Month: June 2017

Police arrested a woman accused of interfering with a child sex assault investigation after a relative reported alleged sexual abuse to a crisis hotline. Marisela Valenzuela-Guevara, 48, was charged with one count of intimidation of a witness and one count of resisting or obstructing and investigation. EDITOR’S NOTE: ABC-7 is not revealing the child’s exact

The Trump administration is shutting down the least restrictive alternative to detention available to asylum-seekers who have entered the U.S. illegally, The Associated Press has learned. Immigration activists consider the move a callous insult to migrants fleeing traumatic violence and poverty – nearly all the program’s participants are Central American mothers and children – by

A judge on Friday ordered the release of a Mexican woman while the government seeks to deport her, rejecting arguments that two arrests while demonstrating in support of people in the United States illegally justified requiring that she wear a monitoring device. Claudia Rueda, 22, plans to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a

Police in Deming say an 8-year-old girl who was allegedly abducted by her mother in a custodial interference case has been located and she is safe. They say an Amber Alert was issued about 11 a.m. Friday requesting the public’s assistance in locating Chelsea Boomgaarn. Police say 47-year-old Laurie Curtis has no legal custodial rights

A 19-year-old Texas mother whose two toddlers died when she left them for hours inside a hot vehicle while she visited friends has been charged with child endangerment. Kerr County Sheriff Rusty Hierholzer says Amanda Hawkins was arrested in San Antonio Thursday and is being held on $70,000 bond. Investigators believe Hawkins intentionally left her

Special Traffic Investigations identified the motorcyclist killed on the Border Highway as 32-year-old Marco Artalejo. The collision happened at 2:18 am Friday at mile marker 60. Police said an investigation revealed Artalejo was riding 2009 Yamaha Motorcycle east on the highway. Artelejo, allegedly speeding, lost control of the motorcycle, struck a concrete barrier, and was

An El Paso man died in a rollover crash Friday morning in Hudspeth County, the Texas Highway Patrol said. Investigators said Antonio Rodriguez, 28, was not wearing his seat belt when he lost control of his SUV on Interstate 10, about three miles west of Fort Hancock. Investigators said for unknown reasons, Rodriguez left the

The Canutillo Independent School District will begin charging new, out-of-state students tuition for the 2017-2018 school year, according to a memo obtained by ABC-7. District spokeswoman Liza Rodriguez confirmed that New Mexico students who choose to transfer into Canutillo ISD must pay almost $9,600 dollars for a year of enrollment. District officials came to that

New legislation introduced Wednesday would require cars to implement technology that would alert parents if their child is left in the backseat, preventing heat-related deaths. The “Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rearseat Act” or Hot Cars Act, was introduced in Washington, D.C. It would require cars to alert drivers when a passenger is

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Thursday evening the Canutillo Independent School district discussed the 2017-2018 preliminary proposed budget. The district has faced a stagnant student population and deficit budget in years past. District officials recently came under scrutiny after proposing to build a multi-purpose agriculture and science facility. The project is expected to come at a cost of $1 million.

Ysleta High School is going to receive $8,000 for physical fitness equipment, programs, and other initiatives courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Lottery. The Cowboys partnered with the Texas Lottery to create the “Funds for Fitness” grant, which provides 15 schools with money to pay for fitness upgrades and programs. Ysleta’s football coach, Joe

The El Paso Police Department is being credited with helping recently expand the Amber Alert program into Mexico. Amber Alerts allow for cross-border communication between law enforcement, the media and wireless providers to help find missing children. The collaboration that led to “Alerta Amber Mexico” is already paying dividends for El Paso Police. It helped

A Dona Ana County man suffering from Alzheimer’s was found nearly two hours after wandering away from home with the help of Project Lifesaver. “He just walked out the front door,” Grand-daughter Karelly Marin told ABC-7. “We didn’t hear the door close and we were gone for two minutes, which then turned into looking for

Las Cruces residents are complaining about a road closed for construction of a multi-million dollar medical facility that will sit on the Old Las Cruces Country Club grounds. The recent construction has closed off Camino Del Rex, which is located just off Main Street. Nearly 700 residents living in a nearby neighborhood use the road.

A jury convicted Yolanda Rodriguez, a 50-year-old U.S. Citizen formerly residing in Mexico, on multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Rodriguez was sentenced to more than a year in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Rodriguez was convicted in a 45-count indictment filed in October 2015. Federal officials said she is the

The mother accused of abandoning her 4-year-old son in Juarez on February 22, 2017 allegedly confessed to detectives she left the boy in an abandoned building because she “did not want her mother to take the child,” a complaint affidavit obtained by ABC-7 states. Ruby Esmeralda Gonzalez, 25, is charged with “Abandoning and Endangering Child/Imminent

Robert Cormell, a candidate in the race to fill the seat vacated by City Representative Cortney Niland, told ABC-7 he plans to file an amended campaign finance report after an ethics complaint was filed against him. The complaint was filed by Noel Rosenbaurm, a political activist. Rosenbaurm claimed Cormell failed to list the full name

A Texas sheriff’s deputy and her husband were indicted Thursday on murder charges in the death of a man they restrained during a late night confrontation outside of a Houston-area restaurant. A Harris County grand jury in Houston returned the indictment against Harris County deputy Shauna Thompson and her husband, Terry Thompson, in the death

Federal and state authorities arrested six alleged members of the “Cruces Boys” gang Thursday morning on federal drug trafficking charges. The operation led to the seizure of 25 firearms. Police arrested Joshua Randall Garcia, 29; Rahiem Harris, 35; Estevan Carreon, 23 ; Olajuwan Calhoun, 29: Nate Nordorf, 29; and Jalen Bishop, 21. Authorities arrested Carreon

Former Dona Ana County Undersheriff Edward J. Lerma filed a lawsuit against his former boss, Sheriff Enrique “Kiki” Vigil for an alleged violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act. Lerma, who has more than 40 years experience in law enforcement, served in three prior administrations of the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office. Vigil, elected in 2014,

Police arrested a Las Cruces man accused of trafficking cocaine and marijuana. Michael Aguilar, 28, was taken into custody at about 6 am Thursday on the 1800 block of Desert Wind Way. He is facing three counts of trafficking cocaine and one count of distribution of marijuana. Aguilar’s bonds totaled $200,000, jail records show.

The police department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit has canceled its search for 26-year-old Richard Rue. Detectives met with Rue Wednesday evening. A preliminary investigation indicates Rue was in Juarez, Mexico, police said. He is currently being treated at University Medical Center for minor injuries. Rue’s family has been notified.

Former FBI Director James Comey asserted Thursday that President Donald Trump fired him to interfere with his investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 election and its ties to the Trump campaign. “It’s my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Comey told the Senate intelligence committee in explosive testimony that threatened

Twitter users have latched on to former FBI director James Comey’s use of “lordy” during his Capitol Hill testimony about his interaction with President Donald Trump. Comey told senators Thursday morning, “Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” in referring to his meetings with Trump. The term quickly became a trending topic on Twitter. Former New

Investigators say a Houston woman recorded her boyfriend having sex with an underage girl in part to use the recording as blackmail against him if he ever decided to leave the relationship. Forty-one-year-old Isabel Robinson was being held Thursday at the Harris County jail on multiple charges that include aggravated sexual assault of a child.

For years, immigrants facing deportation have been allowed to stay in the U.S. provided they show up for regular check-ins with federal deportation agents and stay out of trouble. After a brief meeting, they’re usually told to return months later to check in again. Now, in cases spanning from Michigan to California, some of these

Police are investigating a pedestrian crash near Gateway North and Hercules. ABC-7 has learned at least one person was transported to a nearby hospital with serious injures. The crash was reported shortly before 10 am Thursday.

New Mexico Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera is stepping down after seven years on the job. Public Education Department spokeswoman Lida Alikhani confirmed Thursday that Skandera will resign on June 20. It was not immediately clear if Skandera was resigning to take another job or why she was resigning with more than a year left

The costs of a high school graduation can quickly add up as many parents are required to pay for a cap and gown, flowers, and sometimes, a plane ticket for visiting relatives. Students also invest a great deal of time and money into preparing for the ceremony, but few beg to ask the question: How