A man who sheriff’s deputies say was at the center of Albuquerque’s largest organized retail crime operation was arrested earlier this month. Raul Fernando Garcia, 42 — dubbed the “Al Capone” of retail theft by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office — was arrested on April 15. He is facing multiple charges including organized retail crime, […]
Elise Kaplan
Posted inAlbuquerque, Education
ACLU-NM speaks out against UNM campus protest arrests
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico is investigating this week’s arrest of university students who were protesting the Israel-Hamas war. “Students have the constitutional right to peacefully protest, speak, and express their opinion,” said Peter Simonson, executive director for ACLU-NM in an emailed statement. “The New Mexico Constitution extends even greater protections in […]
Posted inBernalillo County, Housing & Homelessness, Local Gov.
Bernalillo County’s Tiny Home Village hits a stride
Progress didn’t come easy, but Bernalillo County officials say the Tiny Home Village withstood a rocky start to emerge as a project with promise in an area of Albuquerque that desperately needs it. Now, three years in, the county is fielding questions from Albuquerque officials who are in the early stages of a similar undertaking […]
Posted inBernalillo County, Courts, Justice & Safety, Local Gov.
Lawsuit alleges woman overdosed in jail while guard watched YouTube, played games
The mother of a woman who died of a drug overdose at the Metropolitan Detention Center filed a lawsuit against Bernalillo County last week alleging a corrections officer failed to complete required checks and also broke the jail’s computer use policy by watching videos and playing games during his shift. “This case is about MDC […]
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City Council wants to hear your thoughts on the mayor’s proposed budget
Have some opinions on how the city should budget its money? The public is invited to share its thoughts with Albuquerque city councilors at two upcoming meetings — one this Thursday and another next Thursday. The Committee of the Whole will meet May 2 and May 9 to hear resident input on the mayor’s proposed budget […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety
Daily Lobo News Editor files lawsuit against UNM records custodian
By Maddie Pukite/ Daily Lobo The News Editor of the Daily Lobo, Lily Alexander, has filed a lawsuit against Rob (Robert) Tafoya, the Custodian of Public Records at the University of New Mexico for failure to provide UNM Police Department’s weapons inventory on March 5, 2024. The legal complaint asks for the courts to enforce […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety
Sixth officer leaves APD amid corruption probe
A former long-time Albuquerque police spokesperson — a sworn officer who responded to media inquiries during the swing shift — has left the department rather than be interviewed as part of an internal investigation into corruption in the DWI unit. Daren DeAguero was informed Tuesday morning that he was a target in the investigation and […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Education
WHAT TO EXPECT: Despite budget cuts, APS board to discuss pay raise for employees
As Albuquerque Public Schools nears a budget deadline, district officials will discuss progress with the Board of Education at Wednesday’s meeting. One known line item is a 3% raise for APS employees. Chief budget architects Rennette Apodaca and Rosalinda Montoya will present the outlook for career-connected learning, curriculum and instruction and operational areas of the […]
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Library IT funds missing from mayor’s budget
The days of searching for a book using card catalogs and the Dewey Decimal System became obsolete at least a decade ago as libraries were computerized and digitized. This is one reason employees and supporters of the metro area’s 19 branches are concerned that the entire information technology (IT) budget — $400,000 — has been […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Education
NM Supreme Court hears ‘bloody Indian’ lawsuit in front of high school students
A campus auditorium became a courtroom this morning, as the New Mexico Supreme Court convened in Albuquerque as part of an annual outreach program called The Rule of Law. At Central New Mexico Community College’s Smith Brasher Hall, the justices heard oral arguments in a case involving a student’s discrimination claim against Albuquerque Public Schools. […]