Authorities say the man suspected of killing a police officer in Rio Rancho had an extensive criminal record, including a manslaughter conviction. Rio Rancho Police Chief Michael Geier identified the suspect as 28-year-old Andrew Romero. Charges are pending. Officer Gregg Benner was at the end of his shift Monday when he was gunned down during a traffic stop shortly after 8 p.m. The police chief says Romero was a passenger in the stopped vehicle. The chief says Benner had stopped the vehicle after a short chase through a parking lot. When the officer approached, he was shot with a handgun. Benner was hit multiple times in the torso and didn't have a chance to draw his weapon. Brenner was 49-year-old. The officer was a military veteran who had been with the Rio Rancho Police Department for four years.
Actor and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard is out of the Santa Fe County following his arrest Monday night on suspicion of aggravated drunken driving. Police arrested Shepard outside La Choza restaurant in downtown Santa Fe. Shepard, who’s 71, told a police officer that he had two tequila drinks and was planning to drive home. The officer could smell alcohol on Shepard's breath and the actor had bloodshot, watery eyes. Santa Fe police Lt. Andrea Dobyns says restaurant security called police after becoming concerned about a man who may be intoxicated. The man was trying to leave in a pickup truck, but the vehicle's emergency brake was engaged. Police say Shepherd declined to take a breath test, but he did perform a field sobriety test, which he failed.
Santa Fe Police Officers are looking for the suspect who robbed Cliff’s Liquors on Old Pecos Trail Monday night. A police account says the robbery occurred just before seven-pm, when a man displayed a black handgun and stole an undisclosed amount of money from the store Nobody was hurt during the robbery. The suspect looked to be about 5'10 and 180 pounds. The suspect left in a small red two-door Toyota. If you have any information, you’re asked to call SF-PD.
Citizens are invited to meet for casual conversation with Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Garcia tomorrow morning. In the “chat with the chief” event, Santa Fe residents can ask questions, discuss ideas or concerns, or just say hello and have a brief chat with the Capital City’s Chief. The event is scheduled for the Christ Church of Santa Fe at 12-13 Don Gaspar Avenue, from seven until nine-am.
A bit later this morning, motorists traveling in the northbound lanes of U-S highway 84/285 can expect intermittent lane closures as the New Mexico Department of Transportation begins working on two of the highway’s bridges. The DOT says the bridge at the Santa Fe Opera and Avenida Monte Sereno and the span at Tesuque Pueblo Road will see rehabilitation work. The lane closures will first involve the northbound lanes, between nine-am and four-pm, with work on the southbound lanes next. The DOT says the work should be finished by June sixth.
New Mexico is the only state with a constitutional right for citizens to serve on juries regardless of their ability to speak or read English. And, last week Santa Fe hosted a national conference on court interpreter programs. Paula Couselo (co-sell-oh), a manager of the New Mexico Center for Language Access, presented at the conference. Couselo demonstrated a program used in training bilingual court employees and a downloadable court interpreter orientation program. She says its a collaborative project jointly funded by Alaska, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Virginia and Texas state courts. Couselo says New Mexico has been providing language access services in court settings for a very long time. *****052715-Couselo-1 :22***** Couselo says the conference recognized New Mexico as a leader in offering interpreting services to individuals with limited English proficiency as well as to the deaf and hard of hearing to ensure equal access to justice. Additionally, she says two new programs to certify both Court Interpreters and the more rigorous Justice System Interpreters begin on June 15th. *****052715-Couselo-2 :35***** Paula Couselo of the New Mexico Center for Language Access.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today with the high, 77 and a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Tonight: Partly cloudy with the overnight low, 46. Tomorrow: Partly sunny with a 30-percent chance for showers and thunderstorms and the high reaching 78.