Good Morning El Paso
then. a suspicious package shuts down part of downtown… as the bomb squad investigates. a man who escaped from police managing to stay on the run for days. how he was finally tracked down. and el paso still experiencing a influx of cuban immigrants. what local agencies and groups say they need your help with this morning. this is all the news you need to start your saturday, may 14th. abc-7’s “good morning el paso weekend” starts right now! good morning and thank you for joing us… i’m andrew j. polk. …stormtrack weather now! let’s get your first forecast with stormtracker iris lopez police say a suspicious package found in a downtown building was not a threat. suspicious package found in a downtown building was not a threat. according to police, a package was sent to the western refing office inside the anson mills building. that’s on the 300 block of north oregon street, it happened around 5 30 yesterday evening. police tell us the buildings and businesses were evacuated. shortly after police say the package was not a threat. main drive and oregon street were closed off while the bomb squad investigated the scene. it has since then reopened. a man who escaped from police was able to stay on the run for a day and half. michael derby is facing multiple charges in two states after this police chase. he also faces additional charges following wednesday’s escape. he was arrested yesterday morning in las cruces – near a police station. derby was found at the corner of picacho and alameda. you can see on this map — he was just a couple of blocks away from the station. from our new mexico mobile newsroom … authorities had been looking for derby after he escaped custody wednesday night. he was being treated at a clinic when he allegedly ran off and stole a truck at a gas station police tell us yesterday morning someone called 9-1 after seeing a man who need help. that man turned out to be derby: “apparently theres a passerby sees a pedestrian stumbling having medical issue,. person called 911 so fire ambulance and police went out there and it was him.” derby was arrested back on sunday following two chases with las cruces police. this is body cam video shot from an officer”s lapell pin. derby is wearing white. while he was hiding in el paso — police say derby carjacked a man and drove the stolen suv back to las cruces. bond for derby is set at 100- thousand dollars cash a man who admited to raping a disabled woman in a nursing home is going to prison. peter lucero was found guilty of false imprisonment and criminal sexual penetration. he was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison. abc-7’s josie ortegon has more from our new mexico mobile newsroom. :01-:10 33-42 46-52 judge fernando macias said peter lucero was looking for someone to prey on that day. his victim–a nursing home resident in a wheelchair who prosecutors say could not fend for herself: “what makes this mor disgusting is that she was left on the floor, helpless in a puddle of urine.” sexual contact pete lucero first told police was consensual. as we saw play out in court, he later pleaded guilty. in february of 2015, lucero was at the home visiting his grandfather at the good samaritan society. surveillance video used during the trial shows lucero wheeling several residents to their room… something he did often. but that video shows lucero wheeling the victim into her room and leaving the room a half hour later. investigators say that’s when he raped her. “he knew where he was at. he knew he was at an assorted living facility with individuals that are older and unable to care for themselves.” in court, lucero said what he did was stupid. he then apologized to the victim. “now i have to pay for it, and understand that. i’m deeply sorry that i’ve down this. i’m deeply sorry i’ve done this to her.” the victim wh was not in the courtroom, however. her sister, who took the stand, said she’s has had a sharp decline in her health since that day. “she really doesn’t talk about recent things. she lives in the past prior to that event almost like she thinks four years ago was yesterday.” the defense asked judge macias to suspend half of lucero’s sentence… but that did not happen. “th decision you made are without the ability to say there’s a different kind of future.” lucero wil spend 10 1/2 years in prison. live in lc, jo, abc-7. sheriff deputies say an intersection with no stop signs could be one of the factors that lead to a collision injuring 7 people. all 7 ended up in the hospital after a crash in montana vista. it happened just after one o’clock yesterday afternoon at showgun and buntline. we’re told it was a 2-vehicle collision involving a hummer h-2 and a car. one person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries — the others had minor injuries. the sheriff’s office says speed could have also been a factor in the crash. the el paso catholic diocese is asking for your help to welcome cuban refugees in our area. according to the communications director for the diocese, el paso will have 2 planes bringing in refugees until we reach 4 thousand people. the diocese is expecting to reach that number about 12 days from today. the diocese says the shelters are in need of reliable volunteers. jobs include everything from making sandwiches to changing beds as new people come in. there also still demand for personal hygiene products like soap, toothpaste, shampoo and more. above all, the catholic diocese wants to welcome the refugees and make the transition as comforable as they can: “we are the first experienc that they will have her in the united states. it’s incumbant on us to make sure that when they leave el paso that they have left knowing that they still have their dignity knowing that el paso treated them well, we are a welcoming community, it’s what we are known for and we want to continue that as we are dealing with the refugees.” the special olympics torch has already passed through the city of the crosses. area law enforcement joined special olympians from three communities as they carried a torch on its way to albuquerque for the special olympics. we saw athletes from anthony, deming and white sands missile range sharing the spirit of the games: “this is something la enforcement does to give back to the community. for our local athletes. like i said it’s friends awareness of their disabilities and their ability to participate in the special olympics.” the games begin on may 20th in las cruces. for many, pets can become part of the family – and losing one can be heatrbreaking. but one el paso man got a second chance with his four legged friend. abc-7’s jerry najera has the story … this is one of those feel good stories a man and his dog –inseperable become seperated and years later reunite once again. you don’t have to look to long before you know these 2 love each other. ricardo domingez and his dog brownie got unusually aquinted in 2009 “on day we get home and the kids tell us there’s a huge dog in the backyard” browni stuck around and fit in well with the family. “i fed him and took care of him i liked the dog so much he started riding with me in my trucks” unbeknowst to dominguez the dog belonged to some nearby neighbors. “one day sure enough the owners showed up and that’s my dog i said ok sure no problem we’ve spent all this he’s gone to the dog pound twice and he got chipped and his vaccinations -this is what we payed for him -go ahead take your dog” we’ll keep it short and say there was a dispute and dominguez ended up keeping the dog. from then on it was an unbreakable bond. you can even see in the interview brownie doesn’t leave his masters side “we’d be going all ove just him and i and my horse up in the canyons up in the mountains” bu one fatefull day dominguez had to take care of some business and left him under someone elses watch and when he got back brownie was gone. “did it hurt? yes it did like i said before it was like someone took one of my kids” thre years passed –dominguez thought brownie had been stolen. then he got a unexpected phone call from a vet. “brownie? what are you talking about brownie? where’s he at? sand diego. san diego?” domingiez made the more than 700 mile drive that same day. –drove straight through – no stops for 10 hours he wasn’t even sure brownie would recognize him. “he seen my ha you should of seen his face his eyes grew and he started dragging that poor girland he jumped on me.. buddy where you been” dominguez never thought something that would cost 10 dollars would be worth so much .. “chipping your dog..if you really love your dog do it man they’ll come back” they reunited last week. as far as how brownie got to san diego no one knows. but dominguez tells me he’ll be horse riding with brownie by his side soon. don’t forget to pick up your copy of the el paso inc. this week only in the el paso inc you’ll find: how out-of- town companies like carmax are shaking up the el paso market – and what local dealerships are doing about it. downtown’s newest hotel gets a new restaurant with a distinctly local flavor. and why two city reps are fighting hard to keep uber in town – and say the company hasn’t been operating illegally at all. el paso inc. is online at elpasoinc.com, and available for home and business delivery. call 534- 4422 to subscribe. if you’ve been having problems with the traffic around el paso, but don’t think it’s coming to your neighborhood… then you’ll want to look again! coming up on good morning el paso weekend… what new project is about to get underway. it is , right now we’ll take a live look at traffic this morning: and in stormtrack weather, iris! stormtrack weather is next! you’re watching abc-7… where news comes first!