New Mexico police departments have received more than 25 million dollars’ worth of military equipment and vehicles in recent years through a federal Defense Department program. Despite that, the New Mexican reports that several local law enforcement agencies say they have no problem with President Obama’s new rules, announced Monday, that will prohibit certain military gear from going to local law enforcement and put new restrictions on other equipment. The paper quotes Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia, saying “We’re not at war with our citizens.” Sheriff Garcia indicating that most of the military equipment the president scaled back on won’t affect the sheriff’s office.
A lawsuit says a Clovis man with schizophrenia was placed in a Curry County solitary confinement cell without medical treatment for seven months. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court this month claims Alejandro Romero, Jr., was tossed in an isolated cell in 2012 following his arrest for misdemeanor criminal damage to property of a household member. But according to court documents, Curry County Detention Center guards failed to provide Romero with proper treatment. As a result, the lawsuit says Romero's health deteriorated so bad that he smeared feces all over his cell. Court documents say Romero was given proper care only after seven months and his charge was dropped. The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages. Curry County Manager Lance Pyle did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press.
American Airlines has confirmed that it will discontinue its direct flight from Santa Fe Municipal Airport to Los Angeles LAX on September eighth. The flight has been popular with those who work in the film industry as well as travelers hoping to make connections to Asia, Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest. An American representative said that the three daily trips from Santa Fe to Dallas-Fort Worth are strong and will continue
A sprawling ranch in southern New Mexico owned by media mogul Ted Turner is caught in the middle of a dispute between the state and federal wildlife officials over management of the Mexican gray wolf. A bid by the Ladder Ranch to renew its permit for holding wolves in captivity on the private property was recently denied by the state Game Commission, triggering calls for Governor Susana Martinez to reverse the decision. A rally is planned at noon today at the capitol. Commissioners have said they couldn't approve the permit, citing the failure by the federal government to update a decades-old recovery plan for the wolves. Officials with the Turner Endangered Species Fund say they're disappointed with the commission's decision and that tightening the screw on the ranch won't lead to a new recovery plan.
A court has upheld a man's convictions and sentences stemming from the death of a man and the wounding of two other people in a 2010 shooting on the Navajo Nation. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in the case of Clay O'Brien Mann, who was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison on convictions of involuntary manslaughter and assault. The victims were attending a small nighttime gathering near Shiprock in July 2010. Authorities said Mann threw a lit fireworks shell into or near a campfire on his neighbor's property and then fatally shot Ames Joseph Jim. Another man was shot in the face, and a woman was shot in the neck.
A University of New Mexico School of Law student journal has published a special issue analyzing legal issues related to the story line of AMC-TV's "Breaking Bad." An edition of the New Mexico Law Review looks at the war on drugs, the hypothetical arrest of Walter White, and questionable practices of defense lawyer Saul Goodman.
Santa Fe Weather: Partly cloudy with a slight chance for isolated showers and thunderstorms. The high today, 64. Tonight: Partly cloudy with the overnight low, 42. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny with a high of 70.