Santa Fe police are looking four people of interest in connection with a body found in a water tank. Authorities said Saturday that a task force involving state, local and tribal police executed a search warrant in Nambe as part of a homicide investigation. The search turned up narcotics and other items that could be evidence. Investigators say they believe Brandon Maestas is a person of interest in the death of David Dickerson. Dickerson's body was discovered in 2015 in a water tank in Santa Fe. Police did not identify the other three people considered of interest. Anyone with information related to the case is asked to contact Santa Fe police.
The federal government has issued a pair of preliminary notices of violation against two contractors after a radiation leak forced the shutdown of the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository. The U.S. Department of Energy said Friday the notices mark the completion of investigations into the 2014 disaster as well as the enforcement process against the managers of Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The notices cover worker safety violations at the southern New Mexico repository as well as violations stemming from the handling of waste at the lab. The contractors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Albuquerque police say a pedestrian was fatally injured after stepping into traffic on I-40. Officer Fred Duran says the incident occurred Saturday shortly after 11:30 p.m. between Wyoming and Eubank boulevards. According to Duran, police determined the pedestrian had been walking on the freeway for an unknown reason. Then the pedestrian walked into the far right traffic lane was hit by two vehicles. Authorities pronounced the person dead at the scene. The pedestrian's identity is not being released pending notification of next of kin. Duran says police do not expect to file charges against the drivers. The incident shut down part of I-40 for several hours.
The New Mexico Supreme Court plans to review a lower court ruling that cleared the way for farm and ranch laborers across the state to receive workers' compensation benefits. The justices this week issued a brief order suspending a ruling by the New Mexico Court of Appeals until they can hear oral arguments and make a final decision. The appellate court issued an opinion last year that declared unconstitutional a decades-old provision in state law regarding farm and ranch laborers. That provision, on the books since the 1930s, excluded those employees whose duties focus primarily on growing and harvesting crops, meat or dairy products from receiving benefits if injured on the job.
A New Mexico prison inmate is asking a judge to issue an injunction against putting two inmates to a cell. Inmate Barry Holloway, acting as his own attorney, first filed a motion in December to keep the state from doubling up cell capacity. In court documents, Holloway says the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility where he is serving time is installing bunks in cells. He says this practice violates the Duran Consent Decree. Now represented by two attorneys, the inmate wants a federal court to rule the state is acting in contempt.
Gov. Susana Martinez says her cabinet secretary for public safety is stepping down to become a federal magistrate judge in Las Cruces. Public Safety Secretary Greg Fouratt's resignation was announced Friday. It comes just two years after he was appointed to run the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the State Police, Motor Transportation Police and the Law Enforcement Academy. A longtime federal prosecutor, Fouratt replaced now-Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden as public safety secretary. Martinez says Fouratt brought together law enforcement, forensic scientists and victim advocates to review the scope of the state backlog of untested rape kits.
Albuquerque's mayor is looking at bonuses as a last resort to stave off an officer shortage. Mayor Richard Berry said bonuses could cannibalize other departments, but may be necessary after the failure of legislation that would have allowed retired officers to return to work while still drawing their pensions. Berry called the measure a common-sense bill. Opponents objected to the bill allowing double dipping for returning retirees as they draw both pensions and paychecks, and say younger officers should be hired. Dozens of New Mexico cities supported the measure. The former legislator says he plans to push the bill next year. The city has 814 officers this month compared to 1,099 in mid-2010. The shortage comes amid reforms related to federal findings of excessive force.
U.S. Marshals arrested a fugitive wanted for murder in an Albuquerque trailer park several hours after an officer opened fire. The U.S. Marshals Service says George Bond and six others inside a trailer were taken into custody Saturday afternoon. A task force made up of marshals and New Mexico State Police arrived in the morning to execute an arrest warrant. State Police say shots were fired but did not say if they came from an officer or a marshal. U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Ben Segotta says he cannot comment on the shooting or confirm if anyone was hurt because it remains under investigation. Bond, who is charged in the July 2014 death of a Los Lunas man, never showed up for his arraignment. George Bond fled into a post office Friday around 3:30 p.m. and caused employees and bystanders to shelter in place. U.S. Marshals and police closed off the area around Broadway and Mountain but Bond escaped, and was later taken into custody at the trailer park.
And this national news: Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook says the U.S. government should withdraw its demand that Apple help the FBI hack a locked iPhone used by a shooter in the San Bernardino attack. In an early Monday morning online post, Cook dismisses the government's claims that the company is acting out of business interests. He says a magistrate's order would essentially create a backdoor to encrypted iPhones. FBI Director James Comey said in an online post Sunday that Apple owes this cooperation to the victims of the California shootings and said the FBI could not otherwise "look the survivors in the eye."
And the weather in Santa Fe: Today, cloudy with a high of 50 degrees, and a 30 percent chance of rain. Tonight’s low down to 29 degrees, with a 20 percent chance of snow showers. Chance of snow rising to 50 percent on Tuesday, with a daytime high around 38 degrees. Chance of snow dropping down to 20 percent by Tuesday night, with a low of 21 degrees; the sun comes back out Wednesday, with a high of 44.