Judge Slams Police Over Wiped Cellphone In Casaus Case – Albuquerque Journal
A federal judge criticized the city of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department for not retaining a cellphone used by a former officer, who ran a red light in his police SUV and killed a woman.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Judge Robert C. Brack declined to say the phone was destroyed on purpose. But he ruled the city was grossly negligent when the data was wiped and the phone recycled after the criminal case against Adam Casaus concluded last year.
An attorney for the victim’s family sent a letter in 2013 demanding the phone be retained for any future civil lawsuits.
Casaus claimed he was responding to a suspicious vehicle on the night of the accident, but he was accused of being dishonest by the city and the Albuquerque Police Department and fired.
The civil suit against the city is scheduled to go to trial in October.
Governor: Social Media To Broadcast Lenient DUI Sentences – The Associated Press
The governor of New Mexico says social media feeds will soon tell you if drunken driving offenders are let off too easy.
Gov. Susana Martinez on Tuesday announced a program that will use citizen watchdogs to monitor court hearings by state judges who are routinely lenient in drunken driving cases.
Staffers with Mothers Against Drunk Driving will serve as monitors. They'll send details about lenient sentences to state officials, who will identify repeat offenders and the judges in tweets or Facebook posts.
Martinez says the program aims to show the failure to crack down on those convicted of multiple DUI violations.
It comes as police departments from New England to the Southwest have taken to social media in recent years to post booking photos of suspects.
Clean Up To Begin At National Monument Aircraft Crash Site – The Associated Press & The Las Cruces Sun-News
The military will finally clean up the site where a drone aircraft crashed in 2014 at White Sands National Monument.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports the crash at Dunes Drive caused jet fuel to spill and closed the popular area of the park.
Department of Defense acting assistant secretary Peter J. Potochney told Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., during an April 7 meeting that the situation is now being watched very carefully.
He did not lay out a timeline and said contracts for the work have not been finalized.
Udall says the long process has frustrated officials and residents.
The crash occurred during a routine training mission involving a Vietnam War-era aircraft converted to fly as a drone.
Officials closed the monument ahead of the training exercise and no one was hurt.
New Mexico Rescinds Firing Of Guards On Duty During Escape – The Associated Press
A union spokesman says state officials have withdrawn firing notices for two guards who were transporting inmates across New Mexico last month when two escaped.
Miles Conway, a spokesman for the union, said Department of Corrections officials recently rescinded the notices sent several weeks ago.
A corrections spokeswoman at the time said that an independent analysis of the escape suggested the officers failed to follow security protocols. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Conway says state officials could still fire the guards, who have been on leave since the March 9 escape of Joseph Cruz and Lionel Clah, both violent felons.
Authorities say the men fled the back of a prison van at a rural gas station. They were apprehended days later in Albuquerque.
The Latest On A Canceled Visit To NC By Martinez – The Associated Press
The chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association says she looks forward to campaigning for North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory later this year after canceling a visit to the state's Republican convention in early May.
A spokesman for association chairwoman and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on Tuesday said that she strongly supports McCrory in his re-election campaign.
McCrory is embroiled in the controversy over a state law that prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms that don't match the gender they were assigned at birth.
Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez says Martinez has canceled her visit to the North Carolina convention to attend the May 7 anniversary of the Sandia Peak Tram. The 4,000-vertical foot tramway is a popular tourist attraction that links the outskirts of Albuquerque with restaurants and hiking trails atop the Sandia Mountains.
New Mexico GOP Extends Delegate Deadline As Campaigns Jockey – Associated Press
The Republican Party of New Mexico is keeping the door open for national delegate applications amid a push by the Donald Trump campaign to mobilize supporters.
A spokesman for the New Mexico GOP said Monday that self-nominations to participate in the Republican National Convention will be considered for two weeks beyond the April 15 deadline.
New Mexico's 24 delegates will be free to back any candidate if no one secures the nomination in the first round. New Mexico delegates initially are bound to follow voter preferences among candidates that win at least 15 percent of the vote on June 7.
Republican state lawmaker and Ted Cruz supporter Rod Montoya criticized efforts to extend the deadline. The national delegate director for Trump says all the campaigns are grateful for the extension.
Supreme Court Case Raises Questions About Tribal Convictions – Associated Press
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether federal felony charges can be filed against defendants who were previously convicted of multiple domestic violence counts in tribal courts that didn't provide attorneys.
The case set to be heard Tuesday marks a critical test for tribal courts — particularly those without the money to hire public defenders — at a time when Congress has begun broadening federal authority to prosecute violent crimes in Indian Country.
In domestic violence cases, a decade-old law has sought to combat high assault rates on reservations by transferring cases involving offenders with multiple convictions to the federal courts for possible stiffer punishments.
That statute is being challenged on the contention that defendants must be guaranteed counsel in tribal courts if their cases are ultimately grounds for stiffer penalties in U.S. courts.
Navajo Nation Lawmaker Convicted In Criminal Case Loses Post – Associated Press
A Navajo Nation lawmaker who was convicted in a criminal trial of funneling nearly $34,000 in tribal funds to his family has lost his post.
The tribe's election office declared a vacancy Friday for the legislative seat held by Mel Begay.
A jury found Begay guilty on 10 counts in late March. The election office had been awaiting the judge's final order before removing him from office.
Begay is scheduled to be sentenced May 17 and also faces jail time and fines.
His attorney, Jeffrey Rasmussen, has said he'll appeal the conviction to the Navajo Nation Supreme Court.
Begay's seat will be filled by special election.
He's the third sitting lawmaker to resign or lose his post in the investigation into the use of discretionary spending.
Woman Accused Of Filing Fraudulent Returns To Steal Refunds – Associated Press
An Alamogordo woman is accused of fraudulently filing income tax returns for other people to steal their refunds.
An April 12 indictment by an Otero County grand jury charges 43-year-old Tanya Skoropad with 180 criminal counts, including dozens each of tax fraud, identity theft and computer access with intent to defraud or embezzle.
The state Taxation and Revenue Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment and says Skoropad could be sentenced to up to 270 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
The department says Skoropad tried to defraud the state of between $24,500 and $122,500 by filing tax returns for 14 people without their permission.
There's no phone listed under Skoropad's name, and court records don't list an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
Western Dramas Pack New Mexico Production Studios – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
New Mexico's soundstages are at capacity as television production ramps up in the state.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that according to the New Mexico Film Office, there were recently eight TV productions filming in the state, meaning every studio in Albuquerque and Santa Fe are or were full.
Film Office Director Nick Maniatis says this is the first time so many shows have been in the state at once, bringing unprecedented money to the state.
According to the Albuquerque Film Office one week of filming a TV production funnels $1 million into the community.
Shows recently filmed in New Mexico include western-themed shows such as Netflix's "Longmire," AMC's "Preacher" and "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series" by the El Rey Network.
Groups Hopes To Attract Film Production To Las Cruces – Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
A new nonprofit organization hopes to attract some of New Mexico's growing film industry to southern New Mexico.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that Film Las Cruces has recently launched a website and is searching for a new film liaison.
State Rep. Jeff Steinborn, Film Las Cruces president, says the group wants to build a film and entertainment arts workforce in the area to attract future productions.
Under an agreement, the city of Las Cruces will pay $95,000 per year for three years to allow Film Las Cruces to employ a full-time film liaison and run a film office to work with production companies.
In recent years, studios have launched a number of productions in Albuquerque and Santa Fe including AMC-TV's "Better Call Saul" and Netflix's "Longmire."
Officials: Could Be 2 More Months To Fix Portales Leak – Portales News-Tribune, Associated Press
Officials in one eastern New Mexico community say it could take another two months to fix a leak that left a Portales street covered with water.
Resident Pete Trujillo told the Portales News-Tribune that he called city officials numerous times over the last two months about the leak.
City Manager Sammy Standefer says utility workers haven't been able to isolate the problem. The goal is to fix it without shutting off the water for an extended time.
It's unclear how much water the city has lost as a result of the leak, but Standefer called it an inconvenience rather than an emergency.
Portales is among the eastern New Mexico communities working on a multimillion-dollar pipeline project to bring more water to the drought-stricken region.
Jewell: Oregon Takeover Among Several Threats To West - Matthew Daly, Associated Press
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says an armed takeover of an Oregon national wildlife refuge is part of an "extreme movement" to seize public lands and reject the rule of law, putting communities and public employees at risk throughout the West.
Jewell says the 41-day standoff came amid two other trends that threaten the West: A push by some politicians to sell public lands to the highest bidder and the rapid disappearance of natural areas throughout the region due to climate change and increased development.
Jewell says natural areas in the region are disappearing at the rate of a football field every two-and-a-half minutes. She calls the trend "alarming."
Jewell is set to deliver a major speech on conservation Tuesday in Washington. The Associated Press obtained excerpts in advance.
Farmington Shoots Down Hospital's Plans For Solar Project – Daily Times, Associated Press
Farmington officials have voted not to allow a hospital to build a solar farm, though San Juan Regional Medical Center had already purchase the panels.
The Daily Times reports that the City Council voted against a zoning change that would have allowed the hospital to install more than 6,000 solar panels on a 12.-acre plot of land adjacent to the facility.
Previously, the Planning and Zoning Commission had unanimously recommended the council grant the hospital's request. But at the Tuesday council meeting some officials said they were concerned about having a major utility by a Metropolitan Redevelopment Area.
Hospital officials can appeal the decision in court or find another location for the farm, though officials say the medical center doesn't own enough property elsewhere for such a large project.
New Mexico Congressman Honors Vets With Solo World Flight – Hobbs News-Sun, Associated Press
A New Mexico congressman is attempting a solo flight around the world to honor war veterans.
The Hobbs News-Sun Newspaper reports that U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce has nearly completed a worldwide expedition but his plane was sitting in a hangar in Spain this weekend while waiting for the weather to improve.
The 68-year-old began the planned 16-day trip on March 27, departing in his 1998 Mooney M20M Bravo from Las Vegas, New Mexico.
The original 21-leg flight plan had Pearce flying West to Hawaii through Asia on to the Arabian Peninsula then to Spain, Portugal, and eventually back to the U.S.
In Thailand, he left a memorial for veterans made by the Isleta Pueblo, one of 19 American Indian pueblos in New Mexico.