Courts

State Justices Temporarily Decline To Block Pandemic Rules

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New Mexico Supreme Court temporarily denies request to prohibit enforcement of pandemic-related rules for this year’s legislative session. Post file photo

By ROBERT NOTT
SFNM

The state Supreme Court has temporarily denied a request by House Republicans to prohibit the enforcement of pandemic-related rules for this year’s legislative session.

While the court continues to consider a final ruling, the current procedures for the 60-day session remain in place.

After a contentious week that included a COVID-19 outbreak involving one Republican legislator and others who work at the Read More

FBI: Luis Angel Rodriguez Of La Mesa Charged With Derailing Train In Southern New Mexico, Which Injured Conductor And Engineer … Faces Up To Life In Prison

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – Luis Angel Rodriguez, 27, of La Mesa made his initial appearance in federal court today where he was charged with knowingly derailing a train.

Rodriguez will remain detained pending a preliminary hearing.

According to a criminal complaint, in the early morning hours of Dec. 2, 2020, Rodriguez allegedly placed materials on a track causing a BNSF Railway train to derail in Vado.

The derailment injured the conductor and engineer and caused damage to the railway and surrounding property.

A complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is considered innocent unless and until Read More

FBI: Jose Carlos Cisneros-Legarda Of Albuquerque Faces Federal Firearms And Drug Trafficking Charges

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Carlos Cisneros-Legarda, 22 of Albuquerque, made his initial appearance in federal court Jan. 28 where he was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin, possessing a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Cisneros-Legarda will remain detained pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for today, Feb. 1.

Cisneros-Legarda is a state probationer whose probation term runs through September 2022 for 2017 convictions for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. According Read More

GOP Leaders In New Mexico House Sue Over Rule Changes

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House Minority Leader Jim Townsend

News From 2021 Legislative Session
By SFNM

Republican leaders in the state House of Representatives filed a lawsuit Saturday with the New Mexico Supreme Court, charging rules changes adopted early in the 2021 session are unconstitutional.

House Minority Leader Jim Townsend, R-Artesia, and Reps. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, and Larry Scott, R-Hobbs, filed the lawsuit. It names House Speaker Brian Egolf and the Legislative Council as defendants.

The lawsuit asks the Supreme Court to issue a stay prohibiting the defendants from enforcing the rules until Read More

AG Balderas Announces Detention And Charging Of Man Who Allegedly Molested Multiple Family Members

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Attorney General Hector Balderas

From the Office of the Attorney General:

ALBUQUERQUE — Attorney General Hector Balderas announced Friday that alleged serial child molester James Henz was bound over for trial in district court on numerous counts of sexual assault and other crimes against five young victims.

If convicted on all counts, Henz will likely spend the rest of his life incarcerated.

The district court also granted the Office of the Attorney General’s motion to hold Henz without bond before trial on the grounds that he is a danger to the community. 

“The allegations in this case are Read More

State Supreme Court Affirms Contempt Order Against New Mexico Department Of Taxation And Revenue

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed a judge’s decision to hold the state Department of Taxation and Revenue in contempt for failing to comply with an order in 2015 concerning a property tax dispute over two high-voltage electrical transmission lines in Harding County.

In a unanimous decision, the Court also upheld the district court’s award of $38,430 in attorney fees and legal costs to the Harding County Board of Commissioners and public school boards in Roy and Mosquero for seeking to enforce the court’s order in the tax case and as a sanction against the department. 

“We Read More

Human Trafficking Bill Enacting Tougher Penalties Passes House Consumer And Public Affairs Unanimously

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Assistant Attorney General Mark Probasco

By ROBERT NOTT
SFNM

After hearing emotional testimony from victims of human trafficking, members of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee unanimously voted to support a bill enacting tougher penalties for the crime.

House Bill 56 also broadens the definition of human trafficking, expands protections for victims and gives law enforcement more clarification on what they can do to identify and arrest people engaged in the offense. 

It also requires those convicted of human trafficking to register as sex offenders in the state.

“The goal Read More

Los Alamos Police Blotter: Jan. 15 To Jan. 20, 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.

 

WILLIAM SCOTT JEAN

Jan. 15 at 8:54 p.m. / Police arrested William Scott Jean, 21, of Los Alamos at 2500 Trinity Dr., and charged him with possession of a controlled substance.

 

 

 

 

MICHAEL A. NOVAK

Jan. 20 at 1:53 p.m. / Police arrested Michael A. Novak, 60, of Los Alamos on Yucca Street on an outstanding District Court warrant. Read More

Vargas Takes Oath Of Office To New Mexico Supreme Court

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Justice Julie J. Vargas is sworn into office by Chief Justice Michael E. Vigil. Standing next to Justice Vargas is her mother, Elisa Vargas. Courtesy/Administrative Office of the Courts

NMSC News:

SANTA FE — Supreme Court Justice Julie J. Vargas was sworn into office Monday.

Chief Justice Michael Vigil administered the oath of office to the justice during a ceremony in the Supreme Court courtroom. Family members of the justice were present.

Other Supreme Court justices, friends and judicial colleagues attended remotely through an audio-video connection. 

The governor appointed Justice Read More

Previously Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced To 35 Years In Prison On Child Pornography And International Kidnapping

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Clarence Michael Ransom, 53, of Las Cruces was sentenced Jan. 20 to 35 years in federal prison for attempted production of child pornography, international parental kidnapping and failure to report international travel as a sex offender.

Ransom pleaded guilty June 23, 2020. In the plea agreement, Ransom admitted having at least 10 sexually explicit conversations over an online social networking and dating platform in May 2019.

Ransom believed he was chatting with a 14-year-old girl, but the other party to the conversations was an undercover law enforcement officer. Read More