Month: January 2018

A 35-year-old Amarillo man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2014 beating and shooting death of one of his ex-wives. A Randall County jury on Thursday sentenced Jeremy Spielbauer shortly after convicting him on a lesser charge of murder. Prosecutors had tried Spielbauer on a capital murder charge in the April 2014

Authorities have blamed recent frigid weather in South Texas for the deaths of five immigrants whose remains were found by some hunters near a ranch. A Customs and Border Protection statement Friday said the remains were discovered Jan. 21 on a ranch near Falfurrias (fal-FYOO’-ree-uhs). A border checkpoint is located in the area. Officials say

A New Mexico woman who was with an unarmed Texas man before he was fatally shot by an Arizona police officer in 2016 has filed a lawsuit against the former officer and the police department. Monique Portillo filed the suit in federal court last week against the Mesa Police Department, seven unidentified officers and former

Investigators say a gang member on the Texas 10 Most Wanted list has been caught and faces murder charges in the shooting deaths of two brothers in Bryan. The Texas Department of Public Safety on Friday announced the arrest of 30-year-old Frankie Lee Bell Jr. DPS says Bell was arrested Thursday in Caldwell, about 20

After tying the warmest year on record last year in 2016, this year, El Paso’s average annual temperature record was broken by more than a degree. The mean temperature in 2017 at the El Paso International airport was 68.5 degrees, 3 degrees higher than the 30 year normal (1988-2017). The previous record was 67.4 degrees

A 17-year-old Oklahoma high school student is facing obscenity and child pornography charges after authorities say he posted nude photos of students on a Snapchat page then tried to blackmail administrators when they turned off the school’s Wi-Fi access. Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes says the Carl Albert High School student faces 10 charges,

Mexican immigration authorities say they’ve found 109 Central American migrants crammed into the back of a trailer truck. They include 39 children or youths. Mexico’s National Immigration Institute said Friday some of the migrants were suffering from dehydration and asphyxia due to the crowded conditions and the time they had spent in the truck. The

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel is bringing adult film star Stormy Daniels on his show next Tuesday on the night of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech. Daniels is in the news following reports that she had an affair with the future president in 2006. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s lawyer arranged a

The U.S. Border Patrol says a road construction crew has uncovered an abandoned tunnel in Texas, just north of the border with Mexico. Agent Oscar Cervantes says the tunnel was discovered Thursday near downtown El Paso. It is about 25 yards long. Cervantes said Friday that there’s no indication the tunnel goes into Mexico. The

A Texas man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering his 94-year-old mother. A jury sentenced 75-year-old Leslie Nelson on Thursday after finding him guilty of fatally shooting Vivian Nelson in August. Prosecutors say Leslie Nelson checked his mother out of the senior living center she was at, took her to his

A Texas couple facing charges over the death of their 3-year-old daughter whom they adopted in India have lost parental rights to their 4-year-old biological daughter. A judge in Dallas on Friday terminated the parental rights of Wesley and Sini Mathews of Richardson, who remain jailed. Both had agreed to permanently relinquish their rights to

Five Texas men are charged with stealing 650 guns from a Springfield UPS lot. Federal prosecutors say the men were each indicted Wednesday on two federal guns charges. They are being held in Texas awaiting extradition to Missouri. An affidavit from the case says the guns were to be delivered to Bass Pro Shops when

An Arizona state trooper is credited with pulling a drunk driver from his vehicle moments before an oncoming train slammed into it. The Arizona Department of Public Safety released details Thursday about the Jan. 6 incident, which occurred across the state line in New Mexico. Authorities say trooper Henry Roanhorse was driving home when he

An Albuquerque man charged in a thwarted plot to kill two top New Mexico corrections officials has pleaded guilty after reaching an agreement with federal prosecutors. The Albuquerque Journal reports 42-year-old Christopher Garcia on Thursday entered guilty pleas in a Las Cruces federal courtroom to violent crimes in aid of racketeering conspiracy to murder, felon

Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis tearfully announced his retirement Friday, the second university official to step down in as many days amid sharp criticism over the school’s handling of sexual abuse allegations against disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar. Hollis, who had been in the job for 10 years, disclosed the move during a meeting

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that Rich Products Corporation is recalling ready-to-eat frozen beef meatballs that may have been tainted with listeria. Listeria can cause a serious infection that affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and their newborns. The meatballs were shipped to several states, including Texas, under the label

The UTEP men’s basketball team once again looked good early but faltered down the stretch. The Miners jumped out to a quick seven-point lead early in their game Thursday at UAB, but ended up losing by a final of 85-78. This comes just five days after UTEP blew a 21-5 lead on the road against

The U.S. Border Patrol said transportation workers discovered a tunnel near Downtown El Paso Thursday. The tunnel extends 25 yards north of the border, a Border Patrol official said. Border Patrol Agents working near a water treatment plant northwest of the Chihuahuita neighborhood were notified by employees from the Texas Department of Transportation about a

New chief executive officer of El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, Susan Goodell, said that she was shocked to see so many bare shelves in the warehouse when she arrived here in El Paso. The historic low supply of food is a result of a perfect storm of different factors. “It’s a combination of being hard hit

The Paso Del Norte Health Foundation has a plan to help El Paso County residents get moving and get healthy while having fun. The group is looking for public input on the Paso del Norte Trail master plan. The 50-mile hike and bike trail would run from the New Mexico state line to Tornillo. Organizers

An FBI agent fatally shot a kidnap victim during a raid early Thursday at a Houston home, authorities said. FBI spokeswoman Christina Garza said the agent shot the man shortly before 4 a.m. during an “operation” at the home. The man, whose name wasn’t immediately released, died later at a hospital. Police in Conroe, about

A Philadelphia museum dedicated to America’s revolutionary patriots is temporarily renaming its biggest gallery in honor of the city’s Super Bowl-bound football team. The Museum of the American Revolution on Thursday rechristened its Patriots Gallery as the Eagles Gallery. The new name will stay through Super Bowl Sunday when the Eagles face the New England

A property battle in a lower valley neighborhood continues. Weeks ago, the City Plan Commission postponed a zoning vote that would allow 59 homes to be built on a nearly 10 acre property near James and Craddock. Residents who live nearby say they’re against it. They held a protest on the land, which is owned

The El Paso Independent School District is giving students a way to express their creativity during the school day. In all 10 traditional high schools in the district, a room in the library has been dubbed the Makerspace. Students get access to innovative tools like 3-D printers, music recording equipment and sewing machines, to name

Doña Ana County Commissioner John Vasquez publicly defended an online dispute with a constituent, which she interpreted as calling her mother “ghetto.” “These comments and this behavior are nothing more than misogyny and sexism,” said Johana Bencomo, who was involved in the comments. “In reference to my ‘ghetto’ comment, when you purposely prevent the freedom

The El Paso Children’s museum is working to find the extra funds needed to upgrade the original vision of the museum voters approved in 2012. During a meeting with the Downtown Management District, El Paso Children’s Museum founding director Paul Kortenaar said they are looking for additional dollars from the City and County of El

State officials say “several glitches” have caused some children who were part of New Mexico’s foster care system or were adopted out of it to lose Medicaid coverage. The Albuquerque Journal reports the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department and the state Human Services Department issued a joint statement attributing the inadvertent loss of

A family who donated the organs of a young girl who died in September of 2015 met two of the six recipients Thursday. The family of Tiffany Herrera visited with Micheal Carlton, who received her heart and Bailey Gorman, who received her lungs. The Herrera family also got the opportunity to listen to the donated

Enrique Vigil, the sheriff of Doña Ana County, said Thursday he has reviewed findings of an independent investigation into Undersheriff Ken Roberts and has decided he will not terminate Roberts. ABC-7 recently uncovered court records stating several employees within the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department filed complaints against Roberts in recent years, alleging racial and