One of two co-defendants in the brutal beating and burning death of a 75-year old Santa Fe man is going to prison for nine months. The New Mexican reports that Judge Mary Marlow Sommer sentenced Jeannie Ann Sandoval Monday to the maximum allowed under a plea deal she made with prosecutors. Sandoval pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for her role in the death of George Ortiz. Ortiz was her step-grandfather. Sandoval says Ortiz had been like a father to her. Sandoval’s boyfriend, Anthony Yepez was convicted of second degree murder last year. Yepez will be sentenced next month. Trial testimony revealed that following a physical altercation between Ortiz and Sandoval, Yepez stepped in and attacked Ortiz, who, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, Yepez presumed was dead. Sandoval then poured cooking oil over Ortiz’s body, following Yepez’s directions, and the two fled, only to be caught a day later.
A man and woman accused in the fatal shooting of a Rio Rancho police officer during a traffic stop last month have pleaded not guilty. Andrew Romero and his girlfriend, Tabitha Littles, entered their pleas Monday in a Sandoval County courtroom. Romero and Littles were indicted last week in the Memorial Day death of Officer Gregg Benner. Prosecutors say the Romero, who’s 28 allegedly told Littles, who’s 30, that he was going to shoot the officer before opening fire. Police say Littles had a chance to tell Benner of her boyfriend's plans prior to the shooting in a parking lot. Prosecutors say Romero faces nine other counts in the case, including two of tampering with evidence. The Albuquerque Journal reports Romero's bond remains at $5 million with Littles' bond at $1 million.
The New Mexico Supreme Court, ruling with a group of labor unions, has ordered state labor officials to revamp the way they set wages and benefits for certain public works projects. The court’s Monday ruling says a 2009 change in the law clearly requires wages and benefits for public projects to be based on collective bargaining agreements. The New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council along with unions representing electricians and sheet metal workers first raised concerns in 2011. At the time, state officials told the court they would be able to set prevailing wages and benefits within months. When that didn't happen, the unions filed another petition. Albuquerque attorney Shane Youtz says thousands of New Mexico trade workers stand to get a pay raise thanks to the ruling.
We should find out today if a planned community west of Albuquerque will move forward. The decision is before Bernalillo County Commissioners, who will decide the fate of Santolina, the community developers says could eventually be home to as many as 90-thousand people. The nearly 22-square mile Santolina would be located along Interstate 40 and would have its own business parks and town center. But the plan has drawn opposition from Albuquerque's historical Hispanic South Valley area over fears that Santolina would draw from much needed water sources.
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has signed into law a package of tax incentives recently approved by legislators during a special session. The Republican governor signed the legislation Monday during a visit to the Bioscience Center in Albuquerque. She says the incentives will help recruit new businesses to New Mexico, make it easier for small businesses to grow and boost trade and commerce along New Mexico's southern border. With Martinez's signature, roughly a half-dozen tax incentives already on the books are being expanded. Two new tax breaks are being created. Last week, the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic-led Senate raced through a four-hour special session following an agreement that called for a compromise on capital spending. The tax incentives were among the three pieces of legislation that passed both chambers.
Meanwhile, Governor Martinez says Jeb Bush made a good move in hiring one of her former top aides as his campaign manager. Martinez, who’s the nation's only Latina governor, commenting Monday she considers Danny Diaz a friend and she believes Bush knows "how to pick the best." Diaz, a longtime Republican operative going back to former President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, recently helped manage Martinez's national communications team. Martinez says Diaz will do a very good job for Bush and she wishes him well. But the Republican signaled she is nowhere near a decision in endorsing any of the many GOP hopefuls seeking the party's presidential nomination. Bush launched a White House bid months in the making on Monday and recently named Diaz as his campaign manager.
Santa Fe Weather: Partly sunny today with a 40-percent chance for precipitation, today’s high 75. Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a 50-percent chance for scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before one-am. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, the high warming to 85 with a 20-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms.