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Local Crime Report for Tuesday December 31, 2013

12/31/2013

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:

Manuel Caldillo, age 20, was arrested for battery on a household member… Josue Pedregon, age 22, was arrested on three Magistrate warrants – two for failure to pay fines and one for failure to appear, and on a Municipal warrant for failure to appear… John Rodriguez, age 29, of Milan, was arrested on a Cibola County warrant for failure to appear… Naomi Macias, age 19, was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia… and a 15-year-old boy was charged with assault on a household member and interference with officers.

Also, a surveillance camera valued at over $100 was taken from a business off South Gold.

FSA County Election Deadline Nears

12/31/2013

(Deming) – Luna County farmers and ranchers are being encouraged to vote in the USDA Farm Service Agency County Committee Elections.

     The deadline to return ballots to the local FSA office or have them postmarked is January 17th.

     Producers have been instructed to destroy the FSA County Committee election ballots mailed November 4th. The new ballots have the word “corrected” printed on the outside of the mailing, the ballot itself, and the return envelope.

     Producers must complete and return the corrected FSA-669 to have their vote counted.

     Eligible voters who have not received a corrected ballot can obtain one from the local FSA office at 405 East Florida.

     Again, the deadline to submit corrected ballots in person to the local USDA Service Center is January 17th. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than January 17th.

     Newly elected committee members and their alternates will take office February 18th.

     Call 546-9291 for more information.

Delgados Still Not Charged in Embezzlement

12/31/2013

(Deming) – A Santa Fe district attorney is handling a Deming embezzlement case.

     The Albuquerque Journal reported that investigators with the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Santa Fe have obtained 16 boxes of documents from the state’s tax fraud division in connection with an embezzlement and fraud probe involving a defunct Deming escrow company and its owners.

     The boxes were confiscated from Mimbres Valley Escrow Services Inc., which is at the center of an investigation that began in June 2012 when the state Taxation and Revenue Department’s Tax Fraud Investigations Division received a complaint against the company and its owners, 44-year-old Anna Delgado and her husband, 45-year-old Jesus Delgado, both of Deming.

     According to court documents, investigators allege the Delgados withheld payments entrusted in them through their escrow company, and continued making monthly payments to the clients to “cover up their crime.” They allegedly diverted funds from the escrow company “into other accounts held in their names.”

     First Judicial District Attorney Angela Pacheco said neither of the Delgados has been criminally charged, but the investigation remains active.

     Reportedly, the investigation was triggered when an escrow company client claimed the Delgados owed her nearly $618,000 from an escrow account set up to handle payments to her from real estate contracts.

Local Crime Report for Monday December 30, 2013

12/30/2013

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:

     Donald Belt, age 41, was arrested for DUI and possession of marijuana… Juan Islas, age 21, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and on two Magistrate warrants – one for failure to appear and one for failure to pay fines… Sonya Aguilera, age 19, was arrested for possession of marijuana and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia… Christine Settle, age 41, was arrested for concealing her identity and possession of drug paraphernalia, and was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana…

     Suede McaFee, age 33, was charged with battery on a household member… Efren Medrano, age 32, was arrested for trespassing and interference with officers… Sandra Benner, age 32, was arrested for disorderly conduct…

     Jesus Chaparro-Silva, age 36, of El Paso, Texas, was arrested on a Dona Ana County warrant for failure to appear… Adolfo Lujan, age 64, was arrested on two Municipal warrants – one for failure to appear and one for failure to pay fines… Edmund Escalante, age 25, was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia… and Derlin Giljum, age 63, was cited for shoplifting at Wal-Mart.

     In juvenile news… a 15-year-old girl was charged with battery on a household member… a 17-year-old boy was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana… and two boys – one age 16 and one age 14 – were cited for shoplifting at Wal-Mart.

     And in other news… jewelry and a wooden jewelry box with a combined value of nearly $350 were taken from a residence off West Hemlock… 50-feet of chain-link fence and four fence posts with a combined value of over $300 were taken from a location off South Iron… a video game player valued at $300 was taken from a residence off West First… a window valued at $150 was broken on a mobile home off South Gold… three truck hitches and 15 lugs were taken off trucks parked off Southeast Bosque Road… a purse and a pit-bull puppy with a combined value of nearly $150 were taken from a vehicle parked off East Florida… a sander valued at $100 was taken from a residence off Kipling… a door frame was damaged on a residence off Columbus Road… and there was an attempted break-in at a residence off Santa Clara.

New Year's Eve Warnings

12/30/2013

(Deming) – If you are planning an eventful New Year's Eve party, consider yourself warned: officers and deputies will be on patrol to make certain 2014 is brought in as safely as possible.

Area law enforcement agencies will be patrolling throughout the New Year's holiday. Drivers are encouraged to designate a driver or make alternate plans to get home long before they start drinking so they are not tempted to drive after drinking.

Also, Corre Cantinos will be operating from 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve to 1:30 a.m. New Year’s Day. Call 575-313-3557 for a reservation.

Another warning: if you are planning to go outside and shoot guns at midnight on New Year's Eve, keep the laws of gravity in mind: what goes up must come down. A bullet discharged into the air will come down somewhere, possibly causing injury to a person or property.

It is a crime to discharge a firearm within the city limits or near an inhabited dwelling, and officers and deputies will be citing people who choose to fire weapons as part of their celebration.

Also, have consideration for their neighbors when hosting parties. Officers can issue loud noise citations if they are called to a residence.

Most importantly, make it a safe New Year's Eve: we need you – our listeners – back in 2014!

Red Mountain Middle School Burglars Caught

12/30/2013

(Deming) – An adult and three teens have been charged with breaking into Red Mountain Middle School over the Christmas holiday and stealing several laptop computers.

     18-year-old Israel Vasquez has been charged with burglary, larceny over $2,500, causing criminal damage to property and conspiracy.

     The same charges have been filed on a 16-year-old boy from Deming and on two teen boys from Arizona – one age 17 and one age 16.

     Reportedly, the four used a rock to break a door window and gain access to Red Mountain Middle School and, once inside, took backpacks and loaded them with laptop computers from classrooms.

     The break-in was discovered by a school maintenance worker on Thursday, and occurred on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

     The four were charged Friday after Deming Police Officer Ashley Standridge stopped Vasquez during a routine traffic stop at Pine and Silver and obtained permission to search his vehicle.

     During the search she noticed several laptop computers with Deming Public School inventory stickers.

Local Crime Report for Friday December 27, 2013

12/27/2013

(Deming) – Here’s the area crime report:

Vanessa Garza, age 23, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, burglary, abandonment or abuse of a child and on a Municipal warrant for failure to pay fines… Virginia Padilla, age 47, was arrested for burglary and possession of drug paraphernalia… Andres Calderon, age 24, was arrested for driving while license was suspended or revoked… Nicole Romero, age 28, of Mesa, Arizona, was arrested for driving while license was suspended or revoked… and Sammy Perez, age 32, was arrested on a District Court warrant for a probation violation.

Also… a compound saw valued at $1,000 was taken from a residence off South Iron.

Health Insurance Forum Monday

12/27/2013

(Deming) – Key dates are quickly approaching to register for health insurance in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

     To help guide those interested and to answer questions, the LUNA Health Council is teaming with the Southwest Chapter of the New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce and the Deming Luna County Chamber of Commerce to hold a Health Insurance Marketplace public forum Monday.

     Reportedly, there are two simple “yes” or “no” questions and an income graph to determine if you may be eligible for no-cost health insurance through the Medicaid expansion. First, are you between the ages of 19 and 64? And second, are you a U.S. citizen or lawfully present immigrant living in New Mexico? And the income criteria says your income must be equal to or less than $15,856 annually for a one-person household, less than or equal to $21,404 for a two-person household, or less than or equal to $32,499 for a four-person household.

     Open enrollment for the Medicaid expansion and the Health Insurance Marketplace, which began in October, will close March 31st for 2014 coverage.

     More information will be available at the health forum set for this Monday, December 30th, at 6 p.m. in the basement of the Luna County Courthouse, 700 S. Silver Avenue.

Columbus Working to be Out of Debt

12/27/2013

Columbus Mayor Nicole Lawson

(Deming) – Columbus is working to emerge from the gun-smuggling ring scandal in 2011 involving the village's former mayor, a trustee and the police chief.

     The Albuquerque Journal reports that Columbus employees say the village is almost out of debt and elected officials have been working to win over residents' trust.

     Columbus Mayor Nicole Lawson says she will not seek a second term after dedicating more than two years to putting village affairs back in order.

     Lawson took on what might have been the town's toughest job in 2011, when she was appointed to replace Eddie Espinoza after he was arrested. She said she found the village deep in debt, and money and numerous financial records were missing.

     An independent financial audit of the books found the village records in such disorder that it began with a disclaimer: "As a result of turnover in village personnel and poor record-keeping, we were unable to obtain detail to any general ledger's account."

     The report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, said the village had exceeded its authorized budget of $1.4 million by nearly $1.1 million and went on to cite dozens of "significant deficiencies" and "material weaknesses."

     With the approval of the trustees, the village reduced municipal staff to 14 positions from 24 and made all assistant-level jobs part time — cuts that also included shuttering the local police department.

     On the revenue side, a new set of digital water meters improved the village's ability to read meters and collect payment.

     For fiscal 2013-2014, the village's budgeted expenditures fall about $250,000 below budgeted revenue of $1.3

NM's Largest Solar Array Macho Springs Solar Progressing

12/27/2013

(Deming) – New Mexico Land Commissioner Ray Powell says construction is well underway in Luna County on what will be the state's largest solar-power generating station.

     Powell shared photos this week of the Macho Springs solar power project near Deming, where workers have been busy installing the tracking systems on which thousands of solar panels will be placed.

     Ground was broken in July, and the work is expected to be complete in May.

     The solar project covers about 400 acres of state trust land, and Powell says the decades-long lease could generate as much as $14 million in trust benefits for public schools, universities and hospitals.

     First Solar Inc. is developing the solar project. It has contracted with El Paso Electric Power to provide about 50 megawatts of solar power for 20 years.