By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN / Associated Press New Mexico’s top prosecutor announced charges Wednesday against three men who are accused of using Meta’s social media platforms to target and solicit sex with underage children. The arrests are the result of a monthslong undercover operation in which the suspects connected with decoy accounts that were set […]
Category: Courts, Justice & Safety
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness
Woman shot, injured inside convention center
A woman was shot and seriously injured inside the Albuquerque Convention Center Wednesday evening while a gradutation ceremony was taking place. It was not immediately clear if the victim or suspect were involved in the graduation ceremony, which police say was for the Southwest Secondary Learning Center charter school. The suspect has been taken into […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness
Another officer — the 9th — put on leave amidst internal investigation of DWI unit
The Albuquerque Police Department has expanded its internal investigation into corruption in the DWI unit to yet another officer — bringing the total to nine. Matthew Trahan was put on leave Wednesday, APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos confirmed. He said Trahan was hired in 2006 and served in the DWI unit from 2014 to 2016. Of […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
Fresh eyes and new technology: Digging into the cold case killing of a rookie cop in Mountainair
It was the evening of May 7, 1988, and while most of the town of Mountainair attended a talent show at the high school, a rookie cop remained at the police department — in a cramped room atop a narrow staircase above town hall. Stephen Sandlin, a 21-year-old who had joined the four-man force a […]
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Rio Rancho Teen Accused in Homicide
A Rio Rancho teen was arrested and charged this week in connection with the recent stabbing death of an Albuquerque woman. According to a press release, Rio Rancho Police Department Criminal Investigations Division identified the suspect as 17-year-old Joshua Xavier Mora who is facing charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. The victim, 44-year-old […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness, Local Gov.
BCSO arrests ‘Al Capone’ of retail theft
A man who sheriff’s deputies say was at the center of Albuquerque’s largest organized retail crime operation was arrested earlier this month. Raul Fernando Garcia, 42 — dubbed the “Al Capone” of retail theft by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office — was arrested on April 15. He is facing multiple charges including organized retail crime, […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness, Local Gov.
Lawsuit alleges woman overdosed in jail while guard watched YouTube, played games
The mother of a woman who died of a drug overdose at the Metropolitan Detention Center filed a lawsuit against Bernalillo County last week alleging a corrections officer failed to complete required checks and also broke the jail’s computer use policy by watching videos and playing games during his shift. “This case is about MDC […]
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Daily Lobo News Editor files lawsuit against UNM records custodian
By Maddie Pukite/ Daily Lobo The News Editor of the Daily Lobo, Lily Alexander, has filed a lawsuit against Rob (Robert) Tafoya, the Custodian of Public Records at the University of New Mexico for failure to provide UNM Police Department’s weapons inventory on March 5, 2024. The legal complaint asks for the courts to enforce […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Education, Syndicated
UNM Gaza Solidarity Encampment still in place after arrests
BY AUSTIN FISHER / Source NM Every protester arrested Tuesday morning during a protest inside the University of New Mexico Student Union Building was released by the evening, and the outdoor encampment at the university’s main campus showed no signs of stopping. Early in the morning, two UNM Police Department officers booked 16 protesters into the […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Housing & Homelessness
Sixth officer leaves APD amid corruption probe
A former long-time Albuquerque police spokesperson — a sworn officer who responded to media inquiries during the swing shift — has left the department rather than be interviewed as part of an internal investigation into corruption in the DWI unit. Daren DeAguero was informed Tuesday morning that he was a target in the investigation and […]