Man Arrested After Albuquerque City Hall Hostage Scare - The Associated Press
A man has been arrested in connection with a scare at Albuquerque City Hall about a possible shooter and hostage situation that police now believe was a hoax.
Albuquerque police spokesman Tanner Tixier said Tuesday that 28-year-old Daniel Olguin was charged with breaking and entering and false imprisonment after a floor-by-floor search of City Hall.
Police in tactical gear surrounded City Hall on Monday and closed part of downtown Albuquerque after receiving reports of a possible shooter.
Employees had reported that a man was running up and down the halls yelling that there was a shooter in the building.
Police believe the situation was a hoax. An investigation was continuing.
Employees later were escorted away from the building by officers in tactical gear. No injuries were reported.
It was not known if Olguin had an attorney.
Judge Orders New Mexico Legislature To Release Records – The Associated Press
A state district court judge is ordering New Mexico's Legislature to turn over 15 subpoenaed documents to prosecutors as they pursue fraud charges against a former senator.
The order was released Tuesday and resolves part of a standoff between the attorney general's office and legal advisers to the Legislature who contend that recent subpoenas of documents and testimony may threaten the integrity of the law-making process. The order also says communications between attorneys and a legislative ethics committee are privileged and need not be released.
Prosecutors have accused former Democratic Sen. Phil Griego of using his role as a legislator to profit from the 2014 sale of a state-owned building in downtown Santa Fe. Griego has pleaded not guilty to charges including fraud, bribery and tampering with public records.
Wife Was Seeking Divorce Before Roswell Killings – Associated Press
Court documents show that a man accused of killing his wife and four daughters in Roswell may have been headed for a divorce.
Juan David Villegas-Hernandez was arrested Sunday, a day after police say he allegedly shot his family members at their Roswell home.
He has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder after being arrested in Mexico.
Mexican authorities say Villegas-Hernandez fled in a truck from officers in Arizpe, then bailed out and ran. Authorities surrounded him, and he threatened to kill himself.
The U.S. Marshals Service is assisting Roswell police in the process of extraditing Villegas-Hernandez back to New Mexico.
New Mexico Governor Among Those Seeking Suspect's Return - The Associated Press
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has been in contact with her counterpart in Sonora, Mexico, as authorities work on extraditing a man accused of killing five family members and fleeing across the border.
Juan David Villegas-Hernandez was taken into custody in Sonora on Sunday — a day after police in Roswell, New Mexico, said the 34-year-old shot and killed his wife, Cynthia Villegas, and their four daughters — ages 14, 11, 7 and 3.
A spokesman for Martinez said the governor was crushed by news of the killings and wants to ensure that the suspect is brought back to New Mexico to face the full measure of the law.
New Mexico is working with Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich and federal law enforcement to bring Villegas-Hernandez back as soon as possible.
Albuquerque Mayor Wants Stricter Penalties For Bosque Arson – The Associated Press & The ABQ Journal
The Albuquerque mayor wants to see harsher penalties for intentionally setting fire to a municipal bosque.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Mayor Richard Berry says current law allows no more than 90 days behind bars for burning down the Albuquerque bosque, while shoplifting $500 in groceries could result in 18 months.
The mayor said at a Monday news conference that he is seeking sponsorship for a bill that would make arson in a municipal bosque anywhere in the state a felony.
It is currently a felony to intentionally start a fire on state forestry land.
University Of New Mexico Installs Car Charging Stations – The Associated Press
The University of New Mexico has installed two charging stations on its main campus so student commuters can charge electric vehicles.
The school announced last week a charging station was installed at the Cornell Parking Structure and another one of the Yale Parking Structure.
Each charging station can connect to two vehicles at a time.
Officials say charging stations software will track usage, the number of charges, and the amount of energy used per charge.
The UNM charging station locations already appear on various EV websites such as ChargePoint and Plugshare.
Mary Clark, manager of the Office of Sustainability, says the school will likely install more charging stations in the future.
Surgeon General Calls For Greater Investment In Opioid Fight – The Associated Press
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is calling for more investment in addressing the nation's opioid epidemic, saying only half of the 2 million people who need drug treatment in the country have access to it.
Murthy's comments Tuesday come after his tour of a substance abuse center in New Mexico, a state that federal data show had one of the nation's highest overdose death rates in 2014.
Murthy says the Department of Health and Human Services is investing in the expansion of treatment centers, like the one he visited in Albuquerque.
Overdose deaths remain New Mexico's leading cause of injury death.
Murthy's Albuquerque visit follows a tour he took Monday of the Community Bridges Central City Addiction Recovery Center in Phoenix.
Santa Fe Vigil Draws Hundreds To Plaza – Santa Fe New Mexican
About 750 people gathered in downtown Santa Fe on Monday night to mourn those killed and wounded by a gunman at a gay nightclub in Orlando over the weekend.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Mayor Javier Gonzales urged attendees at the gathering on Santa Fe Plaza to support those in mourning.
Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, called for tougher gun laws and named young New Mexicans killed by guns in the past two weeks.
Talitha Arnold, minister with the United Church of Santa Fe, urged the crowd to continue to protest but also to keep dancing. Santa Fe will hold its Gay Pride celebration June 25 and 26.
New Mexico Uses Incentives To Attract Sales Jobs – Associated Press
Gov. Susana Martinez is announcing the addition more than 200 sales positions in New Mexico by a California-based company that provides computer equipment, software and services.
New Mexico officials say the state will contribute $569,000 in incentives for infrastructure improvements and $700,000 toward job-training to help El Segundo, California-based PCM expand into Rio Rancho.
The Martinez administration has made a string of private-sector employment announcements as New Mexico wrestles with the highest unemployment rate in its region.
Martinez and Economic Development Sec. Jon Barela met with PCM executives during a three-day trip to California in March.
New Mexico's unemployment rate remains higher than all but four states. New Mexico state agencies have reined in spending and drawn down reserves in response reduced revenue forecasts linked to low energy prices.
AG, Legislative Officials Spar Over Subpoenas In Fraud Case – Associated Press
The state attorney general's office is firing back at the Legislative Council Service over an effort to either quash or limit the scope of subpoenas issued in the case of a former state senator accused of fraud.
In court documents outlining the charges against Democrat Phil Griego, prosecutors provided a list of possible witnesses that included a half-dozen lawmakers and numerous other state officials.
The Legislative Council Service is concerned that the subpoenas are unlimited and could violate a constitutional provision that it claims protects the independence of the Legislature.
Prosecutors filed their own motion Monday, arguing that a narrow reading of the provision is contrary to the rule of law and public interest. They also challenged the service's refusal to name the lawmakers who want to avoid testifying.
US Gives Navajos $465,000 To Monitor River After Mine Spill – Associated Press
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it's giving the Navajo Nation $465,000 to monitor water quality in the San Juan River for contamination from a massive mine waste spill last August.
The EPA says the money is in addition to $1 million the agency agreed to give the tribe last October.
The new grant was announced Thursday.
An EPA-led cleanup crew inadvertently triggered the spill of 3 million gallons of acid mine waste from the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado on Aug. 5. The spill tainted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
One of the rivers was the San Juan, which runs across Navajo land in New Mexico.
Navajo leaders have been highly critical of the EPA for causing the spill and for its response.
Cases Of Animal Plague And Tularemia Up In New Mexico – Associated Press
Health officials say there have been 10 cases of plague and 19 cases of tularemia in dogs and cats in New Mexico so far this year.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports seven counties have seen a spike in cases of the diseases. Recent rabbit deaths from tularemia also have been confirmed in the Santa Fe and Eldorado areas of Santa Fe County.
Confirmatory testing was conducted at the New Mexico Department of Health's Scientific Laboratory Division.
Plague positive pets come from Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Los Alamos, Torrance and Taos counties.
Dogs and cats have tested positive for tularemia in Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Los Alamos counties.
Last year, four humans contracted plague in New Mexico with one fatality with eight human cases of tularemia and no deaths. There were 18 confirmed cases of plague and 63 cases of tularemia in dogs and cats.
Fleas are a common carrier of plague but it can also be transmitted by bites from horse flies.
Troubled New Mexico Border City Says Finances Have Recovered – Las Cruces Sun-News, Associated Press
Officials of a border city in New Mexico that has had problems with its budget and allegations of government corruption say the community has recovered financially.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports the Sunland Park City Council on Tuesday formally adopted an $8 million budget to operate city government during fiscal year 2017.
Acting City Manager Bob Gallagher says the new budget will be the largest the city has ever had. In 2012, amid scandals, the Sunland Park faced a $1.8 million budget deficit. Gov. Susanna Martinez then ordered the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration to take over supervision of Sunland Park's city government.
Gallagher says the city has recovered from those problems and is ending the current fiscal year with about $5 million in cash reserves.
University Of New Mexico Installs Car Charging Stations – Associated Press
The University of New Mexico has installed two charging stations on its main campus so student commuters can charge electric vehicles.
The school announced last week a charging station was installed at the Cornell Parking Structure and another one of the Yale Parking Structure.
Each charging station can connect to two vehicles at a time.
Officials say charging stations software will track usage, the number of charges, and the amount of energy used per charge.
The UNM charging station locations already appear on various EV websites such as ChargePoint and Plugshare.
Mary Clark, manager of the Office of Sustainability, says the school will likely install more charging stations in the future.