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NMDOT and local law enforcement support Click it or Ticket

5/17/2023

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PicturePhoto: NMDOT
​National seatbelt awareness campaign and high visibility enforcement effort
 
 
SANTA FE -- The New Mexico Department of Transportation and local law enforcement agencies remind drivers to buckle up during the national annual Click it or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign which begins May 15. Law enforcement will be out looking for unrestrained drivers and passengers during a concentrated enforcement period May 22 through June 4, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday.
 
“It should be a part of every driver’s routine,” said Transportation Secretary Ricky Serna. “You get in the vehicle, you buckle-up. It only takes a few seconds and it’s proven to help save lives. It’s remarkable people still drive without seatbelts. It’s not only the law it’s your life.”
 
Face the Facts
  • According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 50% of those killed in crashes in 2021 were unrestrained.
  • The national seat belt use rate in 2022 was 91.6%, which is good — but we can do better. The Click it or Ticket campaign focuses on the 8.4% who still don’t buckle up.
  • Among young adults 18 to 34 killed in passenger vehicle crashes in 2021, more than half (59%) were completely unrestrained — one of the highest percentages for all age groups.
  • Men make up the majority of those killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. In 2021, 66% of the 26,325 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed were men. Men also wear their seat belts at a lower rate than women do — 54% of men killed in crashes were unrestrained, compared to 42% of women killed in crashes.
Bust the Myths
  • Vehicle type: There seems to be a misconception among those who drive and ride in pickup trucks that their larger vehicles will protect them better than other vehicle types would in a crash. The numbers say otherwise: 61% of pickup truck occupants who were killed in 2021 were not buckled. That’s compared to 47% of passenger car occupants who were not wearing seat belts when they were killed. Regardless of vehicle type, seat belt use is the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash.
  • Seating position: Too many people wrongly believe they are safe in the back seat unrestrained. Fifty percent of all front-seat passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2021 were unrestrained, but 57% of those killed in back seats were unrestrained.
  • Rural versus urban locations: People who live in rural areas might believe their crash exposure is lower, but in 2021, there were 12,534 passenger vehicle fatalities in rural locations, compared to 13,681 fatalities in urban locations. Out of those fatalities, 51% of those killed in the rural locations were not wearing their seat belts, compared to 49% in urban locations.
Click It or Ticket — Day and Night
  • High-visibility seat belt enforcement is important 24 hours a day, but nighttime is especially deadly for unbuckled occupants. In 2021, 57% of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts.
  • Click It or Ticket isn’t about citations; it’s about saving lives. In 2021, there were 11,813 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. To help prevent crash fatalities, we need to step up seat belt enforcement, day and night.
Learn more about the Click It or Ticket mobilization at NHTSA.gov/ciot.

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Louisiana Pepper Exchange Expands Operations to New Mexico’s Borderplex

5/9/2023

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Picture
Strategic site in Santa Teresa boosts storage and processing capacity
SANTA TERESA - A global chile pepper company that mastered logistical innovations to market puree to restaurants and discerning foodies has announced a major expansion to New Mexico’s Santa Teresa Borderplex.

The New Orleans-based Louisiana Pepper Exchange has purchased a 10-acre site in the Ironhorse Industrial Park, which provides strategic transportation advantages in processing pepper imports from Mexico and Central America and readies the company to cultivate relationships with growers in Southern New Mexico. The recruitment to New Mexico is consistent with Gov. Lujan Grisham’s economic policy to boost global trade and modernize infrastructure along the international border with Mexico. The strategy is to grow jobs and diversify New Mexico’s economy. “Louisiana Pepper Exchange’s decision to expand in New Mexico proves again that our strategy of investing in the international border is working. This location in Santa Teresa is a win for the company and its customers, and a win for New Mexico, offering jobs and a more diverse economy,” EDD Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said.

The family-owned Louisiana Pepper Exchange was established in 2010 by Army veteran and West Point graduate Chris White. White used his deployment and logistical expertise to patent a proprietary shipping methodology for bulk pepper mash, which now supplies mash worldwide to some of the largest hot sauce manufacturers. Louisiana Pepper prides itself on being veteran-owned and hopes to tap into New Mexico’s military retiree community as it builds a workforce. Products are also available direct to consumers on the company’s website. The State of New Mexico is supporting the expansion with $300,000 in assistance from the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s (EDD) Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) job-creation fund. Louisiana Pepper expects to hire at least 20 people over the next five years with an average salary of $45,000.

LEDA funds will be released as the company meets economic development benchmarks. The site will include a 40,000-square-foot processing warehouse along with space for tank farms that can store 30 million pounds of pepper mash for sale to U.S. customers. “Santa Teresa, N.M. is the perfect location for Louisiana Pepper to thrive. It is a rail-served industrial park with an overweight truck zone that can support our supply chain out of Mexico,” Zach Foster, chief financial officer for Louisiana Pepper Exchange, said. ”The Mesilla Valley has a long history and heritage with chile peppers; New Orleans has the same culture, so this is a natural fit. We are pleased to be part of this business community.” Louisiana Pepper Exchange has cultivated direct relationships with farmers in Mexico and Central and South America for purpose-grown products and are exploring other opportunities with New Mexico’s rich chile-producing culture. Doña Ana County is the fiscal agent for the LEDA funding. “On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, it is my pleasure to welcome the Louisiana Pepper Exchange (now New Mexico Pepper Exchange) to Doña Ana County," Commission Chair, Susana Chaparro, said. "Their presence is a testament to the attractive business climate and talented workforce we have to offer. We wish them all the best in their endeavors and are eager to see what the future holds for their business and the economic impact their presence brings to our county.”

The City of Anthony has pledged support with Industrial Revenue Bonds to bring qualitypaying jobs to southern Doña Ana County. “Mayor Diana Murillo believes in recruiting outside industry into our region so we can create new jobs for residents in southern Doña Ana County and the City of Anthony,” City Manager Mario Juarez-Infante said. Though Louisiana Pepper has seen most of its customers utilizing cayenne peppers as a puree ingredient, the business is seeing more growth as consumers and chefs take deeper dives into spice-filled recipes with chipotle and red and orange habaneros. The business has partnered with Dunkin Donuts on a peppered donut and is working with a hamburger chain on a ghost pepper cheeseburger.

The Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) helped in the recruitment of Louisiana Pepper as well as providing technical advice. “We are excited to welcome Louisiana Pepper Exchange to the NM Borderplex region,” Davin Lopez, president & CEO of MVEDA, said. “Their investment continues to solidify Doña Ana County as the chile capital of the world for both growing and processing.” To complement the State of New Mexico’s LEDA award, Lopez said that $100,000 from the NM Borderplex Closing Incentive has been committed to support the project.

​The incentive, which is administered by MVEDA and the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, was established by El Paso Electric in connection with the corporate sale of the utility to Infrastructure Investments Fund (IIF) to provide $1 million per year for 20 years in support of private businesses, projects, and organizations that make, or will make, a measurable difference in growing economic-base opportunities within El Paso Electric’s New Mexico service territory
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Ex-New Mexico high school coach guilty of federal child porn

5/8/2023

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PicturePhoto credit: KRWG - NMNN News Story:
ALBUQUERQUE - (AP) — A former girls' athletic coach at a New Mexico high school has been convicted of federal charges involving child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor.

Federal prosecutors say 31-year-old Jonathon Bindues used his former position as the coach of girls' basketball and track teams at Los Lunas High School south of Albuquerque to gain special access to minor females between September 2020 and June 2021.

A federal grand jury in Albuquerque indicted him in March 2022. A jury convicted him Friday after a few hours of deliberations on one count each of production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor.

Prosecutors say he exchanged more than 17,000 text messages with a freshman on teams he coached, requesting nude images of her and repeatedly encouraging her to delete the messages.
Her mother discovered the sexually explicit messages on the girl's phone and reported them to New Mexico state police.

"This man, who was entrusted to mentor young people, was in actuality a predator of vulnerable girls," said Amy Kaskel, FBI acting special agent in charge.

U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez praised the "bravery, fortitude and resilience" of the girl and her family for coming forward to report the crimes.

"Her strength in facing her abuser and sharing her story is nothing short of heroic," he said. "Our children deserve schools and sports free of sexual predation."

Bindues faces up to life in prison on the coercion and enticement charge and between 15 and 30 years on the child pornography charge at his pending sentencing before U.S. District Judge James O. Browning in federal court in Albuquerque.

story provided by NMNN (New Mexico News Network

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CYFD processes more than 900 back-payments to foster families and providers

5/4/2023

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SANTA FE - In the last three weeks, the Children, Youth and Families Department reimbursed more than $210,000 in 950 payments to foster families and providers, virtually eliminating a backlog that had some families waiting to be reimbursed for months. The issue was raised by multiple individuals at a CYFD roundtable in early April, prompting the changes.
 
“An immediate priority I identified upon coming into this role at CYFD is a need to rebuild and strengthen relationships and how the department works with foster families,” said CYFD Acting Secretary Teresa Casados. “Foster families are such a critical part of how a child welfare system functions, and we have to make sure they are getting the resources they need to be successful.” 


The department is also currently revising the reimbursement process to make it more efficient and more user friendly, including an online portal for reimbursement requests for foster families, counseling and education services and other providers.


“Quick fixes and Band-Aid solutions cannot be acceptable at this agency, and I am also making sure that the reimbursement process works better in the long-term,” Casados said. 


The department is also preparing to take additional steps to better support foster families by continuing to host Rebuilding Roundtables across the state, to hear directly from families what improvements will make the most impact. 


Foster families who still have outstanding payments should contact: togetherwethrive@cyfd.nm.gov 
 
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NM Police: Man borrows phone, admits to ex-landlord's '08 killing

5/3/2023

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PicturePhoto: Chaves County Detention Center
ROSWELL - (AP) A New Mexico man, overwhelmed by guilt, borrowed a cellphone to call 911 and confess to the 2008 killing of his former landlord and he also told police where the body was buried, authorities said Tuesday.

Police said Tony Ray Peralta, 37, of Roswell, was booked into the Chaves County jail on suspicion of murder.

They said Peralta went to a store Monday afternoon, borrowed a cellphone to call 911 and told a dispatcher that he had killed someone. Officers went to the store and Peralta was detained for questioning.

Police investigators then obtained a search warrant for a house where Peralta had been a tenant of 69-year-old William Blodgett. He told them where he buried the body, and they found a boot, bones and dentures after removing plywood floorboards from a detached room on the side of the house.

A tearful Peralta told police during an interview that he didn't know why he had killed Blodgett and that he just needed to confess, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.
Peralta told police he decided to come forward because “his heart hurts” and that the killing had been eating at him. He told the officer to tell Blodgett's family “that he was a good man and that he didn't deserve what I did.”

“I don't have an excuse,” he told police, according to the affidavit. “A lot of people have an excuse, I don't have one.”

Peralta was being represented by the major crimes unit within the public defender’s office.

“We are just beginning to work with Mr. Peralta on this case, and we will make sure Mr. Peralta’s due process is respected as this case starts to move through the court,” said attorney Ray Conley, who leads the unit.

The dentures found at the property were compared with Blodgett’s dental records — obtained in early 2009 after he was reported missing — and that led to a positive identification, according to police.

Blodgett’s girlfriend and family had not seen him since late December 2008. She told police that Peralta, who was considered a suspect by police early on, allegedly had some sort or argument or fight with Blodgett, who had tried to evict him.

Authorities at the time had talked to Blodgett’s family, friends and neighbors and visited the home the two men shared, which appeared to have been abandoned with personal belongings still in place. Police found no immediate signs of foul play and Blodgett's vehicle was still there, according to the original missing person report.

Detectives would periodically drive by the house but never spotted anyone. They also brought a dog trained to sniff for bodies to the property but found nothing.
​

Police said the case went cold after investigators exhausted all leads until Peralta's 911 call.
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press writers Walter Berry and Terry Tang contributed from Phoenix.

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