Albuquerque Releases Internal Audit Of Taser Contract - The Associated Press
City auditors say personnel at Albuquerque's troubled police department bypassed purchasing regulations and compromised the integrity of the city's procurement process when purchasing body cameras from Taser International in 2013.
The city's Office of Internal Audit released the findings Tuesday.
They follow an equally scathing report by New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller, which uncovered a cozy relationship involving Taser and former police chief Ray Schultz.
The city report says the former chief's work for Taser may have violated city law.
Schultz's attorney has said his client denies any wrongdoing.
The state review found Schultz disregarded and circumvented the city's process for competitive contracts in the nearly $2 million deal for body cameras and video storage software awarded to Arizona-based Taser. The contract was not put out for competitive bidding.
Prosecutor In NM Police Shooting Wants More Ballistics Tests – The Associated Press
A special prosecutor reviewing the case of two Albuquerque police officers who have been charged with murder in the shooting death of a homeless man wants more ballistics testing to be done.
Randi McGinn says the scientific testing is to address defense attorneys' question about which of the two officers fired the most immediate fatal third shot into the man's back.
McGinn was tapped to prosecute officers Dominque Perez and Keith Sandy, who were charged this year in the March 2014 death of James Boyd during an hourslong standoff.
Three of the six shots fired by both officers struck Boyd. McGinn says for a correct charging decision it is important to identify who fired the third shot.
The testing will cause a slight delay in her charging decision.
New Mexico Senators Sign On To Minimum Wage Legislation - The Associated Press
New Mexico's two Democratic senators are throwing their support behind legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020.
Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich said Wednesday that if the legislation were to pass and be signed into law, nearly 38 million workers would see an increase in wages.
Introduced by Democrats last week, the bill would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers and index the federal minimum wage to the national median wage.
Many states and cities have already acted on their own to raise wages. But critics say some businesses have trouble affording higher wages without raising prices.
Udall and Heinrich argue that raising the wage would put more money in the pockets of New Mexican families and that in turn would boost local economies.
Nuke Lab Workers Recovering After Being Burned In Accident – The Associated Press
One Los Alamos National Laboratory employee has been released from the hospital and another is in critical but stable condition after being burned in an accident last weekend at the nuclear weapons research facility.
Lab spokesman Kevin Roark said Wednesday that the investigation into what caused the accident could take weeks or even months. Officials wouldn't release details about the accident.
It happened Sunday while the employees were doing maintenance at an electrical substation that provides power to the lab's Neutron Science Center.
In all, nine workers were sent to the hospital. All but the two were treated and released the same day.
Crews have worked to restore power to some parts of the Neutron Science Center, and Roark says some of the facility's employees have returned to work.
Redford Sounds Environmental Alarm At Santa Fe Event – The Associated Press
Robert Redford is sounding an environmental alarm, telling Mayor Javier Gonzales that the world is changing and "opportunities are shrinking."
The Santa Few New Mexican reports Redford spoke during a one-on-one session with Gonzales Tuesday that packed the audience at a performing arts center.
Redford said it's difficult to combat the idea perpetuated by energy companies that cost savings related to coal, drilling and fracking take priority over finding ways to avoid ripping up the Earth.
Young people, he said, will drive the change.
The actor owns a home in Santa Fe, and said he sees New Mexico as a state that can balance energy development and natural resources.
He chose Santa Fe, he said, because of its land, sky and history combining Anglo, Native American and Mexican cultures.
Lyft To Pull Out Of New Mexico Amid Uncertainty - The Associated Press
The ride-booking service Lyft says it will suspend operations in New Mexico after state regulators passed "onerous" requirements for its drivers.
The San Francisco-based Lyft recently announced that it will no longer operate in the state beginning May 14, weeks after the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission passed new rules aimed at governing ride-booking services.
But Lyft said those rules, which requires drug testing for driver after accidents, made it impossible to operate.
Lyft and Uber use smartphone programs to connect people seeking rides with people who have cars. Both had been operating in New Mexico despite complaints for taxi companies.
Uber said in a statement the PRC still needed to pass "reasonable" regulation for them to operate.
Convicted Rapist Returned To Prison For R-Rated Movies – The Associated Press and Albuquerque Journal
A convicted rapist will have to return to prison after the New Mexico court of appeals upheld a decision saying owning R-rated movies violated the terms of his probation.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the court upheld a decision by state District Judge Angela Jewell of Albuquerque to revoke the probation of Robert Dinapoli for possessing DVDs of the American and Swedish versions of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and a third R-rated movie. He was prohibited from having "sexually oriented" material.
All three films contained what probation officers said were graphic depictions of rape.
Dinapoli was sentenced in 1994 to 30 years in prison for kidnapping and assaulting two women. He was released on five years' probation in 2011. He returned to prison in 2012 because of the DVDs.
Navajo Nation Certifies Results From Presidential Election - The Associated Press
Final results from the Navajo Nation presidential election show Russell Begaye winning nearly 63 percent of the vote to defeat Joe Shirley Jr.
Begaye had 25,902 votes to Shirley's 15,245 in the April 21 contest. About one-third of Navajos registered to vote in the special election cast a ballot for president.
The results are slightly different from election night and reflect counts from provisional ballots. Shirley's campaign also had requested a manual recount of 10 precincts to check the voting systems.
Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez will be sworn in Tuesday. They succeed Ben Shelly and Rex Lee Jim, who served an extended term while officials sorted out the chaos that arose when one candidate was challenged on his ability to speak fluent Navajo as required by tribal law.
US Court Dismisses Appeal Of Sandoval County Election Order - The Associated Press
A federal appeals court has dismissed an appeal of a judge's order that required Sandoval County to use more election polling places and machines in the 2014 election.
The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday said the case is now moot because the 2014 election has already been held.
A U.S. District Court judge had ordered Sandoval County to increase polling places and machines after voting precincts were consolidated into voting centers for the 2012 election.
That resulted in hours-long lines at polling places in Republican-leaning Rio Rancho, an Albuquerque suburb that is the county's most populous city.
The judge called that a "complete disaster."
The county had appealed, but the 10th Circuit declined before the 2014 election was held to accelerate its review of the case.
Clovis Police: Mother Arrested In Son's Suspicious Death - The Associated Press
A 25-year-old Clovis mother has been arrested in the death of her 18-month-old son.
Clovis police say Rocio D. Montanez (MAHN'-tah-nehz) was arrested late Monday after an investigation was launched when she took her unresponsive son, Noah Trujillo, to a hospital Monday morning with multiple injuries that a doctor reported to police as suspicious.
Efforts to revive the boy were unsuccessful and he died a short time later.
Police said the state Office of the Medical Investigator will do an autopsy to determine manner and cause of death.
Montanez was booked into the Curry County jail on suspicion of child abuse resulting in great body harm to a child.
The jail said Montanez remained jailed Tuesday in lieu of $75,000 bond, and it wasn't clear whether she has an attorney.
Court Says Trial Of Sheriff's Deputy For DWI Can Continue - The Associated Press and Santa Fe New Mexican
The state Supreme Court has rejected a sheriff deputy's claim of double jeopardy in a DWI case.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that a state Supreme Court justice wrote Monday that it is difficult to piece together exactly what happened after Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Deputy Abraham Baca of Canjilon was arrested on suspicion of aggravated DWI five years ago.
Documentation about the case's dismissal in a lower court is incomplete and the judge later said he would not have acquitted Baca without more evidence.
The District Court says the dismissal was a matter of procedural error and that Baca is not being made to stand trial twice for the same crime.
Baca's attorney Ben A. Ortega says he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Calif. Man Pleads Guilty To Heroin Trafficking In New Mexico - The Associated Press
A California man is facing up to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to heroin trafficking in New Mexico.
Prosecutors say 30-year-old Darmarvis Marquel Lee, of San Bernardino, entered his plea Tuesday in federal court in Albuquerque.
Lee was arrested last Aug. 22 at the Amtrak train station in Albuquerque.
Authorities say a consensual search of his baggage by federal drug agents revealed he was carrying nearly 3 kilograms of heroin concealed in a false compartment.
Lee subsequently was indicted and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute.
He pleaded guilty to the indictment and admitted he was paid to transport and deliver the drugs.
Lee was remanded into federal custody. His sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Small Tornado Touches Down 5 Miles Southwest Of Roswell - The Associated Press
Authorities say a small tornado briefly touched down about five miles southwest of Roswell, but there are no reported injuries.
Chaves County emergency managers say a shed was destroyed and a garage door was wrapped around a utility pole.
Roswell residents reported seeing the funnel cloud form early Tuesday afternoon as strong thunderstorms moved through the area.
The National Weather Service says the combination of a cool air mass and strong winds aloft allowed short-lived funnel clouds to develop over much of eastern New Mexico.
The weather service says Roswell and Albuquerque both set new rainfall records for Monday and in the Clovis area, more rain could cause flooding in areas that were already soaked.
In Clayton, residents have reported five straight days of rain.
Santa Fe Opera Announces 2016 Season, Millions In Upgrades - The Associated Press
Officials with the Santa Fe Opera are celebrating tens of millions of dollars in upgrades at the opera house as they prepare for the upcoming season.
Nestled in the foothills surrounding New Mexico's capital city, the open-air opera has embarked on a $35 million effort to improve everything from the box office to spaces backstage that haven't been touched since 1968.
General Director Charles MacKay says the initial phase is done and ready for the first performance in July.
MacKay also detailed the lineup for the 2016 season during a news conference Tuesday. There will be five different operas, including Puccini's "La Fanciulla del West."
MacKay says the opera is in good shape financially and expects to have a balanced budget this year. Ticket sales are just slightly behind last year.