New Mexico
Gallup: A crisis in the cold
Gallup: A Crisis in the Cold from Blair Miller on Vimeo.
GALLUP, NM — Two U.S. senators are calling what is happening along Historic Route 66 in the sprawling high desert of western New Mexico a “public health crisis.”
People are coming weekly in throngs from the vast expanses of Native American land reserves surrounding the city of Gallup – a quiet town along Interstate 40 often used as a stopover for travelers headed west – to work, hang out and drink alcohol.
But many of them never make it back to where they came from.
Over the past two winters, 24 people have died outside in the cold. Their causes of death range from hypothermia to alcohol poisoning and natural causes, but people in and around the city often group the deaths together and refer to them as being caused by “exposure.”
All of the people who died were Native American. Continue reading
Bernalillo Co. Sheriff responds to 88-year-old man’s death at hands of deputies
Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales on Monday responded to KOB’s story on Fidencio Duran, the 88-year-old South Valley man who died after being shot dozens of times with pepper balls during an incident last September.
Duran’s wife died September 14, 2015. The next day, Duran called his son and told him he was going for walk. Minutes later, a neighbor called law enforcement as Duran banged on her door, yelling and bleeding.
Bernalillo County deputies arrived, and according to their own reports, they called in a crisis negotiator and a Spanish-speaking deputy to translate. Duran was reported to be holding a 4-inch knife, refusing to let it go and asking deputies to kill him.
BCSO’s reports indicate they tried for 90 minutes to get Duran to put the knife down. But he was partially blind, deaf and distraught over the recent loss of wife.
Deputies devised a plan to get Duran to comply with their orders. At 10 a.m., they deployed the plan. They fired pepper balls at Duran and released a muzzled K9 to knock him over.
Medical records show that fall caused Duran’s femur and hip to shatter. Since Duran’s skin was old and thin, some of the pepper balls penetrated, leaving fragments of plastic inside. A medical report shows it took doctors days to remove all of the plastic.
One month later, Duran died. The Office of the Medical Investigator ruled the death a homicide.
Duran’s family’s lawyer filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales and the department on behalf of Duran’s family.
Monday, Sheriff Gonzales sent a news release saying he “would like to express [his] deepest condolences to the family and friends” of Duran.
“The incident involving Mr. Duran, and his unintended death in the weeks that followed is currently being reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office,” Sheriff Gonzales wrote. “In the meantime, I have ordered the Internal Affairs Unit to conduct an investigation into this incident to better understand the totality of the events that transpired.”
This is a complex situation and as such, it will take time to complete a thorough inquiry. This Department takes the death of any person with whom we come into contact seriously, and Mr. Duran’s death is no exception,” the sheriff’s letter continued. “I am asking the public to be patient with the process as we await the outcome of the District Attorney’s review and the completion of the internal investigation.”
This story was originally published at KOB.com
Jury finds Albuquerque lawyer not guilty in 2012 shooting of homeless man at office
A jury on Monday found an Albuquerque lawyer accused of shooting a homeless man in the leg in his office in 2012 not guilty of all charges he faced related to the shooting.
The Bernalillo County jury found David “Chip” Venie not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence charges.
David “Chip” Venie was back on trial last week after a judge declared a mistrial in his first case last summer after Venie represented himself but failed to follow court rules.
Prosecutors maintained throughout the trial there was no reason for him to shoot Stephen Biddinger, a homeless man, as he approached Venie’s office, located on Lomas at 8th Street.
In the 911 call, Venie said a man was trying to break into his office. Venie told the dispatcher he shot the man after repeatedly asking him to leave.
Biddinger testified the whole incident began when Venie made a disparaging remark toward him. Then, Biddinger says he followed Venie to his office to confront him.
The defense painted Biddinger as a career criminal and having been high on meth that morning.
An office worker at Venie’s law office testified Biddinger was on drugs and wanted to hurt people at the office that day before Venie shot him.
The jury deliberated most of the day Monday after the defense rested its case Friday.
State police: Officer fired shots at suspect in stolen cop car in Lemitar
A state police officer fired shots at a suspect who got behind the wheel of a patrol vehicle and tried to escape at a truck stop in Lemitar, according to New Mexico State Police.
Around 9:30 a.m., an officer at the Phillips 66 truck stop observed a man in a stolen vehicle. The officer detained the suspect and put him in the back of his patrol vehicle while investigating the stolen car.
State police say the suspect then got out of the rear seat, entered the driver’s seat and then stole the police vehicle. During the escape, NMSP said the officer fired shots.
The state police officer and a Soccoro County sheriff’s deputy, who was assisting at the scene, then pursued the stolen cop car in the deputy’s vehicle. The pursuit lasted about 2 miles before the suspect crashed into a drainage ditch.
The officers then took the suspect into custody without further incident. No one was injured, according to NMSP.
The name of the suspect has not yet been released.
The officer who fired shots during the incident has been placed on standard administrative leave.
Detective: Girlfriend seemed to encourage teen to kill family
A court hearing continued Tuesday to determine if an Albuquerque teenager who pleaded guilty to killing his family will be sentenced as an adult.
Prosecutors called two Bernalillo County deputies who interviewed Nehemiah Griego 24 hours after the murders to testify on Tuesday.
One detective says initially Griego claimed someone else killed his parents and three young siblings, but he later broke down and confessed. Both detectives talked about text messages exchanged on an app between Griego and his girlfriend, where they talked about killing both sets of their parents.
One of the deputies said he found firearms, large amounts of ammunition and bullet casings from the home.
The first detective who arrived to the scene described Griego as being expressionless while he interacted with deputies and told them that when he got home he had gone upstairs to find his family “deceased.”
Another detective said Griego told him that when he got home from a sleepover, he found his family dead.
Under cross-examination from the defense, one detective said it seemed Griego’s girlfriend was egging him on to kill.
The grandmother of Griego’s girlfriend said she first met Griego the day after the murders happened. She told the court that Griego’s girlfriend had asked if he could spend the night that night, at which time Griego told her his parents had been killed in an accident a month before.
The grandmother was concerned, she told the court, and told a church minister about what he had said. Church members went to the home and called BCSO, according to the grandmother’s testimony.
Feds ID man shot by Albuquerque police after attempted bank robbery
The man who was shot by Albuquerque police following an attempted bank robbery Monday has been identified.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 47-year-old Darrel Salazar has been arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with attempted bank robbery.
Salazar was arrested Tuesday morning by the FBI and has made his initial appearance in federal court. He remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
The criminal complaint states Salazar allegedly attempted to rob the branch of the Bank of America on Carlisle near Candelaria around 4 p.m. Monday.
Authorities say Salazar entered the bank and handed a teller a note demanding cash. After the teller did not comply with his commands, the complaint states Salazar brandished a handgun, pointed it at the teller and stated, “Read the note, read the note.”
However, the bank is equipped with a transparent, bullet-resistant barrier which separates employees behind the counter from the lobby. The complaint states the teller again refused to hand over money and Salazar responded, “Forget it,” and left empty-handed.
At this point, police were responding to reports of a bank robbery and arrived at the vicinity of Carlisle and Candelaria. The complaint states Salazar then ran behind a 7-Eleven location and took off his pants and sweatshirt.
As police gave verbal commands, they said Salazar pointed a handgun at an officer. APD confirmed Tuesday only one officer fired his weapon at Salazar.
FBI agents said when they told Salazar he was under arrest for bank robbery he said “ I didn’t rob no bank! I got scared and left!”
APD said that officer is a seven-year veteran of APD and that he had not been previously involved in any shootings. They said witnesses corroborated the story that Salazar had pointed a gun at the officer before he was shot.
Salazar was treated for injuries at UNM Hospital.
If convicted on the attempted bank robbery charge, Salazar faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Salazar has been found guilty of two DWIs over the past 15 years and was found not guilty of another. He also has multiple traffic citations and was found guilty of evading an officer and failing to appear four times for one case.
Report on MDC guards’ macing and beating of inmate concludes use-of-force policy needed
An investigation into the macing and beating of a female inmate at Bernalillo County’s Metropolitan Detention Center in October found guards were not following an April directive from former MDC Chief Phillip Greer telling corrections officers not to use their mace except in dire situations.
Instead, the seven guards who were placed on temporary leavefor the incident, which was caught on video and obtained by KOB, said there were all following training and policy. Continue reading
Ex-Sec. of State Duran accepts sentence in fraud case
Former Secretary of State Dianna Duran has accepted the sentence imposed by a district judge for misusing campaign funds to pay off casino debts.
Judge T. Glenn Ellington sentenced Duran to 30 days in jail, five years of supervised probation and to pay $14,000 in restitution to campaign donors and contributors.
Duran took a plea deal in October and pleaded guilty to six of the 65 counts against her, including embezzlement, money laundering and identity theft. She resigned from her post the same day.
Duran had until noon on Wednesday to withdraw her plea or accept the sentence.
“With the same resolve with which Ms. Duran swiftly accepted responsibility, she will accept the sentence of the court,” defense attorney Erlinda Johnson wrote in an email to KOB.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, whose office investigated the case against Duran, issued the following statement Wednesday after Duran agreed to accept her plea deal and go to jail:
“My office investigated, charged and negotiated a resolution that contemplated the Court using its discretion to impose up to 8 ½ years of incarceration. Our recommendation was only a baseline and gave the court full discretion to sentence up to 8 ½ years. We must respect the Court’s ability to exercise judicial discretion.”
Duran released the first of her court-ordered letters to New Mexicans Wednesday afternoon in the Las Cruces Bulletin:
December 16, 2016
Dear New Mexicans,
I cannot begin to express how deeply sorry I am for my transgressions and the damage I caused to the public’s trust in public officials. I only hope the people of the state of New Mexico will move forward and someday forgive my actions which were not borne out of greed but rather a result of very tragic personal circumstances which led to some very poor decisions on my part. I have not made excuses for my actions. I have simply tried to explain the circumstances which led to my transgressions. I only hope the people of this great state find it within themselves to forgive me.
Sincerely, Dianna J. Duran
Cellphone video unlikely to settle question of whether skate park shooting victim was armed
The city of Albuquerque and Albuquerque Police Department on Friday released two cellphone videos, primary police report and list of all officers who responded to the scene at Los Altos Skate Park March 22, when 17-year-old Jaquise Lewis was shot and killed.
The videos are not likely to definitively settle the question of whether Lewis was armed and therefore shot in self-defense as claimed by APD. That’s because the resolution is poor, the video is unsteady and the events unfolded from a distance after dark. Continue reading
Albuquerque police union president arrested on child abuse charges
The president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association was released from jail on bond overnight after her arrest on child abuse charges Thursday.
Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Aaron Williamson confirmed deputies started an investigation into APOA President Stephanie Lopez, 40, Wednesday and arrested her Thursday.
She faces child abuse without great bodily harm and bribery/intimidation/retaliation of a witness charges.
The criminal complaint for Lopez’s arrest says the alleged abuse happened Tuesday, when Lopez allegedly hit her 14-year-old daughter “repeatedly in the head and facial area.” APD was notified Wednesday.
The girl told school staff Tuesday her mother had hit her in the head and was taken to the school resource officer, who notified CYFD and APD. APD then referred the case to BCSO because of the conflict of interest.
A CYFD investigator briefly interviewed the girl, but the interview was stopped and the girl was taken to a safe house for a forensic interview.
The girl told investigators her mother, Lopez, got upset when the girl failed to tell her a utility shut off notice had been posted to their front door. Lopez allegedly hit her daughter “several times in the face causing significant bruising and pulled her hair before throwing her to the floor,” according to the criminal complaint.
When Lopez dropped her daughter off at school, the criminal complaint says she asked why her daughter “decided not to wear makeup today.” Lopez then allegedly told her daughter, “…think about what you say today at school; you won’t be with me; you won’t have your freedom. What happened to you was your fault.”
The criminal complaint says the daughter was scared to go home for fear of retaliation. It also says the daughter requested that nobody from Lopez’s side of the family be told about the situation “because they will lie for, and cover-up anything that Stephanie does.”
The girl said her younger brother and older sister witnessed the alleged abuse. The criminal complaint says the younger brother confirmed the girl’s account of the incident to the CYFD investigator.
Lopez told investigators should needed to speak to an attorney before speaking with detectives.
Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Tanner Tixier said that as of 8:45 p.m. Thursday, “no one” from APD had read the criminal complaint filed against her or had been briefed on the specifics of the case.
“Any further statements would not be appropriate until we have had the opportunity to thoroughly review the charges,” Tixier said.
Lopez is being held on a $5,000 cash-only bond at the Metropolitan Detention Center. She was booked just after 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
KOB has reached out to the APOA and city for comment, but has not received a reply yet.
This story was originally published at KOB.com