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Ferri trial begins First responder crime scene expert testify on first day

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:13:39 -0400

Special prosecutor Amy Orlando, center, speaks with defense attorney Gary Mitchell, left, and prosecutor Scot Key before the jury is brought into District Judge Fernando Macias' courtroom Monday. Orlando and Key are prosecuting Mitchell's client, Eugene Gino Ferri, who has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder and four other felonies related to the 2010 killings of a ...

Mulligans fore Mutts event June 8 in Las Cruces

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:13:37 -0400

LAS CRUCES - Action Program for Animals and Doña Ana Pets Alive are teaming up with Red Hawk Golf Course for a June 8 golf tournament. The tournament will feature an after-play lunch and several contests on the course during play. Openings remain for players, sponsors and registration. For more information, call ...

LCHS to hold last look reception before renovations

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:13:36 -0400

LAS CRUCES - Former Las Cruces High School graduates and curious community residents are invited to a public reception at LCHS before the walls of the school come tumbling down. A multiyear renovation project to the city's oldest high school will begin soon after school ends Friday. A community reception will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday in the school's main lobby, 1750 El Paseo ...

Okla. Medical examiner expecting more bodies

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:06:41 -0400

The vicious tornado that tore across central Oklahoma on Monday has killed at least 51 people -- with about 40 more bodies expected to arrive at the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office, Amy Elliott of the coroner's office said. The official death toll will gradually rise as the bodies are ...

Big jump in HIV among Navajo in New Mexico

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:37:23 -0400

A Navajo reservation near Gallup, N.M., had a 20 percent increase in HIV diagnoses in 2012 from 2011, a doctor says. Dr. Jonathan Iralu, an infectious disease specialist who runs an HIV clinic in Gallup, said he compiled the report for the federal Indian Health Service because he used to treat a small number of Navajo men with human immunodeficiency virus each year. However, the 47 new cases ...

Crews could head to Okla. as early as Tuesday

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:04:08 -0400

Posted at: 05/20/2013 11:39 PM | Updated at: 05/20/2013 11:41 PM By: Maria Guerrero, KOB Eyewitness News 4 Dozens of American Red Cross volunteers across New Mexico will find out as early as Tuesday morning if they will be heading to Oklahoma to help in the recovery efforts. Meanwhile, people with loved ones in the tornado-ravaged state are desperate to know if their loved ones are OK. ...

Traffic ticket insurance scam or safeguard

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:04:08 -0400

Posted at: 05/20/2013 11:26 PM | Updated at: 05/20/2013 11:31 PM By: Jill Galus, KOB Eyewitness News 4 Health insurance, life insurance, and car insurance are among types of protection most people would not go without. But what about traffic ticket protection, with a promise that you will never have to pay out-of-pocket for a traffic fine again. For the past few weeks, KOB Eyewitness ...

Martinez popular across party lines

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:04:08 -0400

Posted at: 05/20/2013 10:56 PM By: Gadi Schwartz, KOB Eyewitness News 4 Governor Martinez has some surprising support outside of her party. KOB Eyewitness News conducted a survey in collaboration with Survey USA and found 66 percent of New Mexicans are happy with the job she is doing. She fairs well with both men, 62 percent approval, and women, 70 percent approval. But not everyone ...

State supressed $11 million fraud case

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:30:00 -0400

SANTA FE (KRQE) - A New Mexico cabinet secretary lied twice about why a fraud investigation into a luxury homebuilder was dropped in 2011, then admitted he hadnt reviewed all the evidence before re-opening the investigation earlier this month. And New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Superintendent J. Dee Dennis, Jr., said he only re-opened the investigation after News 13s Larry Barker began ...

Redhorse jury begins deliberations

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:55:50 -0400

Posted at: 05/20/2013 9:06 PM | Updated at: 05/20/2013 9:08 PM By: Ashley McElroy, KOB Eyewitness News 4 The jury in Alex Redhorse’s third trial began deliberations today. Redhorse is accused of killing Dusty Rye and Alec Armijo in 2011, then burning their bodies in the Cibola National Forest. During today’s closing arguments, the prosecution argued there were several ...

N.M. child ADHD rates lower than natl average

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:52:01 -0400

Posted at: 05/20/2013 8:48 PM By: Nikki Ibarra, KOB Eyewitness News 4 A new study by the CDC found that Attention Deficit Hyper-Activity Disorder rates among children three to 17 are higher than recent ...

Help from New Mexicans already on the way to Okla.

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:52:01 -0400

New Mexicans have already sprung into action and are providing aid to victims of the Oklahoma hurricane. The Red Cross may deploy volunteers to the area as early as tomorrow morning. For those looking for family members Regional CEO, Rahim Balsara said there is help on the web. "There is a website that is called Safe and Well," he Balsara said. "That when people who are ...

Albuquerque voters still confident in APD

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:52:00 -0400

Two thirds of Albuquerque voters report they have some degree of confidence in the Albuquerque Police Department. Below are the results of a survey conducted by Survey USA, a research ...

Woman who killed cyclist in court again

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:31:32 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Police say an Albuquerque woman who hit and killed a bicyclist three years ago is still making bad decisions behind the wheel. Miranda Pacheco, 28, was in court Monday accused of driving recklessly and driving drunk. The family of the man Pacheco killed ...

Albuquerques suburbs are among the poorest in the country

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:46:30 -0400

The suburbs were once considered a more desirable place to live, but numbers released today show it's now a popular place for poverty. And Albuquerque's suburbs are among the poorest in the ...

A church is left in dark after theft

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:46:30 -0400

Police said Sheppard of the Hills Lutheran Church is the second church to be targeted by thieves in less than a month. This church's reverend said it's a shame they were ripped ...

Bargain thrift store catches on fire overnight

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:46:30 -0400

"It's very smoky but there doesn't appear to be any fire damage to any of the merchandise or and of the donations in the back, which is really miraculous, even the books," said Jill ...

Police search for answers in jogger shooting

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:46:27 -0400

Was it random or was an Albuquerque jogger targeted when he was shot? KOB Eyewitness News 4 learned Justin Schroer only moved to Albuquerque a week ago to work at the UNM Cancer Center. Police said he was shot Friday near UNM. Police told KOB they will be interviewing Schroer tomorrow at UNM Hospital where he’s still recovering. Their main concern is whether or not someone targeted ...

Arson fails to hide Las Vegas murder

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:25:24 -0400

LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE) - Firefighters quelling a blaze in Las Vegas Friday found the remains of a murder victim inside a charred apartment. Investigators are calling the fire a failed attempt to cover up the killing of Angel Arroyo, 32. Now Jos Montoya, 31, and Gary Esquibel, 30, are in custody after law officers tracked them to metro Albuquerque. "This is so unexpected," said neighbor ...

Careless driving law under scrutiny

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:40:47 -0400

Critics are taking aim at a state law against so-called careless driving that levels the same punishment on drivers for a wide variety of ...

Miranda Pacheco back in court

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:40:45 -0400

A woman convicted of careless driving in the 2010 death of a bicyclist was back in front of a judge Monday. Twenty-eight-year-old Miranda Pacheco was accused of driving drunk on ...

Careless driving killed three DA

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:20:47 -0400

GRANTS, N.M. (KRE) - A semi truck driver who crossed the median on Interstate 40 and killed three people in an oncoming moving van has been charged with careless driving and faces a maximum of 90 days in jail if convicted. According to witnesses to the Jan. 9 crash driver Ali Sokondo, 19, suddenly crossed the median on Interstate 40 near Grants right into the path of a moving van with three men ...

Children rescued from OK tornado rubble

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:06:21 -0400

A child is pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., and passed along to rescuers Monday, May 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Sue ...

Careless driving charged in fatal crash

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:38:41 -0400

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) - A driver who struck and killed a motorcyclist at a Rio Rancho intersection has been charged with careless driving. James Gustafson, 67, of Bernalillo, died after his bike was hit by an SUV driven by Theodore Kaufmann at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and State Route 528 on Feb. 7. Kaufman, 72, Rio Rancho High School's assistant softball coach, told officers ...

SFPD Chief advocates to lower blood alcohol limit

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:20:02 -0400

Santa Fe's police chief has come out in agreement with the National Transportation Safety Board's recommendation to lower the legal blood-alcohol ...

Police School near OKC directly hit by tornado

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:25:28 -0400

Gary Knight with the Oklahoma City Police Department says there is no word of injuries from the elementary school. Knight says the school suffered "extensive damage" on Monday ...

New Mexico will partner with federal government on health exchange program

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:16:42 -0400

New Mexico is switching gears on its plan for a health insurance exchange and initially will partner with the federal government for computer services needed for an online marketplace for uninsured ...

NM man pleads guilty to unlawfully possessing ammo

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:16:42 -0400

Prosecutors say that under the terms of his plea agreement Monday, Jonathan Matthew Sandoval will be sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. His sentencing date hasn't been set yet. The 26-year-old Sandoval has been in custody since December 2011. Prosecutors say Sandoval pleaded guilty to one count of a superseding indictment charging him with unlawfully possessing ammunition in ...

Tornado tears through Oklahoma City suburbs

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:05:46 -0400

"The motion on this storm is sickening," says a storm chaser The tornado is estimated to be at least two miles wide 2 people are confirmed dead after a tornado tears through Shawnee, Oklahoma "500,000 square miles under the gun for severe weather," a meteorologist ...

Navajo Nation opens flagship casino in Arizona

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:01:25 -0400

A grand opening for the Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort is set for Friday. It's the Navajo Nation's first casino in Arizona, about 20 miles east of ...

NM changing its plans for health exchange

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:57:49 -0400

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) -- New Mexico is switching gears on its plan for a health insurance exchange and initially will partner with the federal government for computer services needed for an online marketplace for uninsured ...

ABQ taks steps to keep city pools clean

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:54:35 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control, more pools are showing signs of fecal contamination. Albuquerque aquatic officials say there's not too much to worry about in city ...

Las Cruces customers wrestle with unexpected big utility bills

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:44:18 -0400

LAS CRUCES - Richard Cole, ownerToucan Market in Las Cruces, has never met Santos Rivera.But the two have a lot in common.They have big utility bills that need to be settled with Las Cruces Utilities, bills they weren't aware of until recently.A little more than two weeks ago, Cole, as owner of Unique Foods, received a letter from Las Cruces Utilities informing him that Toucan Market, 1701 ...

RV fire damages trucks Las Cruces mobile home

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:44:18 -0400

LAS CRUCES - There were no injuries when an RV, two pickup trucks and a mobile home on Buckhorn Drive caught on fire Monday morning. The cause of the fire is not yet known, fire department spokesman Steve Alexander said. The home is located near Valley Drive and Avenida de Mesilla. The RV was the first to catch on fire, followed by the two trucks, which were parked in the mobile home's ...

Gallagher Avenue closure begins Wednesday in Las Cruces

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:44:17 -0400

LAS CRUCES - Gallagher Avenue will be closed east of Main Street beginning 7 a.m. Wednesday. Only business and residential traffic will have access at all times. The work will be conducted for about 7 days. Burn Construction will be conducting pavement replacement at the location. The construction will not affect city bus routes. For more information contact the Public Works Department, Contracts ...

Pet adoption events Saturday in Las Cruces

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:44:17 -0400

LAS CRUCES - The Animal Service Center of the Mesilla Valley will conduct off-site pet adoption events Saturday, May 25. Available for adoption will be dogs, puppies, cats and kittens. Adoptions will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the farmers market downtown. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, adoptions also available at PetCo, 3050 E. Lohman Ave., in Las Cruces. Adoption fees are $75 for ...

Supporters of transgender teen hold rally

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:08:35 -0400

Today peaceful protestors rallied near St. Pius X High School at St. Joseph and Coors to support a transgender student that wants to wear a male robe to graduation, but was told he must wear a female one. Damian Garcia identifies as male and since male students wear black robes, wants to wear a black robe. But since Garcia's birth certificate says female, school officials say Garcia ...

Slash movie casting call

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:08:35 -0400

The Casting Gang is looking for 350 extras, both women and men over 18 years of age with a valid driver's license. They ask you bring a photo of your face and a resume with you if you have ...

Officials Skyrocketing cost of heroin sends dealers looking for cheaper options

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:08:34 -0400

The cost of heroin is skyrocketing in Santa Fe, according to police, and now dealers are taking more dangerous risks with their products because of the ...

Group No Spanish games are disturbing pattern

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:50:36 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Two cases of Spanish being banned at New Mexico high school games were examples of a disturbing pattern that needs to be monitored and addressed, perhaps with lawsuits, a civil rights group said ...

LULAC reports more English-only demands

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:38:44 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Two cases of Spanish being banned at New Mexico high school games were examples of a disturbing pattern that needs to be monitored and addressed, perhaps with lawsuits, a civil rights group said Monday. The League of United Latin American Citizens has heard of a least five cases of high school players being ordered this school year not to speak Spanish during games and ...

Council takes up jobs police oversight

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:23:06 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The Police Oversight Commission and a city budget with expanded hiring are going to be big deals at Albuquerque's City Council meeting Monday night. Councilors Trudy Jones and Brad Winters are set to introduce a plan to suspend the commission until it's better evaluated. But other commissioners don't like that idea and want town hall meetings for people to voice ...

2 arrested in NM killing related fire

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:52:39 -0400

According to the Las Vegas Optic, 31-year-old Jose E. Montoya and 30-year-old Gary Esquibel were taken into custody Sunday in connection with Las Vegas police's investigation of the killing Saturday. Las Vegas police say Angel Arroyo was fatally shot during an argument in an apartment rented by Esquibel. Firefighters discovered Arroyo's body. According to police, the apartment was set ...

Fla. Powerball winner hasn’t come forward

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:46:31 -0400

(AP) ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. - So far the winner hasn’t come forward to claim the highest Powerball jackpot in history. The lucky ticket was bought at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, Fla., a city of about 13,000 people about 30 miles northeast of downtown Tampa. The winner will have up to two months to claim the estimated $590.5 million jackpot. Under Florida law, lottery winners in the ...

Panel Solicits Applicants For New Mexico Insurance Regulator

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:15:28 -0400

Former State Insurance Superintendent Chris Krahling has been named to a panel that will select New Mexico’s top insurance regulator. A nine-member committee will select the next superintendent of insurance, who starting in July will be in charge of an independent office regulating insurance rates and policies. The committee meets Tuesday in Albuquerque, and is accepting applications for ...

Man charged in retirement home assault

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:57:34 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An attack at an Albuquerque retirement home lands a resident in jail. Michael Swiger, 64, was in court Sunday charged with aggravated battery. According to a criminal complaint, Swiger and a man were in the TV room at the Camino Retirement Home on Lomas near Juan Tabo Saturday night. Swiger told police that the victim shouted a profanity at him and he quote "did what he ...

Tornadoes wallop several states 2 killed

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:42:08 -0400

The death toll now stands at two after tornadoes swept through Oklahoma on Sunday, the state medical examiner's office said Monday. Both victims were elderly men from ...

Cartels market heroin to Albuquerque teens

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:42:06 -0400

One Drug Enforcement Agency agent said Albuquerque's heroin problem is out of control and getting worse because cartels are marketing their deadly high to kids with ...

Wonder Mom garners national attention

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:42:06 -0400

News outlets across the country have featured the story, including national broadcast networks, top newspapers such as The Washington Post and even "mommy bloggers" who call her an ...

Petition pushes for transgender teen to graduate a man

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:38:54 -0400

Damian Garcia, a transgender teenager who was born female, wants to graduate from St. Pius X High School, wearing a black gown, the color reserved for ...

Dona Ana County officials to vote on tax proposals

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:38:47 -0400

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - The Dona Ana County Commission is expected to vote Tuesday on whether voters will ultimately decide a sales tax proposal and bond renewal on July 30. ...

Soldier surprises student pen pals

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:38:45 -0400

Posted at: 05/20/2013 7:40 AM By: Heather Mills, KOB Eyewitness News 4 He's a hero to kids that have never even met him. Serving overseas in Afghanistan, a soldier and an Albuquerque 4th grade class were just pen pals. That is until he gave them a big surprise. It started off simple for Ms. Chavez's 4th grade class at Oñate Elementary. The student's sent a ...

Protest to support transgender student

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:24:40 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A protest in support of Damian Garcia, the transgender high school student, is planned to take place near the St. Pius High School campus on Monday morning. An online protest started by an Albuquerque family has also gathered about 22,000 signatures in support of Damian. There is debate over which cap and gown Damian will wear for graduation. Damian was born a girl, but ...

Copper wire stolen NM church left without power

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:23:31 -0400

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) -- Congregants at a Rio Rancho church had to make do with natural light after thieves stole copper wire that provided power to the ...

NM woman convicted in fatal accident arrested

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:23:31 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- An Albuquerque woman convicted last October of careless driving in the 2010 death of a bicyclist now faces new charges of driving while intoxicated and other ...

More storms expected after rash of tornadoes

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:35:46 -0400

And the destructive weather isn't over. Baseball-sized hail, wind gusts and tornadoes could pummel parts of the central Plains and Midwest through ...

Rally being held in support of transgender teen

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:35:31 -0400

Posted at: 05/20/2013 7:14 AM By: Erica Zucco, KOB Eyewitness News 4 This morning a peaceful protest will be held in support of a transgender high school senior at St. Pius X High School. Damian Garcia identifies as male and wants to wear a black robe like the other men at graduation. The school says because Garcia's birth certificate says female, Garcia should have to wear white ...

Thousands seek work even as NM jobless rate drops

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:20:22 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Thousands of people in New Mexico are still looking for work or at least better jobs even as the state's unemployment rate is ...

Dear double letter sparks outrage

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:16:42 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - A simple greeting at the top of a letter to retirees across the state, coupled with the message in it has some outraged. A state agency has sent out letters to retirees, who are now collecting a pension and working another job, calling them what some say is an offensive name linked to the controversial subject of double ...

Thieves steal copper from church

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:16:40 -0400

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) - A Rio Rancho church has been left in the dark and with what may be a big bill all thanks to metal thieves. Pastor of the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Ken DeSoto arrived about an hour before Sunday service to find his building completely powerless. DeSoto says someone ripped two of three lengths of copper wire out from the power supply box to the church. "I ...

Underground water storage a possibility

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:01:46 -0400

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority is looking at a way to store water underground during times of surplus, to be used during periods of drought. "There are always going to be times in the future when we're dealing with droughts like the one we're dealing with now," David Morris, a spokesman with the ABCWUA, told KRQE News 13. The idea: ...

Albuquerque suburbs among top 10 on poverty list

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:40:41 -0400

Albuquerques metropolitan area ranks eighth in the country according to a book released today by the Brookings Institution that looks a the rates of suburban poverty. Albuquerques metropolitan area ranks eighth in the country according to a book released today by the Brookings Institution that looks a the rates of suburban poverty. The Brookings book, Confronting Suburban Poverty in America, said ...

BCSO patrols the Bosque finding more and more campfires

Mon, 20 May 2013 08:35:51 -0400

BCSO has several deputies on bicycles in the Bosque everyday looking for unsupervised children, people who are smoking, fireworks and more. One of the biggest things they look for, and typically find, are homeless ...

Tornadoes slam several states 300 homes hit

Mon, 20 May 2013 06:40:35 -0400

But the destructive weather isn't over. Baseball-sized hail, wind gusts and tornadoes could pummel parts of the central Plains and Midwest through ...

Small Fla. city anxious to learn jackpot winner

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:44:41 -0400

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. -- It could be an anxious wait of up to two months for people in a small Florida city to find out who won the highest Powerball jackpot in history: an estimated $590.5 million.The lucky ticket was bought sometime Saturday or earlier at a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, a city of about 13,000 people best known around the state for its brand of spring water with the same ...

Whats Up at WSMR Students learn about bike safety

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:28:03 -0400

Officer Jesus Aguirre, left, with the Las Cruces Code Enforcement Department, tests Larry Montanio, right, on his hand traffic signals during the afternoon portion of the day-long Bike Safety event May 9 at White Sands School. The school's basketball courts were set up as roads with stop signs to help kids practice proper safety whenever stopping or ...

A new era starts for high school grads

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:28:03 -0400

LAS CRUCES - When the alarm rings this morning, high school graduates all across the city will rise - maybe after hitting snooze a time or two - and face a new era. High school is past. What does the future hold? For Alina Morales-Haro, her son Juan has received his sheepskin from Oate High and has already made up his mind to attend New Mexico State University. "(He) will be entering NMSU ...

Phone apps enhance Memorial Day weekend

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:28:02 -0400

With one week to go until Memorial Day, there are a variety of apps available that might make the holiday weekend go smoothly for you. Whether you want to send a patriotic card, grill some burgers or take a trip, here are five apps you might want to download: • eCards - Memorial Day This iPhone app will allow you to send a patriotic card to a veteran or anyone else. Not only are these ...

Cartel towns pose challenge for immigration reform

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:49:59 -0400

The political debate over immigration focuses on jobs and border security, but the wounds of broken bonds are inescapable in cities like El Paso, ...

Tornadoes pummel several states and kill 1

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:49:27 -0400

But the destructive weather isn't over. Baseball-sized hail, wind gusts and tornadoes could pummel parts of the central Plains and Midwest through ...