New Mexico Supreme Court Hears Assisted Suicide Case - The Associated Press
A woman who helped spark a legal challenge to New Mexico's ban on physician-assisted suicide says her cancer is in remission.
Aja Riggs told reporters today after the New Mexico Supreme Court heard arguments in the landmark case that she still wants the option to end her life because the cancer could return.
The 51-year-old Santa Fe woman says that's why she wants justices to rule that some terminally ill patients in New Mexico have a constitutional right to end their lives with a doctor's help. Five other states allow doctors to assist suicides.
A lawyer for the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, says the issue should be decided by state lawmakers, not the courts.
A ruling from the state Supreme Court is expected to take weeks.
Mistrial For School Exec Hired After Sex Abuse Charges – The Associated Press
A judge has declared a mistrial in the case against a Colorado man who was hired by New Mexico's largest school district after he had been charged with sexually abusing two young boys.
Jurors in Denver told the judge on Monday they couldn't reach a unanimous verdict in the case against Jason Martinez.
Martinez was arrested in Denver in 2013 and later given a job at an Albuquerque school district after officials failed to complete a background check. The outcry over his hiring led Albuquerque Schools Superintendent Luis Valentino to resign.
Prosecutors said Monday they would seek a retrial against Martinez.
New Mexico Attorney General To Accept Referrals Again – The Associated Press & The Daily Times
New Mexico's attorney general is accepting referrals of campaign finance reporting violations in the wake of the former secretary of state's resignation.
The Office of Attorney General spokesman James Hallinan told the Daily Times in Farmington over the weekend that the office will resume giving legal services to the secretary of state.
Attorney General Hector Balderas kicked back dozens of referrals in September after his office filed a criminal complaint against Dianna Duran.
The referrals represent more than $165,000 in uncollected fines.
The complaint alleged that Duran was siphoning thousands of dollars in campaign contributions for personal use, including gambling at casinos.
Duran abruptly stepped down last week.
She then pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges and four misdemeanors.
Suspect In Officer's Shooting Appears In Court – The Associated Press
The New Mexico man suspected in a shooting last week that critically wounded an Albuquerque police officer has made a first appearance in federal court.
Davon Lymon appeared Monday in Albuquerque, shackled and with a cast on his left arm. The judge read him his rights.
He will be represented by a public defender who has yet to be assigned. His preliminary and detention hearings have been scheduled for Tuesday.
Lymon was arrested in the Oct. 21 shooting of officer Dan Webster, who remains in critical condition. So far, Lymon faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
A federal complaint states the eight-year veteran officer was shot multiple times Wednesday after he pulled over Lymon.
Transformer Will Be Heaviest Load Ever For New Mexico Roads – The Associated Press & Daily Times
State officials say trucks traveling through the Four Corners region this week will be hauling the heaviest load ever transported on New Mexico public roads.
The Daily Times reports that the trucks will be moving a transformer made in China and taken to Houston via the Panama Canal.
The 1.7-million-pound transformer expected to arrive in Thoreau Monday is part of a project at the Pinto substation in Utah.
It will travel to Thoreau by rail. The New Mexico Department of Transportation says a second transformer, slightly lighter than the first, will come through the area about two weeks later.
The first transformer will leave Thoreau at 10 mph, pulled by one truck and pushed by five.
The transportation department will look for road damage once the caravan has left the area.
Funeral For NM Major Killed In Afghanistan Helicopter Crash – The Associated Press
An Air Force major from Rio Rancho killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan is being remembered as a patriot and a loving mother.
Hundreds of people gathered for the funeral of 45-year-old Major Phyllis Pelky at the Air Force Academy's iconic chapel Monday. She was one of five people killed in the Oct. 11 crash of a British helicopter in Kabul.
Before her deployment, she worked as a German instructor at the academy and as an aide to the school's superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson. Johnson says Pelky's days were longer than hers and she always gave "100 percent of herself."
The Gazette reports that she left a teaching job in Rio Rancho, New Mexico to join the Air Force after the Sept. 11 attacks. She is survived by a husband, two sons and six siblings.
Suspected Albuquerque Police Shooter To Appear In Court – Associated Press
An ex-convict charged in the shooting of an Albuquerque police officer will make his first court appearance since being released from a hospital.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Elizabeth Martinez says Davon Lymon is expected to have an initial appearance Monday morning in federal court.
The 34-year-old has been charged in the shooting of officer Dan Webster, who remains in critical condition. So far, he faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to court records.
A federal complaint states the eight-year veteran officer was shot multiple times Wednesday after he pulled Lymon over for riding a motorcycle with a stolen license plate.
Officers later located Lymon, who was hospitalized with injuries inflicted by a police canine.
He was released into federal custody Saturday.
Albuquerque Vigil Honors Slain Girl, Wounded Officer – Associated Press
The mother of a 4-year-old girl killed in a road rage shooting on an Albuquerque freeway is calling on lawmakers to enact tougher laws to keep repeat criminals off the streets.
Veronica Rael Garcia says her daughter, Lilly, was killed and an Albuquerque police officer wounded because the suspects were not already in jail.
She made her remarks at a vigil Saturday night honoring Lilly and Officer Daniel Webster, whose shooting occurred a day later.
Webster remains in critical condition.
Lilly Garcia was fatally shot Tuesday after the pickup truck driven by her father became involved in a road rage altercation with another car.
Police arrested Tony Torrez, who was accused of another road rage incident in 2006 and served time for a 2001 voluntary manslaughter conviction.
Slain Homeless Man's Family Gives $200K To Help Homeless – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The family of a homeless man whose fatal shooting by Albuquerque police was caught on video and sparked national outrage has donated $100,000 each to two shelters.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Saturday that James Boyd's family made the donations to St. Martin's Hospitality Center and Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless.
Boyd's relatives won a $5 million settlement in July in their lawsuit against the city and they had said some of the payment would go toward the homeless.
Boyd was killed during a March 2014 standoff in the Sandia Mountains. Video shows police fired on Boyd, who was schizophrenic, as he appeared to be preparing to surrender.
An officer and a retired detective will go to trial for murder charges next year.
Treatment Of Bernalillo County Inmate Triggers Investigation – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Several jail employees, including four supervisors, have been put on paid leave while Bernalillo County authorities investigate the use of tear gas and a Taser to restrain an inmate.
The Albuquerque Journal reports surveillance video released by the county Friday shows corrections officers tackling 33-year-old Amanda Chavez inside the Metropolitan Detention Center earlier this week.
In the video of the Monday incident, two guards tackle Chavez after searching her cell and repeatedly knee her in the sides.
She is then sprayed in the face with tear gas and stunned with a Taser.
It is not clear what prompted the tackle.
Chavez is escorted out of the cellblock after five minutes.
Jail officers reported the incident to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, which has launched the investigation.
Ex-New Mexico Policeman Arrested In Arizona In Homicide Case – Associated Press
A former New Mexico police officer has been arrested in southern Arizona in the killing of his estranged wife seven months ago.
The U.S. Marshals Service announced Friday that 28-year-old Bradley Scott Farrington was taken into custody in Tucson.
He's being held in the Pima County Jail pending extradition to New Mexico. It's unclear if he has a lawyer.
Farrington is a former Silver City police officer who was wanted by the Grant County Sheriff's Office in the death of 23-year-old Cassy Farrington.
The couple had been separated since 2013 following a relationship allegedly riddled with domestic abuse.
Her body was discovered inside her home on March 24. After a lengthy investigation, Bradley Farrington was identified as a suspect in the homicide.
A warrant for his arrest was issued Thursday.
