Courts

Retired Judge Files Ethics Complaint Against House Speaker

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House Speaker Brian Egolf

By ROBERT NOTT
SFNM 

As retired Judge Sandra Price watched the state House of Representatives debate a bill that would allow people to sue government agencies over civil rights violations, one particular moment grabbed her attention.

It was when Rep. Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, rose to ask the bill’s sponsors — House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, and Rep. Georgene Louis, D-Albuquerque — to accept a substitute bill. 

The amended legislation would have required any lawmakers who work as attorneys to agree not to represent clients in complaints that might fall Read More

FBI: Albuquerque Man Charged With Firearms Possession

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Shawn Connell, 41, of Albuquerque, was charged in federal court Feb. 8 with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Connell has been released from custody pending trial.

According to a criminal complaint, on the morning of Sept. 26, 2020, a Bernalillo County Deputy Sheriff allegedly observed Connell driving erratically and made a traffic stop. At first, Connell allegedly refused to comply with the Deputy’s commands, but eventually got out of his vehicle and was detained. A check revealed that Connell’s driver license had been surrendered.

Among the items found during Read More

NM House OKs Use Of Land Grant Fund For Early Education

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Rep. Moe Maestas

By ROBERT NOTT
SFNM

Tapping revenues for preschool programs from a massive state investment fund has been a Sisyphean task for advocates.

Year after year, lawmakers and others who back the plan have pushed legislation through the House — like a boulder up a hill — only to see it stall in Senate committees led by fiscally conservative Democrats.

House Democrats finally may have a chance to see the measure clear both chambers and reach the desk of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who has said she would sign it. A more progressive group of Senate leaders say they favor House Joint Resolution Read More

New Mexico Supreme Court Issues Opinion On State’s Authority To Restrict Business Operations During Public Health Emergency

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File photo

New Mexico Supreme Court News:

SANTA FE – The governor and Department of Health have legislatively granted authority to restrict or close businesses through an emergency public health order rather than imposing such restrictions through a rulemaking process, the state Supreme Court concluded in an opinion issued today.

The Court’s unanimous written opinion provides the detailed legal reasoning for an oral decision issued from the bench in August that upheld a ban on indoor dining the state had imposed a month earlier because of the increasing spread of COVID-19.

A group of businesses Read More

Bill Expanding New Mexico’s ‘Red-Flag’ Gun Law Heard

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Rep. Elizabeth Thomson

By ROBERT NOTT
SFNM

Opponents of a gun control bill that would expand a controversial new law in New Mexico argue the measure would give police too much power — enough to seize their firearms even if they have committed no crime. 

About 15 people testified Thursday against House Bill 193, which would amend New Mexico’s Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act by adding law enforcement officers to the list of people who could seek a court order to temporarily take firearms from a person considered a threat.

Under current law, police officers can only seek a court order if it Read More

Attorney General Balderas Issues Advisory Warning New Mexicans About Emerging Court Fees Collection Scam

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From the Office of the Attorney General:

SANTA FE – Attorney General Hector Balderas today issued an advisory warning to New Mexicans about emerging scams where individuals are calling New Mexicans, saying that they are calling from the Second Judicial District Court, and that the recipient must meet someone immediately to pay court fees in cash or risk going to jail.

The advisory comes after the Second Judicial District Court alerted the Office of the Attorney General that they had received information from several community members that they received a call saying the caller was from the Read More

FBI: California Man Sentenced To Three Years In Federal Prison For Robbing Bank In Roswell

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Randy Matthew Peraza, 48, of Needles, Calif., was sentenced Jan. 27 in federal court to three years in prison for bank robbery.

Peraza pleaded guilty July 9, 2020. In his plea agreement, Peraza admitted to walking into a bank in Roswell March 13, 2020, announcing, “This is a robbery”, and demanding money from a bank teller. As the teller gathered cash, Peraza applied hand sanitizer to his hands and used a lighter to light his hands on fire.

Peraza then took money from the teller, left the bank, walked across the street and sat in the grass where officers responding to the bank Read More

Los Alamos Police Blotter: Jan. 30 To Feb. 2, 2021

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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.

 

EDUARDO GOMEZ

Jan. 30 at 5:28 p.m. / Police arrested Eduardo Gomez, 45, of Santa Fe on Trinity Drive and Canyon Road and charged him with careless driving, driving with an open container of alcohol, driving without a license, driving without insurance and aggravated DWI: refusal to submit to chemical testing.

 

DONOVAN PETER BACA

Feb. 2 at 7:25 p.m. / Police arrested Donovan Read More

FBI: Shiprock Man Charged With Assault With Dangerous Weapon And Discharging Firearm During Violent Crime

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Quincee Zohnnie, 24, of Shiprock, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, appeared in federal court Jan. 28 on one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

Zohnnie was ordered detained pending trial.

According to a criminal complaint, on or about June 14, 2020, Zohnnie allegedly drove by and fired gunshots into an occupied house, intending to cause harm to John Doe. There was a child in the home at the time of the shooting. The alleged incident occurred in San Juan County on the Navajo Nation. 

Read More

Women Seek Justice After Being Incarcerated In Rodent Infested Prison In New Mexico

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The New Mexico Prison & Jail Project (NMPJP) today filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of two women incarcerated in what is described as a rodent infested prison in Grants. Courtesy photo

NMPJP News:

“Disgusting.”

“Dehumanizing.”

“Degrading.”

These are just a few of the words used by Susie Zapata and Monica Garcia to describe the months and years they spent incarcerated at the rodent-infested women’s prison in Grants, about 78 miles west of Albuquerque.

Both women worked in the kitchen during much of their time at the prison. Forced to work at the epicenter of the infestation, they were Read More