Good Morning El Paso Weekend 08.14.16

abc-7 following the latest on the slaying of a hatch police officer… there as his body is escorted to albuquerque. and we’re learning more about how the officer was killed… and who is charged with pulling the trigger. and county leaders raising some ire after voting to raise pay – including their own… but it comes as they’re considering millions more across departments. and in stormtrack weather, stephen! this is all the news you need to start your sunday, august 14th. abc-7’s “good morning el paso weekend” starts right now! the bridge to nowhere will soon be no more. today will be another frustrating day for drivers on the west side as tex dot crews work to remove what frustrating day for drivers on the west side as tex dot crews work to remove what remains of the buena vista bridge. in order to do that they have closed interstate ten in both directions at sunland park. our round the clock news crew got video just after crews shut down the freeway. good morning and thank you for joing us… i’m andrew j. polk. we have a look at your drive times and what you can expect for your morning commute coming up. but first– a community is coming together to honor a fallen hatch police officer who was shot after a traffic stop went terribly wrong. the officer is identified as 33-year old jose chavez. chavez was a two year veteran of the hatch police department. these are photos from the dona ana county sheriff’s office. chavez graduated from the law enforcement academy in 2013. he was a deputy for 6 months before taking the job as a hatch police officer, where he served for two years.. chavez was shot in the neck and flown to university medical center in el paso – where he died following surgery. he leaves behind a wife and two children. a gofund me account created shows – officer chavez had a 5-year old and 14-year old daughter. the account has generated thousands of dollars in just under 24 hours. our crews were there as the body of officer chavez was escorted from umc yesterday morning… as it made it’s way to albuquerque. abc-7’s new mexico mobile newsroom captured the escort making it’s way through las cruces with lights and sirens on… we are told the office of the medical investigator will conduct an autopsy today. the men arrested in connection with officer chavez’s death are 36-year- old james nelson and 38-year-old jesse hanes. hanes–whose last known address was in columbus, oh, currently faces one count of willful and deliberate first- degree murder in ohio for the death of a 62-year old man. nelson is being held on a fugitive warrant in connected with the shooting death of a 62-year-old man. it all started here on franklin avenue in hatch. officials tell abc-7 officer chavez conducting a traffic stop near an r-v park when–he was shot. police taped off a large area near the park as investigators were on scene for hours. officals say the suspects then fled the scene on i-25 driving at 100 miles an hour. yesterday the dona ana sheriffs office held a news conference releasing new information on the 2 men in custody. officials say hanes was the man who allegedly pulled the trigger. they also say james d nelson was in the passenger seat during the shooting. the third man who was in the vehicle is not a suspect at this time. “it appears that make was a hitchhiker who had caught a ride from these two, he’s considered an witness at this time and is not being charged”” officials with dona ana county sheriffs office are still the lead investigator at this time. they are being assisted by the fbi the dona ana sheriffs office will also be taking over all service calls for the hatch police department for the next 48 hours. they then came to a stop at this rest area near radium springs. authorities say – this is where hanes – carjacked a 36-year-old man – shooting him in the torso after the victim refused to get in the car with him. the victim hanes shot has not been identified – but is in stable condition at an el paso hospital. hanes fled – and drove to a home on highway i-85, where sheriff’s deputies were able to stop him by using tire spikes. the suspect then crashed into a pile of wood – and barricaded himself inside – before surrendering. hanes suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his leg. members of the dona ana county sheriff’s office are coming together to help lift the financial burden for families of fallen officers. yesterday deputies wash cars to help sraise money. the proceeds raised at jack key motors will go to the families of the officers killed in dallas, lousiana and to the family of officer chavez. saturday’s car wash was just one of several fundraisers. we caught up with one deputy who spent his morning helping the cause. “we send our deepest respect, love and condolences to the family. we’re here here for you as a comunity , as law enforecemtn .. as family. ” the sheriff’s office is also teaming up with n-m-s-u for a charity football game. there will also be a comedy show to raise money for the families of fallen officers. …stormtrack weather now! let’s get your first forecast with stormtrack meteorologist stephen decatur. moisture and weak instability will continue across the borderland today for another round of scattered thunderstorms. a few of these storms could produce heavy rain. drier air begins moving in on monday and tuesday with northerly flow aloft, limiting the chance of thunderstorms mainly to the gila region and maybe over hudspeth county. southerly flow aloft develops on wednesday and continues through next weekend. this will slowly bring moisture back into the area, so that by thursday and beyond, scattered thunderstorms should return to the entire borderland. temperatures will remain near to slightly below normal through most of this week. this is new video just into our newsroom. our crews were out there at the crack of dawn as tex dot crews closed off the freeway… and now we’re there as the bridge is being demolished. you can see construction crews taking apart the bridge piece by piece. the freeway is expected to open back up by tomorrow morning at 5. we’re told if the entire bridge and the other half of the paisano bridge are able to be brought down today.. that will put the go-10 project back on track. a standoff between police and protesters turned violent after a fatal shooting of an armed suspect saturday night. this was the scene in the north side of milwaukee. a police officer is in the hospital recovering after protesters hit him with a brick– and the angry crowd set at least four buildings including a gas station on fire. authorities say the incident happened after police shot and killed an armed suspect during a footchase. officials did not say why the suspect was confronted: “officers are out here taking risk on behalf of the community and making split seconds decisions. in this case officers were tempted to stop two young me, one was armed with a handgun. that officer had to make a split second decision when the person confronted him with the hand gun. this is the risk that they take everyday on behalf of our community.” police say they’ve made three arrests. the shooting will be investigated by the state. officials say the officer who shot the armed man was wearing a body camera. this past week– el paso county commissioners focussed on approving the budget for the next fiscal year. one of the items approved caused a bit of an uproar. commissioners approved raises for themselves and say it will not increase taxes. but the pay increase is small in comparison to increases for departments like public works … “we submitted approximately a $34 million budget request with – that includes a total of 14 new positions, 3 are re-grades, and 11 are new positions.” the public works department is looking at tackling more than ever before… and is asking for nearly a million more, mostly in new and upgraded employee positions to make it happen. “in my opinion yes. they’re essential to do better at what we’re doing and to cover areas that we’re currently not doing.” count commissioners have put an increasing focus in services for the urbanized parts of the county… growing outside of any city’s limits. the department has grown from a budget just under $21 million for the 2015 fiscal year… to the proposed $34 million for 2017 to tacke it all. “it’ everything from maintenance to plan review and inspection to graffiti cleanup, eradication to better planning for transportation programs and for rural planning initiatives.” some of the departments budget requests have been approved by commissioners so far while others haven’t been addressed yet or require further review. commissioners will have to approve the more than $300 million full budget before the start of the fiscal year in october. so how much should elected officials make? and what’s a fair compensation for those working for you? that is what we’ll be discussing tonight on abc-7 xtra. our guests will be commissioner david stout, county judge veronica escobar and attorney james montoya — who reviews city council salaries. catch that right after our 10 ‘o clock newscast at 10:35, only on abc-7. the secrets of the camino real. the el paso inc is learning some of the most interesting details that have mostly been forgotten by the public. since the meyers group is buying the hotel… executives are touring the building and discovering the original arcitecture when it was built back in 19-12. according to our news partners– some discoveries include a small room behind a wall next to the dome bar. they believe it used to be a cigar room. and a staircase that leads to a forgotten basement. the el paso inc also saw a list of noteable people who have stayed at the hotel like actor john wayne. for more on the hidden secrets of the camino real pick up your copy of the el paso inc. other stories this week include: why local officials are rushing to save the new visitors center for franklin mountains state park – the one they thought was all set and ready to build. also, el paso inc. is adding to its list of private- sector investments in downtown, bringing it to more than 20 major projects. el paso inc. is online at elpasoinc.com, and available for home and business delivery. call 534- 4422 to subscribe. while we have some rain around the borderland… on the other side of texas, there’s major flooding! the response going on in louisiana right now. and later – reports of gunfire that sent shoppers running for their lives… with injuries caused in the fray. it is , right now we’ll take a look at our traffic track systems and in stormtrack weather, stephen! stormtrack weather is next! you’re watching abc-7… where news comes first!