Trial Set In Freeway Shooting That Killed 4-Year-Old Girl - The Associated Press
The trial in a New Mexico freeway shooting that killed a 4-year-old girl is tentatively set for October 2016. Tony Torrez, the suspect in the Oct. 20 shooting in Albuquerque, appeared in court Friday for a scheduling hearing.
He's charged with first-degree murder, shooting at or from a moving vehicle, assault and tampering with evidence. Authorities say Torrez shot at a pickup truck driven by the father of preschooler Lilly Garcia on Interstate 40 amid a road-rage dispute. The girl was riding in the backseat. She was shot in the head and pronounced dead at University of New Mexico Hospital. Torrez is jailed without bond as he awaits trial. The deadline for attorneys to reach a plea deal in the case has been set for August. The trial date is Oct. 31.
New Mexico Wants Back Taxes On Sales Of Elk-Hunting Permits - The Associated Press
New Mexico landowners and ranchers are decrying the state's claims that they may owe thousands of dollars in taxes on the sale of elk-hunting permits.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the state Taxation and Revenue Department is attempting to collect back taxes on transferable license authorizations landowners got from the Department of Game and Fish and sold.
The agency has sent out hundreds of notices in the past few months.
New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association executive director Caren Cowan says the collection effort has "turned the landowner industry on its head."
Some landowners are allotted authorizations that are converted to actual hunting licenses and they can sell them to hunters or outfitting companies.
According to the state, receipts from those sales are subject to gross receipts tax.
Poet Laureate Herrera To Give Albuquerque Reading - The Associated Press
The first Mexican-American poet laureate of the United States is making a visit to New Mexico for a series of events.
U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera is scheduled Monday to hold an educational writer's exchange and public reading at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.
A question and answer session and book signing will follow the public presentation.
Herrera, who was named poet laureate by the Library of Congress, is the son of migrant California farmworkers. He earned his master's degree at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and is author of 28 books of poetry, novels for young adults and collections for children.
His poetry books include "Half the World in Light" and "187 Reasons Mexicanos Can't Cross the Border."