Courts

Court Appointed Special Advocates Needs Volunteers

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CASA Executive Director Annie Rasquin and CASA volunteer Bob Martin  spoke at Kiwanis recently on the importance of the program and its desperate need for more volunteers. Photo by Don Casperson
 
 
By CHARMIAN SCHALLER
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos

Annie Rasquin, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in the First Judicial District, spoke at Kiwanis recently, explaining CASA’s goals and asking for more volunteers from Los Alamos County to assist in the program.

Rasquin has a master’s degree in social work and has spent 20 years dealing Read More

Supreme Court Justice Speaks To Los Alamos LWV

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Chief Supreme Court Justice Charles Daniels discusses court functions and bail reform at recent Los Alamos League of Woman Voters’ Lunch with a Leader talk at Mesa Public Library. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com

Chief Supreme Court Justice Charles Daniels with Los Alamos Magistrate Judge Pat Casados, left, and Karyl Ann Ambruster at March’s Lunch With A Leader meeting. Photo by Maire O’Neill/ladailypost.com
 
By MAIRE O’NEILL
Los Alamos Daily Post
 

Los Alamos League of Woman Voters members heard from Chief Supreme Court Justice Charles

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Udall To Oppose Gorsuch For Supreme Court

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall
 
SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― U.S. Sen. Tom Udall has announced that he will vote against confirming Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. He issued the following statement: 
 
“I have met with Judge Gorsuch, followed the hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and studied his record, and I have decided that I can’t support his confirmation. 
 
“The Supreme Court changes people’s lives, and its decisions stand for generations. It’s essential that justices understand not
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FBI: Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Federal And Local Law Enforcement Officers

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FBI News:
 
ALBUQUERQUE ― Richard Ruiz Leyva, 36, of Las Cruces, pled guilty March 22 in Federal Court to assaulting federal and local law enforcement officers. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Leyva will be sentenced to 82 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
 
Leyva was arrested in August 2016 and charged by a criminal complaint with assaulting and resisting federally commissioned officers of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). According to the complaint, Leyva assaulted the officers by using his vehicle as a weapon by
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Magistrate Court Results For Thursday, March 23

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COURT News:

Ashley A. Garcia of Hernandez, accused of shoplifting, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and duty to give information and render aid, in connection with a March 9 incident at Bealls Department Store will remain in jail until her May 11 preliminary hearing on previous shoplifting charges.

Garcia, 23, appeared before Magistrate Judge Pat Casados Thursday for her first appearance on the March 9 case where she and another woman, Stephanie Garcia, allegedly struck a pedestrian with a vehicle outside Bealls and fled the scene. A statewide warrant resulted in Ashley Garcia’s Read More

Richard Atencio Charged With Stealing From LANL Heads To First Judicial District Court April 3

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Staff Report

Richard Atencio, 53, of Espanola is slated for a plea hearing in First Judicial District Court April 3 on larceny and tampering with evidence charges in connection with property he allegedly stole in 2015 from Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The criminal complaint, filed in Los Alamos Magistrate Court in April 2016, indicates that the value of the property was more than $2,500 and less than $20,000.

Police records indicate Los Alamos Police Cpl. Jack Casias received a telephone call Sept. 29, 2015 from LANL’s Security Investigation Team stating that a larceny had occurred at the Read More

Operation Spring Cleaning Defendants Face Judge

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COURT News:

Seven people arrested Tuesday morning during Operation Spring Cleaning, a drug sweep spearheaded by the Los Alamos Police Department, had their first appearances Thursday before Magistrate Judge Pat Casados.

All seven defendants were released on their own recognizance with conditions that include no firearms, no alcohol or drugs, urinalysis requirements, checking in with the probation officer, not being allowed to leave the state without contacting the court, and not being allowed any contact with victims or others involved in the case. All but one defendant told Casados Read More

FBI: Rio Rancho Woman Sentenced For Filing False Claim For Federal Tax Refund

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE – Frances Jo Mehner, 71, of Rio Rancho was sentenced Thursday afternoon in Federal Court in Albuquerque to a 207-day term of imprisonment, which she has already served, followed by a year of supervised release for filing a false claim for a federal tax refund.

 

Given Mehner’s obstructive behavior toward the IRS, the federal judge also ordered Mehner to comply with several special conditions during her term of supervised release. Mehner is required to file timely, accurate, and lawful tax returns. Mehner also may only communicate with the IRS through a licensed attorney.

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Court Briefs

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COURT News:

Chihyeujim Kao Pleads Guitly To Assault And Battery
Chihyuejim Kao, 61, pleaded guilty to assault and battery against a family member during his arraignment in Los Alamos Magistrate Monday. Kao was arrested March 12 following a domestic disturbance at his home where according to court documents he hit the victim on the head with his palms at which point she locked herself in a room to get away. The victim told officers she hurt her ankle when she jumped to safety from a window because Kao was breaking down the door. Judge Pat Casados told Kao she wished to hear from the victim before passing Read More

FBI: Navajo Man Sentenced To Decade In Prison

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FBI News:
 
ALBUQUERQUE ― Norman Yazzie, 56, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock was sentenced March 21 in federal court in Albuquerque to 10 years in prison followed by four years of supervised release for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
 
Yazzie was arrested in May 2016 on a criminal complaint charging him with assault and firearms offenses on April 29, 2016, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County. According to the complaint, Yazzie shot the victim with a rifle in the forehead and the knee, causing her to suffer
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