Los Alamos County Clerk Naomi Maestas swears in local attorney Perry Klare to the position of Probate Judge during a ceremony Tuesday afternoon in Council Chambers. Klare was accompanied by his wife Debrah and father Ken Klare. Probate Judge Michael Redondo announced in November his intent to resign his position effective Feb. 2. Council appointed Klare to complete that term, which ends Dec. 31, 2026. ‘Thank you Los Alamos County for your confidence in appointing me to the position of Probate Judge. I will carry on the same level of professional and timely probate proceedings that the Honorable Read More
Courts
Simonich: Dems Show Spine In Disagreement With Governor
By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Political courage seldom flashes before our eyes at the state Capitol. This week was an exception.
Five Democratic senators defied Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who favored a Republican’s bill to make it easier to keep defendants jailed in felony cases.
The senators closed ranks to stop the bill from advancing on grounds it would violate the state constitution. Their decision leaves them vulnerable to backlash in an election year, but they never blinked.
State prosecutors already have vast resources available to make their case for keeping Read More
FBI: Tohajilee Man Pleads Guilty To Voluntary Manslaughter
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced Thursday that Cole Ray Shorty pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
Shorty, 19, of Tohajilee and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
A federal grand jury indicted Shorty Sept. 27, 2022, along with his co-defendant, Keon Apachito. In his plea agreement, Shorty admitted that he went to John Doe’s home on May 27, 2022, to retrieve Read More
Luján, Welch Introduce Bicameral Legislation To Enhance Consumer Protection, Hold Mega-Corporations Accountable For Safety Violations
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján
From the Office of U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) joined U.S. Sens. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to introduce the Consumer Advocacy and Protection (CAP) Act, legislation to enhance consumer protection and ensure the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) can hold companies accountable for consumer safety violations. The CAP Act aims to deter companies from committing safety violations by increasing CPSC’s penalty authority. Representatives Read More
Heinrich Hosts Roundtable On Newly Introduced Gun Bill
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich
U.S. SENATE News:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and March Fourth hosted a roundtable discussion in the U.S. Capitol with New Mexico law enforcement, firearm owners, influential voices, and advocates for responsible gun ownership, to discuss his newly introduced gun legislation, the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act (GOSAFE) Act.
“We represent a whole host of political views and life experiences at this table. And one of the things that Washington, D.C. does not do well is nuance. You’re either red or you’re Read More
FBI: Shiprock Man Charged With Federal Firearms Offense
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Crandall Craig Martin was arraigned Jan. 22 in Federal Court on an indictment charging him with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
Martin, 40, of Shiprock, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain in custody pending trial in this case.
According to the indictment, Aug. 10, 2022, Martin possessed a firearm knowing that he had been previously Read More
Robinson: Putting A Wedge In Revolving Door Of Justice
By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2024 New Mexico News Services
Devin Munford should have stayed in jail. He was a repeat offender, arrested for shooting from a vehicle with a stolen gun. The prosecutor tried to keep him locked up, but the judge put Munford on pretrial release, and he left wearing a GPS ankle monitor.
Munford violated the conditions of his release over and over. That included firing a shotgun through an apartment door, killing a man, firing a shot over the head of a woman who asked him to move his car, and robbing a 7-Eleven at gunpoint. Last week he was sentenced to life plus 25 years Read More
New Mexico Supreme Court Reinstates Defendant’s Conviction For 2017 Killing Of Florida Woman
New Mexico Supreme Court News:
SANTA FE — The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a man’s second-degree murder conviction for the death of a Florida woman who was driving him to Mexico to live with a family member.
In a unanimous opinion, the Court reversed a decision of the state Court of Appeals, which had vacated the murder conviction of Isaias Lobato-Rodriguez and ordered a new trial because of a prosecutor’s statement about the defendant invoking his right to remain silent after being arrested.
The state Supreme Court concluded that the prosecutor erred in making the statement Read More
Security Incident Closes Luna County Magistrate Court
COURT News;
A security incident occurred early today at the Luna County Magistrate Court building in Deming.
Law enforcement is investigating.
The magistrate court is closed for the day, and as a precaution the district court in Deming also is closed today.
Contact local law enforcement for additional information. Read More
FBI: Santa Clara Man Gets 35 Years For Child Porn
FBI News:
ALBUQUERQUE — Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Jason T. Stevens, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations – El Paso, announced Wednesday that Michael Rivera was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
A federal jury convicted Rivera, 33, of Santa Clara, July 11, 2023, of one count of coercion and enticement of a minor and two counts of production of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct after less than two hours of deliberation.
A federal grand jury indicted Rivera Sept. 21, 2022. Read More