Central New Mexico Community College To Start Police Academy- Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Central New Mexico Community College is set to begin a police academy in an effort to grow the ranks of the Albuquerque Police Department.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the Albuquerque college announced Monday that it is launching the CNM Law Enforcement Academy next year.
The inaugural class will head to the Albuquerque Police Department after graduation.
Albuquerque police has about 880 officers. Ten years ago, there were 1,100 officers but, over the past six years, the number dwindled to a low of 831.
CNM President Katharine Winograd says Rio Rancho, the Village of Corrales, Los Lunas, Moriarty, and the Pueblos of Laguna and Isleta police departments also plan to use the CNM academy, as do sheriff's offices in Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance counties, and the 2nd Judicial District Attorney's Office.
The academy starts next fall.
Marine From New Mexico To Be Buried In Hometown Friday- Associated Press
A U.S. Marine from New Mexico who was killed during fighting on a Pacific island during World War II will be buried Friday in his hometown.
Pfc. Paul D. Gilman of Belen was 19 in 1943 when he died on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands while serving with the 2nd Marine Division
The Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency says Gilman's remains were buried in a military cemetery immediately after the fighting and then weren't recovered when remains in that cemetery were reburied in a centralized cemetery in 1946.
According to the agency, Gilman's remains were identified through DNA analysis and other means after being found with other remains at a burial site on Betio by a nongovernmental organization, History Flight Inc.
New Mexico Man Sentenced To 44 Years Of Medical Marijuana Heist- Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
A 33-year-old New Mexico man has been sentenced to 44 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of a Santa Fe medical marijuana growing facility.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports state District Judge T. Glenn Ellington handed down the sentence on Monday to Reyes Barela after three trials.
Authorities say Barela and at least two other men tied up the two owners of the New Mexico Top Organics cannabis facility and held them at gunpoint while stealing $30,000 worth of marijuana in 2013.
Prosecutors held three trials before getting a guilty verdict in the case.
At the sentencing hearing, Barela attacked Ellington's handling of the case, saying the judge had allowed jurors to hear testimony that should have been kept out.
Albuquerque Firefighters Rescue 3 From Flooded Arroyo- Associated Press
Albuquerque firefighters rescued three homeless people from swift-moving water in an arroyo Tuesday as rainstorms trundled across New Mexico.
The Fire Department says two other people were able to get out of the water on their own before firefighters used a rope with a flotation device to rescue the other three adults.
Lt. Tom Ruiz says it appears the people didn't understand the imminent danger and that the morning rainfall caught them off guard.
The department says nobody appeared to be injured but that at least two people among the five who'd been in the water were taken to a hospital for observation because they were wet and cold.
Vice President Pence Scheduled For GOP Rally In New Mexico -Associated Press
Vice President Mike Pence plans to attend a political rally in New Mexico in support of GOP candidates for governor, Congress and other political offices.
Gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Steve Pearce on Monday announced the rally at Roswell in a heavy Republican region of the state. New Mexico Democrats have flocked to early voting in disproportionate numbers. Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016.
Pearce and Republican congressional candidate Yvette Herrell were scheduled to attend Friday's event at an airport hangar.
Pearce is competing to succeed GOP Gov. Susana Martinez in a race against Democratic Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham. Herrell, a state lawmaker, is competing against attorney Xochitl Torres Small.
Herrell has campaigned as a staunch advocate of President Trump, while Pearce makes little mention of the president.
Crime Concerns Take Hold Of New Mexico Governor Race- Associated Press
Political attack ads, fliers and recriminations from the Republican candidate for governor are thrusting issues of crime and punishment into the race as voting entered its final two-week stretch on Tuesday.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Pearce's campaign has launched a lurid attack ad and distributed fliers that accuse his Democratic rival Michelle Lujan Grisham of supporting automatic parole — which she denies.
The TV ad invokes the name and imagery of the "Breaking Bad" television series about a fictional Albuquerque drug chemist and trafficker, flashing images of a local convicted drug dealer posing beside Lujan Grisham in a selfie-style photo of mysterious origin.
Several current and former law enforcement officials on Monday denounced the ads as slanderous and pledged support for Lujan Grisham and her public safety platform. They included former Republican-appointed state police chief Robert Shilling and Republican former District Attorney Diana Martwick.
Florida Man Faces Groping Charge After Flight From Houston -Associated Press
A Florida man is accused of groping a female passenger while on a flight Sunday from Houston to Albuquerque and later telling authorities that the president of the United States says it's OK to grab women by their private parts.
Bruce Michael Alexander, 49, of Tampa made his initial appearance in federal court Monday in Albuquerque on a charge of abusive sexual contact. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
According to a criminal complaint, a woman told authorities the man behind her touched her twice and that she told him to stop and asked to change seats.
Alexander recalled in a written statement only that the woman in front of him had spoken to him and then changed seats.
Alexander remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
New Mexico Man Sentenced In Dakota Access Pipeline Protest -Bismarck Tribune, Associated Press
The fourth of seven people charged with federal crimes stemming from protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota has been sentenced to a year and four months in prison.
Twenty-two-year-old Dion Ortiz, who is from the San Felipe Pueblo reservation in New Mexico, was indicted with several others in February 2017 for a fire set on a country road bridge in October 2016.
The Bismarck Tribune reports that Ortiz reached a deal with prosecutors under which he pleaded guilty to civil disorder and the government dropped a more serious charge of using fire to commit a federal felony.
Ortiz was given credit for time served and could be released from prison in April.
New Mexico School Braces For $10M Hit As Enrollment Declines -Associated Press
The president of New Mexico's flagship university is warning state lawmakers that the University of New Mexico could face as much as a $10 million hit to its budget as fewer students are enrolling.
President Garnett Stokes told a panel of lawmakers during a recent meeting that officials were predicting a drop in enrollment but it was more substantial than expected, meaning less money will be coming in from tuition and fees.
She said the loss of revenue follows multiple years of many cuts at the university but that it's critical for the University of New Mexico to keep tuition low given that New Mexico is a state where many can't afford to access higher education.
Figures released by the university show overall enrollment has declined around 7 percent from the previous fall semester.
PBS Docuseries 'Native America' Recreates World Pre-1492 - Associated Press
A new four-part PBS docuseries, "Native America," seeks to recreate a world in the Americas generations prior to the arrival of Europeans.
Using archaeology, Native American oral traditions, even high-tech 3D renditions, the series presents images of busy cities connected by networks that span from the present-day United States to South America.
The docuseries shows how Chaco Canyon in New Mexico became a busy spiritual and commercial center centuries before New York was founded.
No Bond For Suspect In Rio Rancho Girl's Death -Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The man charged in the killing and raping a 6-year-old Rio Rancho girl will remain behind bars until trial.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that 21-year-old Leland Hust, via his attorney, waived a pretrial detention hearing Monday morning, granting the state's motion that he stay in jail without bond.
He is facing charges of child abuse resulting in death and aggravated rape.
Man Gets 50 Years In Fatal Holbrook Courthouse Shooting -Associated Press
A man who shot two Gallup women to death outside an eastern Arizona courthouse over a custody dispute will spend the next 50 years in prison.
The Navajo County Sheriff's Office says 49-year-old Salomon Diaz, of Snowflake, was sentenced late last week to two consecutive 25-year terms.
According to Navajo County Superior Court records, Diaz pleaded guilty in August to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Diaz initially faced first-degree murder charges.