Los Alamos County Council tentatively approves 7-0 the proposed FY-2022 budget for the Probate Judge’s Office during its budget hearing Monday night. Probate Judge Michael Redondo, third right from top, reported his budget is $5,932. Screenshot/LADP Read More
Courts
Council Tentatively Approves Municipal Court Budget
Municipal Judge Elizabeth Allen
COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County Council tentatively approved 7-0 the proposed FY-22 budget for the Municipal Court during its budget hearing Monday night.
The proposed FY-22 budget for Los Alamos Municipal Court is $626,466. Read More
Governor On Guilty Verdict In Derek Chauvin Case
From the Office of the Governor:
SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement this afternoon upon a Minnesota jury issuing a guilty verdict on all three counts against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin:
“New Mexico has grieved alongside the rest of the nation and the world over the unconscionable killing of George Floyd as he begged for breath in the street last year. We have grieved with each new instance of injustice in the interim.
“And while no courtroom verdict will ever bring Mr. Floyd back to his family, to his children, and while no guilty verdict will Read More
Los Alamos Police Blotter March 17 To April 13, 2021
LAPD News:
The following information is provided by the Los Alamos Police Department.
Neither arrests nor charges indicate a conviction, and neither means that a person is guilty of the charges filed against them.
REID M. SCHNEIDER
March 17 at 12:36 p.m. / Police arrested Reid M. Schneider, 31, of White Rock at 2500 Trinity Dr., on an outstanding Magistrate Court warrant.
CARL CALVIN CHRISTIANSEN
March 19 at 9:36 p.m. / Police arrested Carl Calvin Christiansen, 47, of White Rock on East Road and charged him with DUI.
ADAM TRISTAN JOSEPH Read More
New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds Convictions Of Alamogordo Man For His Role In Murder And Other Crimes
NMSC News:
SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court Monday affirmed the convictions of Robert “Bob” Chavez for his role in killing a man in Alamogordo in 2011 and burning the victim’s body.
In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court rejected Chavez’s arguments in appealing convictions of first-degree murder as an accessory to the killing, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, arson and evidence tampering. Chavez was sentenced to life imprisonment – requiring a minimum of 30 years before becoming eligible for parole – plus an additional 21 years.
According Read More
AG Hector Balderas Secures Prison Sentence Of Woman Who Defrauded Medicaid Program Of More Than $445,000
Attorney General Hector Balderas
AG News:
SANTA FE — Attorney General Hector Balderas announced Monday that the Office of the Attorney General has secured a prison sentence for Lolita Begay-Yazzie as a result of her guilty plea to one count of fraud in excess of $20,000, a second degree felony, and one count of Medicaid Fraud for Failure to Retain Documents, a fourth degree felony.
Begay-Yazzie defrauded New Mexico’s Medicaid program of more than $445,000.
The court sentenced Begay-Yazzie to five-and-one-half years in the Department of Corrections, suspending three years, meaning Begay-Yazzie Read More
New State Law Helps Senior Citizens Called To Jury Duty
NMSC News:
SANTA FE — A new state law will make it easier for senior citizens to permanently excuse themselves from jury service.
The new law applies to state residents 75-years-old or older who have been summoned to jury duty. They no longer will be required to submit an affidavit – a sworn, notarized statement – if they want to be excused from jury service.
Starting June 18 when the new law takes effect, those qualifying New Mexicans can request an excusal online through the state court system’s jury website. Another option is to call the local court for more information.
“New Mexico courts sought Read More
FBI: Santa Fe Woman Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Minor
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — Brittany Huizar, 20, of Santa Fe pleaded guilty March 31 in Federal Court to a charge of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury in Indian Country.
A grand jury indicted Huizar Nov. 4, 2020. According to the indictment, Huizar and eight other individuals on Dec. 31, 2019 assaulted a child, who is an enrolled member of the Nambe Pueblo, multiple times before the child was able to escape. The assault began at Valdez Park on the Santa Clara Pueblo.
Huizar faces up to 5 years in prison.
The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI investigated this case with assistance from the Read More
New Mexico Supreme Court Rules Military Disability Benefits Not Subject To Division In Divorces
NMSC News:
SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that New Mexico courts cannot order a veteran to reimburse a former spouse for a divorce agreement’s share of military retirement pay that ended when the veteran opted to receive disability benefits.
In a unanimous decision, New Mexico’s highest court held that federal law precludes state courts from enforcing provisions of a 2006 divorce agreement that called for Angela Russ to receive 50 percent of Jeffery Russ’ military retirement earned during their marriage. However, the Supreme Court observed that a trial Read More
Attorney General: Felony Charges For Individuals Accused Of Stealing Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Hay
From the Office of the Attorney General:
ALBUQUERQUE — Attorney General Hector Balderas announced Thursday that Valencia County Magistrate Court Judge John R. Chavez found probable cause that Leo Martinez and Robbie Proffitt committed the felony crimes of embezzlement, fraud and forgery.
Proffitt and Martinez, two commercial truck drivers, allegedly stole approximately $500,000 worth of bulk hay that they were supposed to have delivered to Pareo Farm, a family dairy farm in Valencia County.
Instead, the pair sold the hay to another Valencia County rancher and fraudulently billed Pareo Read More