New Mexico
Wife: Former CNN reporter shoots, kills armed robber at Westside motel
A former CNN investigative reporter shot and killed an armed robber in a motel on Albuquerque’s Westside late Tuesday, according to his wife.
Police responded to the Motel 6 at Iliff Road NW off Coors around 11:30 p.m. APD said they found a man dead in the parking lot with at least one gunshot wound.
Lynne Russell, also a former CNN anchor, told KOB she and her husband, Chuck de Caro, decided to stop at the motel for the night because they were tired after a long day of traveling and had their dog with them. When she went out to the car to get something and returned to the room, she said an armed man was at the door with a handgun. Continue reading
Begaye wins Navajo Nation presidential election
Russell Begaye will be the new president of the Navajo Nation, according to unofficial election results that show Begaye drew more than 10,000 more votes than his counterpart, Joe Shirley, Jr.
Jonathan Nez, a three-time Navajo Nation Council delegate, will serve as Begaye’s vice president. Continue reading
Navajo President, Speaker: Supreme Court ‘overstepping authority’ by ordering April election
Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly and Council Speaker LoRenzo Bates issued a statement late Tuesday condemning the Navajo Nation Supreme Court’s order requiring the presidential election to be held April 21 and say the court is “overstepping its authority” and “displays a lack of respect for the authorities of [the] Nation’s three-branch government,” further exposing the rift between different factions of the Navajo government.
The Supreme Court on March 20 called for the election to take place April 21 and that the Acting Controller transfer $317,000 to the Navajo Election Administration for the election. Continue reading
Navajo Supreme Court: Hold elections for president, election supervisors ASAP; planned primary cancelled
The Navajo Nation Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Navajo Election Administration to hold a presidential general election “as soon as possible” with Joe Shirley, Jr. and Russell Begaye as the candidates. It also ordered the Election Administration to hold elections for the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors whose seats were invalidated in an Oct. 31 decision, but stopped at holding them in contempt of court.
The orders came in the invalidations of two Navajo Nation Council resolutions – CD-80-14 and CD-81-14 – the first of which called for a primary election for presidential candidates in June and a subsequent special general election in August.
The second resolution that was invalidated in Friday’s decision pardoned and reinstated the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors who were found in contempt in the October decision because they refused to follow through with a November presidential election.
Both resolutions came on the heels of the postponed Navajo presidential election, which were postponed mostly due to the fact that there was major disagreements between different factions of the Navajo government and people over the issue of language fluency and candidate Chris Deschene’s ability to fluently speak the language.
Deschene and Shirley Jr. were first and second the original primary in August and were thus slated as the two November candidates.
Dale Tsosie and Hank Whitethorne, both of whom had been presidential candidates, had filed a motion to hold Deschene, the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors and the Navajo Election Administration in contempt of court in October.
The two men are the ones who originally started the petition against Deschene over fluency requirements.
Friday’s decision denied Tsosie and Whitethorne’s petition to hold council delegate and election officials in contempt, but they will not be allowed to return, hence the upcoming election for the board.
Prior to the Oct. 31 decision, the Navajo Nation Election Board Commissioner, Wallace Charley, told KOB that the board would go to jail before it removes Chris Deschene from the presidential ballot for the upcoming election.
“The Navajo are citizens of the United States; there is a constitution that gives the principle that people have a right to vote, and their votes cannot be denied,” Charley told KOB. “So based on that, the Navajo Board of Elections Supervisors will not back off on this principle. Whether that means going to jail – fine. We’ll go to jail and see what comes out of this.”
The Supreme Court also requested Friday the Speaker of the Council convene a special session for the council to talk about how to fund the election.
Charges dropped against two men involved in undercover drug bust in which cop was shot
The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office has dropped charges against two suspects in a drug bust earlier this month that resulted in the shooting of an undercover Albuquerque police officer.
Officers were allegedly buying meth from Damian Bailey and Edmond Vester when one of the suspects allegedly pulled out a pellet gun, forcing Officer Jacob Grant to reveal himself as an officer.
At some point, Grant’s own lieutenant shot him.
Both the DA’s office and APD say they dropped the charges against Bailey and Vester to give them more time to investigate. Both entities say the charges against the men will be refiled in the future.
DA to pursue murder charges against officers in Boyd shooting
The Bernalillo County district attorney will pursue murder charges against the two Albuquerque police officers who fatally shot homeless camper James Boyd in the foothills last March.
District Attorney Kari Brandenburg filed documents in district court Monday seeking to charge officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez with an open count of murder. The documents will result in a preliminary hearing for both Sandy and Perez. Continue reading
Attorney for Boyd’s family reacts to charges against officers
While Sam Bregman, the attorney who represents former APD officer Keith Sandy, defended him and his actions, the attorney for James Boyd’s family listened on, and had plenty to say afterwards regarding Bregman’s comments Monday.
“This is a day when the citizens of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County should be proud that our representative has the courage to say no one is above the law and no one is below the law — that every life in the city of Albuquerque matters,” said the attorney for James Boyd’s family, Shannon Kennedy.
She says the way attorney Sam Bregman portrayed Boyd in his comments was “dehumanizing.”
She told KOB she takes issue with Bregman’s descriptions of how Boyd “threatened” the officers, and said Boyd was provoked by open space officers, who woke him while he was sleeping and tried to pat him down.
Kennedy added that Boyd “did not assault” the officers and that their lives were not immediately in danger when officers Keith sandy and Dominique Perez shot him.
“James Matthew Boyd cannot speak for himself. Sadly, he’s gone,” Kennedy said. “[Bregman’s] client killed him. It was an unlawful taking of life. Police officers should not be able to be allowed to operate above the law.”
Kennedy hopes the charges will send a message to other officers and administrators, and she believes the lapel camera video is what made this case different.
“One way we move forward is a watched cop does not boil. Keith Sandy’s camera did not work. He didn’t know he was being videotaped. But from here on out APD officers are going to know that they have a lapel camera that should be working. And if it’s not working, we’re suspicious as to why not,” Kennedy said.
Boyd’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against APD, and says they’ll be watching the upcoming preliminary hearing closely.
Suspects in undercover narcotics operation identified
Albuquerque police have identified the two suspects arrested Fridayin connection to an undercover narcotics operation near Central and Tramway.
According to the criminal complaint, Damian Bailey, 28, had been in contact with undercover detectives. Baily told the undercover detectives that he could get them methamphetamine “shards” for $60 and told the detectives to meet him in the area of Dunes and Whispering Sands SE.
Police say Bailey and another man identified as Edmond Vester, 28, entered the detective’s vehicle. Baily instructed the detectives to drive to the Econo Lodge near Central and Tramway NE.
According to APD, Vester exited the vehicle to get the methamphetamine. He returned to the vehicle some time later with what appeared to be the drugs requested.
A pre-determined arrest signal was given and relayed to assisting detectives in the area. Baily and Vester were immediately taken into custody without incident.
Sometime during the operation an undercover APD detective was shot by another undercover officer.
According to Chief Gordon Eden, both officers involved were wearing plain clothes.
KOB has learned from multiple sources that the officer who fired the shots was actually the lieutenant of the officer who was shot.
The officer who was shot is currently in critical condition at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Sources say he went into surgery after 2 p.m. Friday, but was out by 7 p.m. APD said he was stable after surgery, but still in “extremely critical” condition.
Sources: APD officer shot by own lieutenant during undercover operation
ALBUQUERQUE — An undercover Albuquerque police narcotics detective was shot by another officer near Central Avenue SE and Tramway Boulevard around 11:40 a.m. Friday. APD Chief Gorden Eden said the officer was shot by another officer during an undercover narcotics operation. Both officers involved were plainclothes officers, according to Eden.
KOB has learned from multiple sources that the officer who fired the shots was actually the lieutenant of the officer who was shot.
The officer who was shot is currently in critical condition at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Sources say he went into surgery after 2 p.m., but was out by 7 p.m. APD said he was stable after surgery, but still in “extremely critical” condition. Continue reading
Navajo Council approves legislation to hold special presidential run-off, general elections next summer
The Navajo Nation Council on Wednesday approved a special run-off election to be followed by a general election, scheduled for next summer, to determine who will be the new president and vice president of the Navajo Nation, according to the Navajo Times.
The council voted 11-1, with Charles Damon II as the sole vote against, to hold the run-off election on June 2, 2015. All 17 of the original candidates who ran in this year’s primary would be qualified to be in the run-off election, including embattled candidate Chris Deschene.
Those 17 candidates will have their $1500 filing fee waived; new candidates will still have to pay it.
The special general election would then take place on August 4, and the new president will be sworn in in September if all goes according to plan.
President Ben Shelly has ten calendar days to approve the motion. He would also have to approve another piece of legislation passed by the council Wednesday that seeks to pardon and reinstate the nine members of the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors who were removed from their positions after being found in contempt of court by the Navajo Supreme Court earlier this year.
The elections bill would also provide around $317,000 to the Election Administration to fund the special elections.
Tuesday, Deschene filed a motion with the Navajo Office of Hearings and Appeals to void the order that disqualified him from being president in the first place.