Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment
MEXICAN WOLF CAPTURED
Mexican wolf from reintroduction effort captured in Arizona
PHOENIX (AP) — A female Mexican wolf from an ongoing reintroduction effort in Mexico has been captured on private ranch land in southeastern Arizona.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials say the wolf captured Sunday has been relocated to the Sevilleta Wolf Management Facility in New Mexico, where it is in good health.
Management agencies in the U.S. and Mexico will determine the most appropriate long-term management action for the young wolf.
Authorities say the wolf was born last year at a captive wolf breeding facility in Cananea, Mexico, and released last October about 90 miles from the international border.
The last collar radio transmission was Feb. 14 from 21 miles south of the international border with New Mexico.
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED
Authorities: Alamogordo student gives Xanax to classmates
(Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com)
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — Alamogordo police are conducting a criminal investigation after an estimated 16 Chaparral Middle School students were transported to a hospital after a classmate gave them prescription medication.
Alamogordo Public Schools officials say an eighth grade student brought a bottle of Xanax to school Thursday morning and distributed the medication.
Xanax is a sedative used to treat anxiety or a panic disorder.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports that students who ingested the medication were taken to the hospital by either ambulance or a parent.
School officials say the hospitalized students are doing OK.
They say disciplinary action will be brought against the student who brought Xanax to school and they will evaluate the students who took the medication.
STOLEN MAIL-PLEA
Albuquerque woman facing prison for stealing from mailboxes
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Albuquerque woman is facing up to a five-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing mail.
Prosecutors say 36-year-old JoAnn Bell of Albuquerque had a change of plea hearing Thursday in federal court.
Bell was arrested last September.
She was accused of stealing mail from U.S. Postal Service mail collection boxes outside of the post offices in Albuquerque.
Prosecutors say Bell used a device she fed into the mailbox to "fish" mail out.
Bell was arrested after authorities found her asleep with the device and stolen mail in her lap in a vehicle parked outside a post office.
Her sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled, but prosecutors say Bell faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
FUEL TANK-COCAINE
$1M of cocaine found in truck's fuel tank at border crossing
SANTA TERESA, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials say an officer's suspicions and use of a drug-smelling dog and an X-ray system led to the discovery of cocaine with an estimated street value $1 million at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing.
Customs and Border Protection officials say 31 pounds (14 kilograms) of cocaine were found Wednesday in a pickup's fuel tank at the Santa Teresa port of entry in southern New Mexico.
Officials say an officer making a secondary examination noticed irregularities in the vehicle's appearance and that the dog then alerted for the presence of narcotics. The X-ray system showed anomalies within the fuel tank. It was removed and opened, resulting in the discovery of 12 cocaine-filled packages.
The driver, a 22-year-old American male from El Paso, Texas, was arrested. His name wasn't released.
NEW MEXICO OFFICER KILLED
Man accused in officer's slaying rejects plea deal
(Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — An Ohio man accused in the 2016 slaying of a police officer in New Mexico has rejected a plea agreement, clearing the way for a trial later this year.
Jesse Denver Hanes appeared Wednesday in federal court in Las Cruces. He told the judge he couldn't plead guilty to something he didn't do.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the proposed agreement called for Hanes to plead guilty to 14 charges in pending cases out of New Mexico and Ohio.
The victims — Hatch Police Officer José Chavez and Theodore Timmons of Ross County, Ohio — were shot and killed just weeks apart last summer.
Had Hanes accepted the offer, prosecutors say he would have been spared a possible death sentence in Ohio. New Mexico does not have the death penalty.
UNIVERSITY TIGHTENS BUDGET
University of New Mexico looking to tighten its budget
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Acting University President Chaouki Abdallah says it's time to tighten the University of New Mexico's purse strings.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Abdallah spoke at a campus town hall meeting last week and told the audience that less state funding and enrollment declines have caused the university to exercise money-saving measures at a campus town hall meeting this week.
With the university expecting state funding to drop again this year, Abdallah is looking into everything from employee furloughs to consolidating UNM's class schedule into four days. The university has already implemented a hiring freeze.
New Mexico state government is facing its own budget crunch. Lawmakers said earlier this month that without new revenue streams, additional funding cuts to public school and state agencies are inevitable.
CHILD PORN WOMAN SENTENCED
New Mexico woman gets 15-year-old term for making child porn
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A 28-year-old southeastern New Mexico woman who admitted making child pornography faces 15 years in prison.
Kyla Lashawn Norby of Hobbs was sentenced Wednesday in Las Cruces after pleading guilty June 22 to production of child pornography.
Norby also must pay $210,000 of restitution to the victim.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Norby's arrest in January 2016 resulted from an investigation begun after an Odessa, Texas, man disclosed to authorities that Norby made a toddler child sexually available to him.
The office says a search of the man's cellphone revealed incriminating photos that Norby sent to the Texas man.
BUDGET CRUNCH-THINGS TO KNOW
Republican administration in New Mexico seeks spending cuts
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Concerns about New Mexico's short-term cash reserves are taking center stage as state lawmakers await veto decisions by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez on a budget for the coming fiscal year.
Top finance officials under Martinez said Wednesday that a $102 million operating reserve cushion leaves the state perilously close to insolvency as the fiscal year comes to a close in June.
Martinez says she is preparing plans to possibly furlough state government workers as soon as April, and reduce service days at state museums, parks and motor vehicle offices.
Leading Democratic lawmakers are calling the governor's reaction overblown and an unnecessary threat to state workers. Legislators have their own concerns about dwindling state cash as the federal government delays a $70 million payment on an oil and gas lease sale.
MEXICAN WOLF CAPTURED
Mexican wolf from reintroduction effort captured in Arizona
PHOENIX (AP) — A female Mexican wolf from an ongoing reintroduction effort in Mexico has been captured on private ranch land in southeastern Arizona.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials say the wolf captured Sunday has been relocated to the Sevilleta Wolf Management Facility in New Mexico, where it is in good health.
Management agencies in the U.S. and Mexico will determine the most appropriate long-term management action for the young wolf.
Authorities say the wolf was born last year at a captive wolf breeding facility in Cananea, Mexico, and released last October about 90 miles from the international border.
The last collar radio transmission was Feb. 14 from 21 miles south of the international border with New Mexico.
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED
Authorities: Alamogordo student gives Xanax to classmates
(Information from: Alamogordo Daily News, http://www.alamogordonews.com)
ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — Alamogordo police are conducting a criminal investigation after an estimated 16 Chaparral Middle School students were transported to a hospital after a classmate gave them prescription medication.
Alamogordo Public Schools officials say an eighth grade student brought a bottle of Xanax to school Thursday morning and distributed the medication.
Xanax is a sedative used to treat anxiety or a panic disorder.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports that students who ingested the medication were taken to the hospital by either ambulance or a parent.
School officials say the hospitalized students are doing OK.
They say disciplinary action will be brought against the student who brought Xanax to school and they will evaluate the students who took the medication.
STOLEN MAIL-PLEA
Albuquerque woman facing prison for stealing from mailboxes
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Albuquerque woman is facing up to a five-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing mail.
Prosecutors say 36-year-old JoAnn Bell of Albuquerque had a change of plea hearing Thursday in federal court.
Bell was arrested last September.
She was accused of stealing mail from U.S. Postal Service mail collection boxes outside of the post offices in Albuquerque.
Prosecutors say Bell used a device she fed into the mailbox to "fish" mail out.
Bell was arrested after authorities found her asleep with the device and stolen mail in her lap in a vehicle parked outside a post office.
Her sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled, but prosecutors say Bell faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
FUEL TANK-COCAINE
$1M of cocaine found in truck's fuel tank at border crossing
SANTA TERESA, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials say an officer's suspicions and use of a drug-smelling dog and an X-ray system led to the discovery of cocaine with an estimated street value $1 million at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing.
Customs and Border Protection officials say 31 pounds (14 kilograms) of cocaine were found Wednesday in a pickup's fuel tank at the Santa Teresa port of entry in southern New Mexico.
Officials say an officer making a secondary examination noticed irregularities in the vehicle's appearance and that the dog then alerted for the presence of narcotics. The X-ray system showed anomalies within the fuel tank. It was removed and opened, resulting in the discovery of 12 cocaine-filled packages.
The driver, a 22-year-old American male from El Paso, Texas, was arrested. His name wasn't released.
NEW MEXICO OFFICER KILLED
Man accused in officer's slaying rejects plea deal
(Information from: Las Cruces Sun-News, http://www.lcsun-news.com)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — An Ohio man accused in the 2016 slaying of a police officer in New Mexico has rejected a plea agreement, clearing the way for a trial later this year.
Jesse Denver Hanes appeared Wednesday in federal court in Las Cruces. He told the judge he couldn't plead guilty to something he didn't do.
The Las Cruces Sun-News reports that the proposed agreement called for Hanes to plead guilty to 14 charges in pending cases out of New Mexico and Ohio.
The victims — Hatch Police Officer José Chavez and Theodore Timmons of Ross County, Ohio — were shot and killed just weeks apart last summer.
Had Hanes accepted the offer, prosecutors say he would have been spared a possible death sentence in Ohio. New Mexico does not have the death penalty.
UNIVERSITY TIGHTENS BUDGET
University of New Mexico looking to tighten its budget
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Acting University President Chaouki Abdallah says it's time to tighten the University of New Mexico's purse strings.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Abdallah spoke at a campus town hall meeting last week and told the audience that less state funding and enrollment declines have caused the university to exercise money-saving measures at a campus town hall meeting this week.
With the university expecting state funding to drop again this year, Abdallah is looking into everything from employee furloughs to consolidating UNM's class schedule into four days. The university has already implemented a hiring freeze.
New Mexico state government is facing its own budget crunch. Lawmakers said earlier this month that without new revenue streams, additional funding cuts to public school and state agencies are inevitable.
CHILD PORN WOMAN SENTENCED
New Mexico woman gets 15-year-old term for making child porn
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A 28-year-old southeastern New Mexico woman who admitted making child pornography faces 15 years in prison.
Kyla Lashawn Norby of Hobbs was sentenced Wednesday in Las Cruces after pleading guilty June 22 to production of child pornography.
Norby also must pay $210,000 of restitution to the victim.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Norby's arrest in January 2016 resulted from an investigation begun after an Odessa, Texas, man disclosed to authorities that Norby made a toddler child sexually available to him.
The office says a search of the man's cellphone revealed incriminating photos that Norby sent to the Texas man.
BUDGET CRUNCH-THINGS TO KNOW
Republican administration in New Mexico seeks spending cuts
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Concerns about New Mexico's short-term cash reserves are taking center stage as state lawmakers await veto decisions by Republican Gov. Susana Martinez on a budget for the coming fiscal year.
Top finance officials under Martinez said Wednesday that a $102 million operating reserve cushion leaves the state perilously close to insolvency as the fiscal year comes to a close in June.
Martinez says she is preparing plans to possibly furlough state government workers as soon as April, and reduce service days at state museums, parks and motor vehicle offices.
Leading Democratic lawmakers are calling the governor's reaction overblown and an unnecessary threat to state workers. Legislators have their own concerns about dwindling state cash as the federal government delays a $70 million payment on an oil and gas lease sale.
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