Officers stationed at the Santa Teresa port of entry have seized more than 3,400 pounds of marijuana from inside a flatbed trailer. Port Director Ray Provencio says the drugs were found July 1 when a commercial tractor hauling the empty trailer entered the port from Mexico. An officer at the primary inspection station selected the rig for an X-ray scan, which revealed a dense area in the floor of the trailer. A drug-sniffing dog also alerted to the trailer's floor. Officers drilled into the floor and discovered a green substance that tested positive for marijuana. Officers removed 687 bundles from the trailer bed. The estimated value topped $2.7 million. The driver, who was from Ciudad Juarez, was arrested and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
A man who allegedly fired shots at Albuquerque police before taking a hostage and holding up in an apartment for hours has been arrested. Police say 21-year-old Justin Brouillette was taken into custodyWednesday afternoon. They say no officers were hit in the shooting and police didn't fire their weapons. The hostage was able to escape before police arrested Brouillette. A SWAT team was called to negotiate with Brouillette, who police say was wanted on four felony warrants including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Police say the man was stopped earlier Wednesday for not having license plates or tags on his vehicle. He got out of the car and shot at officers, then carjacked another vehicle and fired more shots before breaking into a home and taking a hostage.
Santa Fe City Councilors have asked the Transportation Department to slow down the finalization of remodel plans for the municipal airport. According to the Santa Fe Reporter, those who have spoken out against the design protested the lack of forums for public comment on the plan, and said they felt architects could do better in reconfiguring the interior space use at the one-terminal airport. City Councilor Signe Lindell said she wants to make sure Santa Fe doesn’t end up paying twice to get a workable remodel. City Councilor Patti Bushee pointed out that vendors at the airport, such as rental car companies, have been consulted in the process, but community members who use the airport have not. Transportation Director Jon Bulthuis has agreed to arrange a public notice and meeting on the renovation plans before moving forward.
A Rio Rancho man indicted on charges that he falsified EMT records is being asked to appear before a judge later this month for arraignment. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports 47-year-old David Phillips hasn't been arrested but is suspected of altering a certificate to pass himself off as an emergency medical technician from September 2013 to February 2014. No phone listing could be found for Phillips in the Rio Rancho area and it couldn't immediately be determined Wednesday whether he has an attorney who could comment on the allegations. Health Department spokesman Kenny Vigil said in an email that the Emergency Medical Services Bureau confirmed Phillips was not and had never been licensed to provide emergency medical care. The bureau encourages agencies statewide to verify EMT licenses.
A former New Mexico Supreme Court judge is dead at age 89. Harry Stowers died Wednesday morning. His widow says Stowers was in a car crash in June 2014 and doctors who treated him discovered he had cancer. Joyce Stowers says her husband ultimately died of complications from the disease. Harry Stowers was a native New Mexican who served on the state Supreme Court from 1982 to 1989. He previously worked as a prosecutor and city attorney in Albuquerque, as a judge in the 2nd Judicial District and an attorney in private practice. After leaving the Supreme Court, Stowers was elected mayor of the Village of Los Ranchos for one term. Besides his wife, he's survived by two daughters, one son and a sister.
Yesterday brought heavy rain, two rounds of hail, and flash-flooding to Santa Fe. And according to the Albuquerque Journal, yesterday was the light day in a week of intense precipitation— Deirdre Kann of the National Weather Service in Albuquerque says there’s plenty more to come today and tomorrow.
State game officials say heavy rain has washed away any tracks of a bear sought after it bit a teenage girl who was inside a tent near Raton. The Game and Fish Department the teenage girl was treated at a hospital for minor injuries to her arm and ear after the bear bit her through the tent's wall early Monday. The incident occurred during a family gathering at a home and the homeowner fired warning shots to scare at the bear, which was described as young. By the time officers were called to the scene later Monday morning, a heavy rainstorm had washed away any tracks and scent that might have helped officers find the bear. The department says officers set a trap in case the bear returns.
In National news…
Native American youth from across the nation are gathering in Washington, D.C., for a special summit called by the White House. More than 875 teens representing 230 tribes will meet Thursday with First Lady Michelle Obama and cabinet members to discuss economic opportunity, education, cultural issues and other topics. It's part of Generation Indigenous, or Gen-I, a White House initiative that kicked off earlier this year with a brainstorming session in Albuquerque. The initiative stems from a visit last year by the Obamas to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which straddles the border between the Dakotas. Meetings followed, cabinet members conducted listening tours, and tribal youth were chosen as ambassadors. Officials say the goal is to remove barriers blocking tribal youth from reaching their potential.
The long-expected moment when Latinos surpass whites as California's largest racial or ethnic group has come and gone. According to U.S. Census Bureau figures released in late June, Hispanic Californians began to narrowly outnumber white Californians sometime in the first half of 2014. As of July 1, 2014, the state had about 15 million Latinos to about 14.9 million non-Hispanic whites. Demographers had expected the shift for decades as the state's Hispanic population boomed due to immigration and birth rates. Many thought it would happen sooner than it did, but a slight decline in population pushed it to last year. California joins New Mexico as the second state with a Latino plurality. Hawaii, with its large Asian population, is the third state where whites are not the largest ethnic group.