Month: February 2014

A Carlsbad jury couldn’t decide how to convict a man who posed as a police officer to break into a man’s house. The homeowner was shot dead. Senovio Mendoza was accused of dressing up as law enforcement with two other men in September 2012. They allegedly kicked open the door of Tim Wallace’s home looking

A conveyor belt malfunction is being blamed for a fire at the Vinton Arcelormittal business in Canutillo, causing a pile of metal to catch fire and flames as high as 20 feet in the air. No injuries have been reported. Arcelormittal, which makes rebar for the industrial construction industry, is located near the intersection of

ABC-7 has confirmed that Danny Moreno, an El Paso police officer, was arrested and charged for driving while intoxicated in the early hours of January 23rd . The incident happened at about 2 a.m. on Gateway West between Airway Boulevard and Geronimo Drive. In an interview with the El Paso Times, police spokesman, Sgt. Chris

Former Andress High School football standout Andre Jones, one of the best players to ever come out of El Paso, was found dead inside the El Paso Suites Hotel on Friday, according to El Paso Police. Police officials say they were responding to a welfare check on Jones when his body was found. Police say

El Paso Water Utilities is planning a roughly $30 million project to upgrade a water treatment plant in the Lower Valley. City Council could decide Tuesday how El Paso could pay for its sprawling infrastructure needs. “If it is new development that is the cause of the need for the new infrastructure, then new development

The Lincoln Center in south central El Paso has been under threat of destruction several times in the past few years. Now community activists and elected officials are reacting to a new plan by the Texas Department of Transportation that calls for a new ramp to be built right through the second floor of the

An alleged Barrio Azteca leader has been found guilty on all counts in the trial for the killing of a U.S. Consulate employee and an El Paso County corrections officer. Prosecutors accused Arturo Gallegos-Castrellon of being a part of the March 13, 2010 ambush of Leslie Ann Enriquez and her husband, Arthur Redelfs. Early during

Socorro Independent School District spokesman tells ABC-7 that one of the district’s school buses was struck from behind by a semi on Gateway West, just east of Horizon Friday aftenoon. The bus was pushed into a ditch. No students were on the bus when it happened and neither driver was hurt.

There was a spike in toll lane usage on Tuesday, the same day I-10 was crippled with congestion after a power line went down. According to the Regional Mobility Authority’s Executive Director, Raymond Telles, there was a 24% increase in people using the toll lanes on Tuesday compared to the same day last week. The

The City’s Department of Public Health announced Thursday that a middle-aged woman who had been diagnosed with the flu has become the city’s 14th flu-related death. Health dept. officials say the woman also suffered from at least one other chronic medical condition. Deaths So Far This Season In El Paso 1 young-adult male 5 middle-aged

ABC-7’s Matt Dougherty reports

Crimes against residents of the town of Chaparral are on the rise. Dona Ana County sheriff’s deputies confirm home invasions, burglaries and thefts have been increasing over the past few months, but residents say law enforcement officials have not been doing anything to curb the crimes. “You’ve got a community that’s now scared,”Pastor Richard Plock

An El Paso police car and an SUV crashed into a wall in Northeast El Paso late Wednesday night. The incident happened around 10:20 pm near the intersection of Yvette and Rushing. Police said Officer Luis Granillo was investigating a disturbance and witnesses who called police identified the people in two vehicles driving by as

Dr. Xavier De La Torre could be coming back to El Paso. Wednesday night the Ysleta School Board named Dr. De La Torre the lone finalist for the YISD superintendent position. He was the former superintendent for the Socorro School District from 2009 to 2012. Dr. De La Torre is currently the County Superintendent in

Last April, El Paso County Commissioners approved a $152 million bond to build three new University Medical Center primary care clinics, and expand a fourth. The issue is coming up again in debates for county judge between current County Judge Veronica Escobar and her challengers City Rep. Eddie Holguin and businesswoman Aliana Apodoca. The question

White Sands National Monument is still closed indefinitely and may not be open again anytime soon due to a drone crash last week. A QF-4 drone that crashed around 9 a.m. Friday has largely been removed but smaller debris and an unknown amount of jet fuel remain a safety hazard. Becky Burghart, chief of interpretation

Anahi Pacheco wasn’t home last night when a power pole came crashing down near Interstate 10 and Piedras after an 18-wheeler ran into it. The accident caused power lines to hit the freeway and feeder roads, bringing traffic to a halt for hours. Pacheco couldn’t feel more relieved that she was at work at the

A noose was hung from a tree in the front yard of a home in Northeast El Paso earlier this week. The knotted rope was strung for neighbors to see — and though everyone has a theory on who may have been the culprit, nobody can seem to agree. “I mean, who even knows how

An 18-wheeler hit a pole on the gateway near Piedras Tuesday night and the lines fell onto I-10, causing a massive traffic jam. El Paso Electric says another electric pole also went down at Raynor. El Paso Electric says 1,700 customers were affected by the power outage. Traffic on I-10 was backed up to Hawkins

An Aug. 22 trial date has been set for Arturo Valtierra-Payan, the man charged with aggravated sexual assaults and burglaries in the Manhattan Heights area of El Paso in 2013. In Texas, aggravated sexual assaults are rapes. He will be tried in the 243rd District Court. The 25-year-old is facing rape and burglary charges for

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office identified the second of two men found dead in Canutillo last weekend. The bodies of 51-year-old Saul Romero and 49-year-old James Smith, both of Canutillo, were found near Doniphan Drive and Central Avenue Saturday. People who live in the area have mixed reactions to the news. The Canutillo neighborhood near

We all know at least one person who’s tried the popular exercise routinesCrossFit and Zumba.But what many of us don’t realize, these fitness trends are behind serious injuries. The CrossFit fitness trend is taking El Paso by force.But the Olympic-style weightlifting, sided by high intensity squats, kettle bell lifts and cardio –may be hurting exercise

When you think ballpark do you think trains? Those rolling through downtown El Paso are going to be additional sights and sounds fans get to see while enjoying games. As trains roll through downtown El Paso Monday afternoon workers continue their near round the clock construction work to make the stadium ready for the Chihuahuas

The Metropolitan Planning Organization is now supporting the roughly $400 million Comprehensive Mobility Plan that will bring 16 road-improvement projects to El Paso County. “Every part of town is going to benefit from this comprehensive plan,” said Precinct One Commissioner Vince Perez. “It’s going to create a more efficient transportation system, where people will be

The U.S. Marshals Service, which has Anthony Cobos in its custody, won’t be turning Cobos over to the Federal Bureau of Prisons today. U.S. Marshals spokesman Scott Williams told ABC-7 today that Cobos is still in El Paso County Jail and that he won’t be taken to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Colorado until

Richard Zikmanis on Monday pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the March 27, 2010 shooting death of his sister Denise. He was supposed to stand trial Monday for first degree murder but is pleading to a fourth degree felony. Zikmanis’ sister, who was visiting from Montana, was shot in the head and died two

Police in Hobbs are identifying a man whose body was found in a kitchen freezer and they say he died accidentally from methamphetamine. According to police, the body of 22-year-old Everett Willford was found in the freezer on Sept. 3 when officers responded to a call about a suspicious odor coming from the home. The

Nearly a quarter of a century ago on Feb. 9, four people were murdered at a bowling alley in Las Cruces in what is known as one of the bloodiest mass shootings in New Mexico. The killers has never been caught and the case remains unsolved. According to police, two men walked into the Las

University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa says he will resign after five years leading the 15-campus system in order to return full time to the practice of medicine. In an email to system staff Sunday night, Cigarroa said he was leaving to be the head of pediatric surgery at the University of Texas Health

With just under three months until the April 28 opening game City of El Paso and Chihuahuas officials gave ABC-7 and local media a walking tour of the Downtown ballpark. The tour, which lasted more than an hour-and-a-half, took everyone through every level of the stadium, from the storage areas fans won’t see, to the