A woman was shot and seriously injured inside the Albuquerque Convention Center Wednesday evening while a gradutation ceremony was taking place. It was not immediately clear if the victim or suspect were involved in the graduation ceremony, which police say was for the Southwest Secondary Learning Center charter school. The suspect has been taken into […]
Courts, Justice & Safety
Posted inAlbuquerque, Courts, Justice & Safety
Another officer — the 9th — put on leave amidst internal investigation of DWI unit
The Albuquerque Police Department has expanded its internal investigation into corruption in the DWI unit to yet another officer — bringing the total to nine. Matthew Trahan was put on leave Wednesday, APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos confirmed. He said Trahan was hired in 2006 and served in the DWI unit from 2014 to 2016. Of […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News, Syndicated
Civil suit settled in shooting at Oñate Protest
By MORGAN LEE / Associated Press A settlement has been reached in a civil lawsuit seeking damages from three relatives in the shooting of a Native American activist in northern New Mexico amid confrontations about a statue of a Spanish conquistador and aborted plans to reinstall it in public, according to court documents published Tuesday. […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News, Syndicated
New Mexico high court upholds man’s 3 murder convictions in 2018 shooting deaths near Dixon
ASSOCIATED PRESS / SANTA FE, N.M. The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld a man’s murder convictions in the 2018 shooting deaths of three people near the community of Dixon. In a unanimous decision, the state’s high court concluded Monday that there was sufficient evidence to support John Powell’s convictions of three counts of first-degree […]
Posted inBreaking News, Courts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News, Syndicated
FBI says an infant abducted from New Mexico park has been found safe; a suspect is in custody
ASSOCIATED PRESS CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) — An infant girl who was abducted from a park near Clovis, New Mexico, has been found safe, and a suspect is in in custody, the FBI in Albuquerque said Monday. Clovis police said 10-month-old Eleia Maria Torres has been taken to a Clovis-area hospital as a precautionary measure. No […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, New Mexico Statewide News
Veteran reporter returns to her roots to probe cold case of rookie cop shot in police station
16 stairs, 1 bullet and 36 years. I never knew Officer Stephen Sandlin in person, only through stories told, crime scene documents and autopsy reports. Over the past couple of weeks, as we began re-reporting it and visiting old sites and talking with community members, it’s clear I’m not alone. Many have never forgotten his […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
Fresh eyes and new technology: Digging into the cold case killing of a rookie cop in Mountainair
It was the evening of May 7, 1988, and while most of the town of Mountainair attended a talent show at the high school, a rookie cop remained at the police department — in a cramped room atop a narrow staircase above town hall. Stephen Sandlin, a 21-year-old who had joined the four-man force a […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, rio-rancho
Rio Rancho Teen Accused in Homicide
A Rio Rancho teen was arrested and charged this week in connection with the recent stabbing death of an Albuquerque woman. According to a press release, Rio Rancho Police Department Criminal Investigations Division identified the suspect as 17-year-old Joshua Xavier Mora who is facing charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. The victim, 44-year-old […]
Posted inBernalillo County, Courts, Justice & Safety, Local Gov.
BCSO arrests ‘Al Capone’ of retail theft
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, […]
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 […]