Albuquerque police say robbery witness fatally shot
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Police say a 21-year-old woman was shot and killed as she tried to drive away from an area near an Albuquerque park where she witnessed a late-night robbery.
A police spokesman said in an email late Saturday that Cayla Campos had been playing Pokémon Go with her boyfriend the previous night when she and others saw a robbery of people seated in another vehicle.
Police say she attempted to drive away when she was struck by gunfire and crashed into a home.
Police say they are seeking the public's help to identify suspects and victims of the robbery at the park, which involved a silver four-door sedan and a red car.
ALBUQUERQUE POLICE SHOOTINGS
Man shot, killed by Albuquerque police had BB gun
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police video shows a 57-year-old man who was shot and killed by officers in August lying on the ground at a bus stop as officers initially approached him.
In video released Friday, officers ordered Roger Shafer to lie on his stomach and keep his hands from his waistband where he appeared to have a handgun. Instead, he lifted himself onto a bench to take a seat and placed his hand on his waist.
Police say one officer initially shot a rubber bullet at Shafer, then three officers fired their weapons at him. Shafer's weapon turned out to be a BB gun. He died at the scene.
Police say officers went to the bus stop in response to reports that a man was pointing a gun at passing vehicles.
COMMERCE-TRIBAL PERSPECTIVE
New chairman brings tribal perspective to business group
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Mike Canfield is the first tribal member to serve as board chairman for a business advocacy group that covers New Mexico's largest metropolitan area.
Canfield is a member of Laguna Pueblo and will lead the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.
Canfield previously led an ambitious effort to reshape the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center as CEO of Indian Pueblos Marketing. He also headed the Laguna Industries manufacturing operation.
He tells the Albuquerque Journal that as the chamber's board chairman, he wants to give a voice to a perspective that hasn't always been well represented in Albuquerque's business community.
Canfield took over in July. His focus has been on helping businesses as well as working with chamber staff on city-wide issues.
THE CASAGRANDES
'The Casagrandes' extols Mexican American life via animation
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Nickelodeon's "The Casagrandes" premiered this week and became one of the first cartoons in U.S. history to feature a multigenerational Mexican American family.
The long awaited spin-off from the network's popular animation series, "The Loud House," comes as more networks take chances on Latino-themed shows.
The series centers around an 11-year-old Mexican American, skateboarding girl trying to survive in the fictional town of Great Lake City. Her apartment is above The Casagrandes bodega, owned by grandpa and in front of a subway track.
Unlike some previous cartoons with Latinos, "The Casagrandes" seeks to tackle family-oriented themes like love, friendship, and jealousy.
Supervising director Miguel Puga says creators wanted to show how normal and relatable Latino families are.
NEW MEXICO COMPOUND
Judge orders New Mexico compound suspect hospitalized
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a woman charged with kidnapping, firearm and terrorism-related counts to be hospitalized, saying she suffers from mental illness.
The decision Thursday orders up to four months of hospitalization for Jany Leveille, with plans to reevaluate later whether she might be competent to stand trial.
Leveille has been among five suspects awaiting trial in the case after officers raided their Taos County compound last year. Authorities say they found 11 hungry children there living in filth, and the remains of a missing Georgia boy who had suffered from untreated disabilities.
The boy's father, Leveille and the three other suspects are accused in court documents of conspiring to attack officers, military members and government employees.
All, except the father, are charged with kidnapping the boy.
BABY SHOT IN FACE
New Mexico man in baby shooting may get plea deal
GALLUP, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man who reportedly admitted to accidentally shooting an infant girl and trying to arrange the killing of the baby's mother may be near a plea agreement.
The Gallup Independent reports Tyrell Bitsilly's attorney Christian Hatfield and special prosecutor Bill Snowden are negotiating plea deals for pending cases.
Bitsilly is facing charges connected to three violent cases involving his girlfriend Shayanne Nelson.
The 21-year-old Bitsilly and Nelson had told police the girl's 3-year-old brother found a gun left in a Gallup, New Mexico, motel room and accidentally fired the gun.
Bitsilly is facing new charges after authorities say he tried to arrange the killings of Nelson and a retired military medic who helped saved the infant girl's life.
AP-LT-IMMIGRATION-MEXICAN-FAMILIES
Asylum-seeking Mexicans are more prominent at US border
JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Mexicans are increasingly the face of asylum in the United States, replacing Central Americans who dominated last year's caravan and a surge of families that brought border arrests to a 13-year-high in May.
Border arrests plummeted as U.S. policies targeting asylum have taken hold. But Mexicans are exempt by virtue of being a neighboring country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures show fewer Mexicans are crossing, but the drop in Central Americans is much sharper, making Mexicans the biggest part of the mix. Mexicans arrested or stopped at the border fell 22% from May to August, but border crossers from Central American countries were down from 63% to 81%.
It is unclear precisely what is driving the change, perhaps a mix of U.S. policies and violence in Mexico.
UNM-FACULTY UNION
University of New Mexico faculty, adjuncts vote on unionize
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Professors and adjunct teachers at New Mexico's largest university have voted to unionize.
The University of New Mexico announced Friday the adjunct and faculty endorsed two proposals in favor of union representation after two days of voting.
Results show members of the school's regular faculty voted 500 to 304 in favor of unionization. Adjunct faculty voted 256 to 26 in favor of forming their own union.
The move comes after a faculty union petition was filed in February.
Faculty members have complained that University of New Mexico professors are among the lowest paid in the country.