Courts

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham Signs Crime Package

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State News:
SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed a bipartisan, comprehensive package of public safety legislation that supports law enforcement efforts to combat crime and also allows judges to impose longer prison sentences for violent criminals.
“New Mexico has a worsening violent crime problem, and this legislation is part of my administration’s continuing commitment to make communities safer,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said. “As this legislation shows, we are fighting the crime problem on two fronts. We are working both to prevent crime and to hold criminals more accountable.
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State Supreme Court Upholds 2016 Murder Convictions

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NMSC News:

SANTA FE — The state Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and prison sentence of an Albuquerque man for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit the murder.

The defendant, William York, was sentenced to life in prison – a mandatory 30 years before becoming eligible for parole – and an additional 18 years for the death of 32-year-old Cory Coyner in 2016. 

In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court concluded there was sufficient evidence to support York’s convictions and rejected other arguments in his appeal, including that his sentence on the conspiracy charge violated Read More

Los Alamos Police Blotter: Feb. 21 To Feb. 25, 2020

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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.

 

JOHN P. KELLEY

Feb. 21 at 3:40 p.m. / Police arrested John P. Kelley, 50, of Los Alamos at 2360 A 37th St. and charged him with Sexual Exploitation of a Child: Possession of Child Pornography.

 

 

 

MARTIN PALACIOS-ARREOLA AKA JORGE RODRIGUEZ

Feb. 25 at 10:55 p.m. / Police arrested Marti Palacios-Arreola AKA Jorge Rodriguez, 44, of Española at 2500 Trinity Dr., Read More

Los Alamos Police Blotter: Feb. 16 To Feb. 18, 2020

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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.

 

BRENDEN  BROWN

Feb. 16 at 11:11 a.m. / Police arrested Brenden Brown, 30, of White Rock on an outstanding District Court warrant.

 

 

 

MELINDA M. MADRID

Feb. 16 at 5: 14 p.m. / Police arrested Melinda M. Madrid, 38, of Hernandez in Española on an outstanding Magistrate Court warrant.

 

 

 

GANNON TIMOTHY LOPEZ

Feb. 18 at 2:32 p.m. / Police arrested Read More

House To Decrease Technical Parole And Probation Numbers

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Rep. Antonio ‘Moe’ Maestas

By PHILL CASAUS
The New Mexican

The House late Saturday night approved legislation by a wide margin meant to decrease the number of people on parole or probation going back to prison on technical violations for issues like missing a drug test or an appointment with a parole officer.

In a 47-17 vote, CQ  with some Democrats voting against the measure, the House approved a new version of a bill sponsored by Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque and a handful of other lawmakers. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed a similar bill last year after it cleared both the House Read More

Los Alamos Police Blotter: Feb. 5 To Feb. 11, 2020

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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.

 

PHILBERT LOPEZ

Feb. 5 at 6:16 p.m. / Police arrested Philbert Lopez, 35, of Española at the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office on an arrest order.

 

 

 

 

STEPHEN M. GEISIK

Feb. 6 at 12:48 p.m. / Police arrested Stephen M. Geisik, 29, of Hernandez at the Adult Probation Office on an arrest order.

 

 

 

DANIEL SCOTT MARTINEZ

Feb. 7 at 1:22 p.m. Read More

Governor Makes Historic Appointment To Appeals Court

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Shammara Haley Henderson

STATE News:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has appointed Shammara Haley Henderson to fill a vacancy on the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

Henderson is a former assistant U.S. attorney who has been in private practice in Albuquerque since 2017. She is a 2007 graduate of the University of New Mexico School of Law and has an undergraduate degree from American University in Washington, D.C.

She is the first African-American to be appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, according to Aja Brooks, president of the New Mexico Black Lawyers Association.

Henderson also Read More

House Committee Hears Probation & Parole Reform Bill

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Chief Public Defender Ben Baur

By PHAEDRA HAYWOOD
The New Mexican

Lawmakers continued to tussle Friday over a bill aimed at saving the state $40 million a year by reducing the number of parolees who are re-incarcerated over technical violations such as testing positive for drugs or missing appointments with their probation officers.

House Bill 263 is a much tinkered with version of a bill that passed both houses with bipartisan support last year, but was vetoed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham at the behest of Attorney General Hector Balderas and the state’s district attorneys, who said they hadn’t

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Los Alamos Police Blotter: Jan. 2 To Feb. 1, 2020

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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.

 

MICHAEL S. KOWALCZYK

Jan. 2 at 6:42 p.m. / Police arrested Michael S. Kowalczyk, 30, of Tierra Azul on East Jemez Road and charged him with driving on a suspended or revoked license.

 

 

 

 

THOMAS A. ALLEN

Jan. 9 at 1:47 a.m. / Police arrested Thomas A. Allen, 52, of Los Alamos near Diamond Drive and Urban and charged him with Aggravated DWI: Refusal to submit Read More

Former LANL Scientist Turab Lookman Pleads Guilty To Making False Statement About Involvement With Chinese Government Technology Program

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Turab Lookman

FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – Turab Lookman, 67, of Sante Fe, and a former scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), pleaded guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque to a charge of making a false statement to a government investigator about his involvement in the Thousand Talents Program, an initiative by the Chinese government to recruit people with access to and knowledge of foreign technology and intellectual property.

A grand jury previously indicted Lookman May 22, 2019, on three counts of making false statements to  the federal government. 

In his plea agreement, Read More