State Police: Man shot, ending barricade situation on I-25
HATCH, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico State Police says a barricade situation involving a vehicle stopped along Interstate 25 in southern New Mexico ended when a State Police officer shot and wounded an armed man who was holding a 7-year-old child hostage.
The State Police said in a statement that the incident began Wednesday when a vehicle failed to stop at a Border Patrol checkpoint on I-25, prompting a pursuit that led to the vehicle stopping near Hatch.
The statement said the injured suspect was taken to a hospital and his condition wasn't immediately available, while the child "was safely rescued" and no officers were injured.
No additional information was released.
Hatch is a73 miles (118 kilometers) north of El Paso, Texas.
LEGISLATURE-NEW MEXICO
Bill advances to ban coyote-killing contests in New Mexico
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The state Senate has passed a bill that would ban contests to see who can shoot and kill the most coyotes.
The bill from Democratic Sen. Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces and Republican Sen. Mark Moores of Albuquerque passed on a 22-17 vote Wednesday and now moves to the New Mexico state House for consideration.
Ranchers and outfitters from across the state have argued over the years that the contests are a tool for managing packs of coyotes that threaten livestock. Opponents say the practice is barbaric and ineffective, and this year's bill would make it a misdemeanor crime to organize a contest. Participation would be a petty misdemeanor.
Coyote killing contests were banned on state trust land earlier this year by State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard.
AP-US-WILDLIFE-TRAPPING-BAN
Trapping-ban bill signals shift in attitudes toward animals
TIERRA AMARILLA, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico may become the latest state in the American West to place major restrictions on wildlife trapping as frontier ethics and suburban attitudes toward animal suffering collide.
A Democrat-backed bill that bans traps, snares and animal poison on public land with few exceptions was poised for a crucial vote in in the state House of Representatives as soon as Thursday.
Final approval would banish independent trappers from public lands that span nearly a third of the state.
Trapping traditions date back to the Spanish colonial era and include celebrity 19th century frontiersman Kit Carson.
Lining up against the ban are trappers and ranchers who depend on each other to tamp down livestock predators and harvest pelts for international markets.
BORDER ARRESTS-NEW MEXICO
Group of 180 migrants arrested at New Mexico border
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (AP) — Federal border authorities say 180 migrants have been arrested for illegally crossing into the United States near a border community in southern New Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday the group crossed near Sunland Park early Tuesday, marking the latest wave of Central Americans to arrive in the state in recent months. Earlier this month, a total of 640 people crossed at two separate locations in less than 24 hours.
While more than two dozen large groups of 100 migrants or more have been apprehended in the region since Oct. 1, authorities say this marks the second large group encountered at Sunland Park.
Like the previous instances, the latest group included families and unaccompanied juveniles. Sunland Park medical technicians responded and treated some of the migrants while others were transported to a local hospital.
ALAMOGORDO ASSAULT-CONVICTION
Man is convicted in aggravated assault case in Alamogordo
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors say a man is facing up to 12 ½ years in prison after being convicted of multiple felony charges in a 2017 Alamogordo assault case.
They say 43-year-old Orlando Marroquin was found guilty of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, child abuse and criminal damage to property.
Otero County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the scene of a car crash in August 2017.
They reported seeing a truck ramming an SUV off the roadway and the driver was later identified as Marroquin.
Authorities say Marroquin earlier saw his estranged wife and another man in the SUV and began shooting at them.
They say Marroquin chased the SUV in his truck and eventually crashed into it and rammed the vehicle repeatedly.
BORDER WALL-PROTOTYPES-THE LATEST
The Latest: 7 of 8 prototype border walls demolished
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Less than two hours after crews began demolishing eight prototypes of the president's prized border wall in San Diego, seven of the barriers were destroyed.
A large hydraulic jackhammer attached to an excavator pounded the walls repeatedly on Wednesday as slabs fell into small clouds of dust. Crews had previously drilled small holes in the concrete and stuffed them with grout that softens the cement and makes them easier to destroy.
A panel made of steel poles was also dismantled.
The Trump administration says elements of the prototypes have been melded into current border fence designs and they have served their purpose.
The eight prototypes cost $300,000 to $500,000 each to build.
For Trump's allies, the towering models were a show of his commitment to border security and fulfilling a core campaign promise. For detractors, they were monuments to wasted taxpayer dollars and a misguided display of aggression toward Mexico and immigrants.
DOLORES HUERTA-BIRTHPLACE
Dolores Huerta to visit New Mexico as birthplace sits vacant
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Dolores Huerta, the Mexican-American social activist who formed a farmworkers union with Cesar Chavez, is visiting the New Mexico Statehouse amid a push to name a street in her honor.
But her scheduled visit Wednesday comes as lawmakers and state officials have ignored pleas to do something around her northern New Mexico birthplace that now sits abandoned.
The 88-year-old civil rights advocate is expected to appear before the state Senate and House in honor of Dolores Huerta Day. She then is slated to speak before activists who are working to rename an Albuquerque street after her.
Huerta was born in the mining town of Dawson, New Mexico. The ghost town is surrounded by a gated fence and is not open to the public.
She later moved to Stockton, California.