Susan Montoya Bryan/Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A South Carolina man has been charged with two federal counts stemming from the killing of a New Mexico state police officer, federal and state prosecutors announced Friday. An unsealed criminal complaint charges Jaremy Smith, 33, with two counts: carjacking resulting in death and discharge of a firearm […]
Courts, Justice & Safety
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety
Attorney: DWI corruption scheme ‘goes outward and upward’
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include details recently obtained from Joshua Montaño’s resignation letter. When officer Joshua Montaño was put on administrative leave after the news broke on Jan. 18 that the FBI was investigating him, his colleagues in the DWI unit and a local defense attorney, he said he thought he’d […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety
ACLU demands independent investigation into officer-involved killing of unarmed woman
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is calling for a transparent and thorough investigation into the death of an unarmed woman at the hands of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). According to the Albuquerque Journal, the woman was killed in Northeast Albuquerque where she was hiding from police in a backyard shed. […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
Supreme Court opens new frontier for insurrection claims that could target state and local officials
By MORGAN LEE and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Two recent U.S. Supreme Court actions have opened the door to a new legal frontier in which local and state officials can be disqualified from office for life for engaging in “insurrection” or providing “aid and comfort” to enemies of the Constitution, […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety
Guilty: Muhammad Syed convicted in first of three trials for Albuquerque’s Muslim homicides
On Monday morning, after just under two hours of deliberation, a jury found Muhammad Syed guilty of first-degree murder in the first of three trials where he was accused of gunning down Muslim men. Syed, an Afghan refugee, is facing a mandatory life sentence for killing Aftab Hussein. The trial lasted four days in the […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety
Life continues for family of man accused in Albuquerque’s Muslim murders
In the year and a half since Muhammad Syed was arrested and charged in the fatal shootings of three Muslim men, his family — refugees from Afghanistan — has remained in Albuquerque. One of his children got divorced. Another enrolled in community college to study to be a dental hygienist after pleading guilty to a […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness
Business owner, deputy commander talk crime in Albuquerque’s Downtown
Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment in a series titled Downtown Albuquerque Reboot, about the city’s center, its challenges and the plans to address them. Read about why the area matters here, about vacant buildings here, peruse a photo essay about lowriders here, and end with what the area has to offer here. On […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News
New Mexico state police officer shot, killed near Tucumcari
TUCUMCARI, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico state police officer was shot and killed Friday on Interstate 40 in eastern New Mexico near Tucumcari and multiple law enforcement agencies were searching for the suspect. The suspect was last seen wearing a brown hoodie and jacket, the state department of public safety said in an email […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety
Fourth APD officer resigns while under investigation in DWI corruption case
A fourth Albuquerque Police Department officer has resigned rather than be interviewed as part of an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by DWI officers. Nelson Ortiz resigned Thursday, according to a news release. “Investigators were attempting to schedule an interview with Ortiz, but he decided to resign,” the release states. Ortiz, who joined APD […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News
NM daycare workers’ convictions reversed in 2017 death of toddler inside hot car
The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday granted a new trial for two daycare workers in the 2017 death of a 1-year-old girl left in a hot car and the serious injury of another toddler. The high court said in a news release that it reversed the child abuse convictions of Mary Taylor and her adult daughter Sandi Taylor […]