Month: July 2014

A Border Patrol agent is behind bars after being accused of threatening his family with a gun and shooting the family dog. Las Cruces Police arrested 44-year-old Carmelo Diaz Wednesday evening. Police say his wife and two children ran to a neighbor’s house after he allegedly threatened to kill the whole family. Officials say he

Election results for New Mexico municipalities in the Borderland. Sunland Park City council races (all are for four-year terms) District 1 • Kenneth D. Giove – 23 votes • Christian Lira – 26 votes • Alberto A. Barragan – 16 votes • Carmen Rodriguez – 16 votes District 2 • Francisco Jayme – 23 votes

February 2014 story: A Las Cruces court has issued an arrest warrant for anEl Paso man suspected of convincing a local car dealer it could open a new location on Fort Bliss. Sisbarro Buick-GMC allegedly lost $34,999 in the scheme. Johnny Ray Mills, 41, of 12380 Edgemere in El Paso, is charged with one count

An Alamogordo man is being held without bond after another man was killed by a single shot from a 22 caliber rifle. Police told ABC-7 that 21-year old Albert Whitehead intervened in a neighbor’s domestic dispute Sunday night and became involved in a physical struggle with the victim after he saw the man throw his

The family of a Las Cruces man shot and killed by police last summer has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The Las Cruces Sun-News reports the family of 37-year-old Jose Estrada alleges in the suit, which was filed in late January, that police officers involved knew he was unarmed. The suit names the three officers,

A look at proposals that passed and failed during the 30-day session of the Legislature, which ended Thursday. BUDGET-FINANCES Passed: $6.2 billion budget with a 5 percent increase in spending on public education and government services next year; $233 million for state and local capital improvements, including $86 million for water systems; $167 million for

Two City of Las Cruces employees have been arrested and charged with felonies related to them allegedly falsifying public documents, diverting resources to work on a private project and misappropriating materials paid for by the City of Las Cruces. Robert “Bob” Medina Jr., 43, and Jesus “Chuy” Vasquez, 31, both employees of the City’s Transportation

The City of Las Cruces announced Tuesday it will not renew its contract with Redflex Traffic Systems (Redflex) for red light cameras at three of the city’s busiest intersections. The City’s five-year contract with Reflex expires March 30, 2014, but under the terms of the agreement, the City is required to notify Redflex of its

Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of $1,000 for information that helps identify the man suspected of sexually assaulting a 46-year-old woman last week at her home. According to police, shortly after 8 a.m. on Feb. 11 the woman returned to her home on the 700 block of Frank Maes Avenue after taking

February 15, 2014, 9:17 p.m. Update – Operations personnel are responding to a radiological event at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). NEW INFORMATION At 11:30 PM Friday, a continuous air monitor detected airborne radiation in the underground. Multiple perimeter monitors at the WIPP boundary have confirmed there is no

The National Park Service has announced it will provide free admission to its 401 national parks this holiday weekend (February 15-17) in honor of President’s Day. Theyencourage people to “visit one of the scores of national parks with a direct connection to a president, including birthplaces, homes, monuments, memorials, and historic sites.” They also connect

New Mexico’s House of Representatives has unanimously approved a measure to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors. The proposal passed the House on Thursday and goes to the Senate for consideration. The measure would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to those under 18, just as minors are restricted from buying cigarettes made of

The Town of Mesilla, New Mexico will spend $150,000 to build a new gazebo in its historic plaza. With that much money, you can buy a decent house. So, ABC-7’s New Mexico mobile newsroom called the town’s mayor and asked for an explanation. Mayor Nora Barraza tells ABC-7 the money covers much more than the

New Mexico State University Police Chief Stephen Lopez has released the identity of the body found on Jan. 27, 2014 in a drainage culvert near NMSU’s campus. The investigation has led to a tentative identification of the person, though DNA analysis is still underway for positive identification. Both the Office of the Medical Investigator and

Airman 1st Class Deshon Maurice Wartley, 21, assigned to the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron at Holloman AFB, was killed in an auto accident last week. A memorial service will be held in his honor Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 11 a.m. at the Holloman Chapel. The service will be open to all Department of Defense ID cardholders,

Adams Radio of Las Cruces has flipped the format of one of its radio stations from Regional Mexican to Classic Hits. KKVS-FM 98.7 began playing Classic Hits at Noon today after a 12-hour introductory stunt of hard rock. As part of the shift-in-focus of the radio station, Sheila Kirsch has been named Program Director of

Doa Ana County Fire and Emergency Services personnel spent nearly 12 hours putting out a fire in Berino, New Mexico that destroyed more than 250 bales of hay. Investigators say the fire at the Sun Valley Dairy is suspicious and remains under investigation with assistance from the Doa Ana County Sheriff’s Office. Firefighters from Anthony,

Investigators determined Wednesday the cause of a mobile home fire in the 300 block of San Luis Avenue that left a Chamberino man and his daughter homeless but now the two are wondering what took firefighters so long to respond to the blaze. Dona Ana County Fire and Emergency Services department says the fire happened

State police in New Mexico say they’re looking into reports that some students may have been warned not to go to school yesterday at a middle school in Roswell. That’s where a 12-year-old boy allegedly opened fire with a sawed-off shotgun, critically wounding an 11-year-old boy and hitting a 13-year-old girl in the arm before

An Albuquerque-area judge has granted terminally ill, mentally competent patients the right to aid in dying. Judge Nan Nash ruled a due process clause in the New Mexico State Constitution authorizes it. Doctor Terry Meyer, who is part of the nonprofit group Compassion and Choices, and the American Civil Liberties Union New Mexico Legal Director

Federal agents wrongfully strip-searched a New Mexico woman at the El Paso border crossing, then took her to a hospital where she was forced to undergo illegal body cavity probes in an attempt to find drugs, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in El Paso said the

New Mexico State University is moving to standardize the approximately 200 security cameras on its campus and give the university police department real-time access to the images. According to the Las Cruces Sun-News (http://bit.ly/1hWGZJi ), the cameras include both ones inside and outside of buildings on NMSU’s campus. University officials say the cameras can help

Since 2008, the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley has taken in more than 32,000 cats. On Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners approved a plan to bring down the feral cat population. Every year, the shelter takes in thousands of cats. Many of those animals have to be killed because there isn’t enough space.

Las Cruces Police have arrested a man for allegedly ripping a purse off the shoulder of a 71-year-old woman who was shopping on Thanksgiving evening. Manuel E. Armijo, 27, is charged with one count each of robbery and tampering with evidence. Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 28, Las Cruces Police were dispatched to the

Black Friday shopping has turned into a two-day marathon. The question is: will stores opening earlier lead shoppers to spend more? From the looks of the packed parking lot at the Mesilla Valley Mall, it was clear Black Friday shoppers were out in droves. Inside the mall, stores were full of people hunting for great

Schools in Doa Ana County could lose millions of dollars of Spaceport revenue if a state legislator’s plan to reclassify the Spaceport tax is approved. Since 2007 the Spaceport gross receipts tax has given a percentage of money to the school districts in Doa Ana County. That was a major reason why the tax was

Teachers’ unions across New Mexico held public rallies to protest a new teacher evaluation system in the state. Hundreds of people gathered in the parking lot of the Las Cruces Public Schools administration building. They feel the new evaluation system gives too much weight to student test scores. Under the new system, test scores will

Las Cruces police are searching for two suspicious men who may have tried to lure a little girl into their car. Police said a girl was walking from University Hills Elementary School on Tuesday afternoon. The girl said she saw a car stopped nearby with two men inside. She was lucky enough to get away

A man and a woman going through the property of a dead relative found a live grenade, according to Las Cruces Police. The visitors’ parking lot at the Las Cruces Police Department was closed Tuesday for about half an hour after the grenade was delivered. The WWII era grenade was successfully removed by a deputy

A review of medical records, police reports and a federal lawsuit show deputies with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, police officers with the City of Deming and medical professionals at the Gila Regional Medical Center made some questionable decisions. The incident began January 2, 2013 after David Eckert finished shopping at the Wal-Mart in Deming.