands of former players moved to resolve concussion-related lawsuits today with a $765 million dollar settlement, high school football kicks off Thursday night in El Paso with stricter rules designed to stop dangerous hits to the head. With concern about concussions rising at all levels of the game, prep officials in

Aug. 30, 2013 update: El Paso Police detectives linked Arturo Valtierra, aka Arturo Valtierra-Payan, to a sexual assault case that was reported in the Fort Worth region in September of 2012. This link was established through DNA evidence that was recovered here in ElPaso and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). That DNA

Across the country, fast-food workers are going on strike looking for a raise in minimum wage. Fast-food protests are underway in cities including New York, Chicago and Detroit, with organizers expecting the biggest national walkouts yet in a demand for higher wages. Similar protests organized by unions and community groups over the past several months

Beaumont Army Medical Center’s pediatric unit closed its doors Monday.The unit’s last two patients were babies brought from the neonatal care unit which is overflowing with newborns, said Col. Michael Heimall, Beaumont Army Medical Center’s commander. Heimall said continuing to operate the pediatric unit in its current state would not make financial sense. The unit

A semi rollover accident has lead to the closure of Interstate 10 East at Geronimo. In addition, two west bound lanes have been closed. Following that accident, a second collision occurred. The wreck has lead to build up at Interstate 10 East, the exit at US 54.

Texas A&M and NCAA came to an agreement on a half-game suspension of quarterback Johnny Manziel after an inquiry into whether or not he was paid to sign autographs. He will sit out the first half of Saturday’s game against Rice. “It was handled quickly and expeditiously and we appreciate the work of the enforcement

Veronica Ortiz, the Cardiovascular Nurse Manager at University Medical Center, says she’s proof Project Arriba works. Eight years ago, she was a cashier, earning minimum wage, trying to support her four children. Now, she manages a unit of about 90 people at UMC. “I am an example on return of investment on what funding can

As El Paso grows there are different schools of thought on how and where the city should expand. And ultimately it affects your pocketbook. Now one City representative is considering changing how the City goes about growth. “People move to West Texas because we have so much room, so much land,” City Rep. Michiel Noe

A new law written by State Rep. Marissa Marquez and sponsored by Sen. Jose Rodriguez is forcing only El Paso County school board trustees to publicly disclose their finances starting next year. This is a part of their effort to clean up the grade manipulation in El Paso school district, but the Canutillo Independent School

Six counties in New Mexico have decided to give marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On Tuesday, there was a heated debate in the county where it all started. More than 100 people packed inside the county commission chambers. All of them were there to hear one item on the commission agenda: a resolution to support

El Paso City Council is thinking of borrowing $68.5 million to reimburse itself. When the City approves a project that will be paid with debt it doesn’t borrow the money right away. In fact, the City holds off as much as it can so the debt will accrue less interest. Instead the City sees if

Dozens of Dona Ana County residents packed Commissioners Court Tuesday morning because of the county’s recent decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Dona Ana County Commissioners were originally going to vote on a resolution supporting same-sex marriage but that item was taken off the agenda. The public was still allowed to speak on

As UTEP continues to get more recognition it also gets more students. But it’s not just the campus that’s getting more students, it’s also the neighborhoods surrounding the university. There are more than 22,000 students at UTEP and even though there is more student housing than ever before it’s still generally a commuter school. And

A third county in New Mexico will start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Tuesday. As the debate continues, ABC-7 wanted to take a look at the basis for these decisions. Dona Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins and the two district judge who sided with him said the state constitution mandates this. On Monday,

Now that Cohen Stadium in Northeast El Paso has seen its final Diablo’s game, on Tuesday City Council is scheduled to discuss the future of the 10,000-seat ballpark. One thing is clear: The Tiguas, who hold the lease at Cohen through April of 2016, want out! Meanwhile, business owners in the surrounding area, whose future

The City of El Paso on Monday released nearly 200 pages of documents and emails from City officials. Some of the emails are related to the negotiations in the run-up to the approval of construction of a new ballpark at the site of the old City Hall. KVIA and other parties requested the emails months

Just in the nick of time, a proposal to incorporate San Elizario was handed over to El Paso County’s judge. The deadline for an item to be put on November’s ballot is Aug. 26, at 5 p.m. Maya Sanchez, the president of a San Elizario group seeking to incorporate their community, handed over documents around

After months of rumors it’s finally official: The Cure will perform at the Don Haskins Center on Oct. 10. Tickets go on sale on Aug. 30 at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster and will cost $30, $40, $50, $60, and $70 – not including service charges. Because The Cure only had two concert dates in October

Sunday night’s game didn’t just mark the end of the Diablos 2013 home schedule. It also was the last time the team would play at 23-year-old Cohen Stadium and in El Paso. More than 7,000 fans attended the final home game with many using cameras and their phones to snap pictures to preserve the memories.

The White Sands Missile Range community is mourning the loss of two soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan Friday. Spc. Kenneth Clifford Alvarez, 23, of Santa Barbara, California, and 20-year-old private Jonathon Michael Dean Hostetter, of Humphreys, Missouri, were wounded and died after their unit was attacked with an improvised bomb, according to a statement

The mother and brother of the 9 year-old central El Paso boy who was struck and killed earlier this week by an SUV spoke up about their loss. Jose Cordova, 9, was crossing an intersection when he was struck by anSUV. Elizabeth Rodriguez, his mother, says victims assistance originally said they’d help pay for hisburial

UPDATE A Las Cruces Police Department officer has been arrested. Detective Michael Garcia, 37, was arrested on Friday. According to police, Garcia is charged with a count of criminal sexual penetration of a minor. He also faces a charge of criminal sexual contact of a minor. Both charges are felonies. Garcia is a 15-year veteran

Dona Ana County is leading the way, issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Now Santa Fe County is following suit. Some state legislators are not happy about it. The excitement at the Dona Ana County government building continued on Friday. Nearly 60 more couples got marriage licenses, bringing the total since Wednesday to 139. “Finally