Lawyer: New Mexico man serving de facto life without parole
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The prison term of a New Mexico man who was convicted of rape as a teenager and remains ineligible for parole until he's at least 62 is among the cases being challenged nationwide on grounds they amount to de facto juvenile life-without-parole sentences.
Joel Ira is now 36 and petitioning for release before the state Supreme Court. His attorney say his sentence, handed down for crimes when he was 14 and 15, should be overturned in light of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that found mandatory juvenile life-without-parole terms unconstitutional.
Records show Ira is among 103 New Mexico inmates sentenced to 20 years or more for crimes they committed as juveniles.
However, corrections officials say there are no known inmates facing life terms without parole for juvenile offenses.
NAVAJO NATION-SOLAR FARM
Navajo Nation entity starts solar farm amid station closing
KAYENTA, Ariz. (AP) — A Navajo Nation entity has taken its first step to generating electricity by starting a solar farm.
The Daily Times of Farmington, New Mexico, reports the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority recently started operating the 27.3-megawatt Kayenta Solar Project on 200 acres (.8 square kilometers) near Kayenta, Arizona.
Officials say it is the first large-scale solar energy facility on the reservation.
Solar farm project manager Glenn Steiger says the closing of the Navajo Generating Station is leaving a hole in power generation in the region. He says that hole ultimately will be filled with renewable energy.
Steiger says the solar panels are equipped to position flat when wind speeds increase more than 50 mph. He says two weather stations on site monitor wind speed, temperature and humidity.
ZOMBIE FILM-CLOSING SCHOOL
Students at closing Santa Fe arts college making zombie film
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Students at a closing Santa Fe art college hope to leave a legacy with a going-away zombie film.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports students at the soon-to-be closed Santa Fe University of Art and Design are making the school's first-ever feature-length movie, and likely its last.
The zombie film is being produced by holdover film students, recent graduates and faculty.
Declining enrollment, general financial trouble and the failure of a proposed sale to a Singapore-based education company prompted college leaders to announce in April they would shutter the school after the 2018 spring semester.
Some staff members have been laid off as the school consolidates operations for the coming "teach-out" period.
NEVADA MONUMENT-ZINKE-THE LATEST
The Latest: Interior chief heading back to Washington early
BUNKERVILLE, Nev. (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke toured two national monuments in Nevada on Sunday and canceled plans for meetings Monday in the Las Vegas area in order to head back to Washington, D.C., for what he said will be a Cabinet meeting involving President Donald Trump's top appointees.
Zinke met reporters outside a rancher's home in Bunkerville, the hometown of jailed cattleman and anti-government icon Cliven Bundy about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas. He didn't meet with any Bundy family members.
The head of the department that includes the Bureau of Land Management made it clear he believes in small-sizing national monuments.
But he didn't say he has made any decisions about whether to downsize the sprawling Gold Butte and Basin and Range monuments created last year by President Barack Obama before he left office.
NAVAJO GIRL KILLED
Suspect in Navajo girl's killing expected to change his plea
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A man charged in the death of an 11-year-old girl in a remote part of the largest American Indian reservation is expected to change his plea.
Tom Begaye is scheduled to attend a change-of-plea hearing in federal court Tuesday, although it is not known if his lawyers and federal prosecutors have struck a deal. Begaye previously pleaded not guilty to murder, sexual abuse and other charges.
Begaye is accused of luring Ashlynne Mike into his van in May 2016. Mike was reported missing, but an Amber Alert didn't go out until the next day.
She was later found in an area near the Arizona-New Mexico border.
Her death prompted federal legislation that would expand the Amber Alert system to tribal communities.
DOMESTIC DISPUTE-SHOOTING
Man shot during domestic disturbance at mobile home
(Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com)
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — Alamogordo police are investigating a shooting where a 36-year-old was wounded during a domestic dispute.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound outside a mobile home Saturday.
An Alamogordo Police Department spokesman says the man was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries appear to be non-life threatening.
Lt. Dave Kunihiro says there was a domestic disturbance at the home when the man was shot.
Police are questioning multiple suspects and witnesses. Kunihiro says there may be charges after the investigation ends.
BIKER GANGS-HOSPITAL LOCKDOWN
Biker gangs shooting sparks Santa Fe hospital lockdown
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A shooting involving two rival motorcycle gangs prompted a temporary lockdown of a Santa Fe hospital.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center was placed on lockdown for more than an hour late Saturday after a member of the Vagos Motorcycle Club was taken to the hospital's emergency room.
Santa Fe police Capt. Robert Vasquez says that member was shot by a rival motorcycle gang member near Franklin E. Miles Park.
Police say visitors to the Vagos Motorcycle Club member who was shot came flooding into the emergency room, prompting the lockdown.
Hospital spokesman Arturo Delgado says patient flow was never stopped during the "brief lock-down" imposed for "precautionary measures."
No arrests were made.
SELF-DRIVING CARS-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico lawmakers may eye self-driving car legislation
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Self-driving cars and how they would operate in New Mexico may be an issue before state lawmaker next year.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Transportation Secretary Tom Church told state lawmakers last week that Gov. Susana Martinez may add the topic to the agenda of the 30-day session beginning in January.
New Mexico doesn't have any legislation on the books addressing autonomous vehicles.
The federal government has proposed model legislation for states regulating the circumstances under which vehicle manufacturers can test and operate autonomous vehicles.
Church says New Mexico is one of several states that will participate in an experiment in the next few months involving trucks that communicate with one another and move in a "platoon," allowing them to stay close together on a trip.
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