Doña Ana County's Treasurer Is Indicted, Facing A Jury Trial – The Associated Press
Doña Ana County Treasurer David Gutierrez has been indicted on charges related to public corruption and faces a jury trial to determine if he should be removed from office.
Prosecutors say a county grand jury has formally accused Gutierrez of corruption in office or gross immorality by a public official.
They say the charges stem from accusations that Gutierrez offered a woman working in his office $2,000 to have sex with him.
The incident allegedly occurred in 2014. Charges weren't filed until after county officials formally requested that the district attorney's office investigate.
If convicted as charged in the criminal case, prosecutors say Gutierrez could face up to 18 months in prison.
They say if he's found guilty in the removal case, Gutierrez would be immediately removed from office.
Solar Incentives Sunset As States Grapple With Tight Budgets – By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Homeowners and small businesses in the second sunniest state in the nation have invested nearly a quarter billion dollars in roof-top solar and related labor thanks to a program fueled by tax credits.
But the popular incentives will be going away after New Mexico lawmakers concerned about a budget crisis did not extend the 10 percent tax credit for installing solar.
In what has become a nationwide trend, state tax credits and other incentives aimed at boosting the solar industry are disappearing.
Of the 16 states that offer personal tax credits for solar, half have already had their credits expire or are in line to see them sunset over the next two years.
Some worry the lack of a tax credit will steal momentum from what has been one of New Mexico's few economic bright spots.
Charges Dropped In Case Of Fireworks Thrown At Homeless Man – KOB-TV
Prosecutors have dropped the case against a man accused of throwing fireworks at a sleeping homeless man and burning him because witnesses could not be found.
KOB-TV reports that the incident last year was caught on a surveillance camera and Joshua Benavidez admitted to the act, calling it a prank. But the District Attorney’s office dismissed the case when witnesses could not be found for a scheduling order and pretrial interviews.
The man who was burned was in intensive care for several days after the incident. Benavidez was facing charges of aggravated battery with great bodily harm and tampering with evidence.
He and his girlfriend also faced child abuse charges since there were three children in the car when Benavidez threw the fireworks at the man.
Lawsuit Accuses Mormon Church Of Failing To Protect Navajos – The Associated Press
Two Navajo siblings are suing the Mormon Church, alleging they were sexually abused during their time in a church program that placed them with foster families in Utah.
The lawsuit seeks written apologies, unspecified damages, changes in church policy and the creation of a task force to help address cultural or social harm to Navajos. It was filed Wednesday in Navajo Nation court.
Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not immediately return messages Thursday seeking comment. The church's website says it doesn't tolerate child sexual abuse and voluntarily tracks members who harm children.
Billy Keeler, who is representing the siblings, says at least two church program leaders were alerted to abuse in the late 1970s and early 1980s but failed to protect the siblings.
New Mexico Governor Shuns Work Email Account – The Associated Press
Records requested by the Associated Press show that New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez seldom uses her state email account to conduct official business and keeps half of those messages under seal.
The governor's office has released three emails and withheld three others in response to a request for emails sent and received by Martinez on her state account during the first week of February.
The AP sent open-records requests to the top lawmakers in all 50 states and most governors, seeking copies of their daily schedules and emails from government accounts for the week of Feb. 1-7. The requests were met with more denials than approvals.
A spokesman for the governor says she generally prefers to hold in-person meetings and have phone conversations with her Cabinet.
Police Chief: Mistreatment Of Public Won't Be Tolerated – The Associated Press
A New Mexico police chief says the mistreatment of the public will not be tolerated and that the force has made changes in the wake of a case in which a high school intern was sexually assaulted during a ride-along.
Las Cruces Police Chief Jaime Montoya says he's confident the training and mentoring employees are receiving are steps in the right direction.
Montoya's comments come after attorneys announced Wednesday that a $3 million settlement had been reached with the victim, Diana Guerrero.
Her civil lawsuit claimed the police department allowed for a culture of sexism and inappropriate behavior that led to her being assaulted by a detective in 2011.
The City Council plans to meet Monday to finalize the agreement.
Montoya says he's hopeful the settlement will give closure to Guerrero and the department.
Appeals Court Drops Damages In 'Billy The Kid' Records Suit – The Associated Press & The Santa Fe New Mexican
A former New Mexico sheriff and one of his deputies will not have to pay $100,000 to an author over documents from an investigation into legendary outlaw Billy the Kid.
Writer Gale Cooper in 2014 was awarded $100,000 and the records she sought relating to the outlaw's 1881 death.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the state Court of Appeals has now denied Cooper's appeal that claimed she was owed up to $100 per day she was denied the documents. Citing the same state Supreme Court ruling, the appellate judge also revoked the damages.
Cooper and a weekly newspaper sued the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office in 2007 for access to documents related to the investigation, which a sheriff and two deputies had launched more than a decade ago.
January Jackpot Boosted Funds For Lottery Scholarships – The Associated Press
A boost in the money funneled to New Mexico's lottery scholarship fund is due to frenzied sales in January brought on by the record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
The New Mexico Lottery Authority says it transferred $8.5 million to the scholarship fund in January. That's more than twice the $3.8 million that was funneled to the fund in January 2015.
State legislative analysts say proceeds so far this year total nearly $28 million compared to more than $23 million for the same period last year.
Still, higher education officials expect demand for the financial assistance to continue outpacing lottery proceeds.
Lawmakers are expected to weigh options over the next several months before proposing another round of measures aimed at addressing the scholarship program's solvency during the next session.
Moody's Reaffirms New Mexico Credit Rating – The Associated Press
A credit ratings agency is reaffirming a top grade for New Mexico general obligation bonds as the state grapples with declining revenues from the oil and natural gas industry.
The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration on Thursday announced the triple-A bond rating from Moody's Investor Services.
Moody's says the rating reflects the state's conservative financial management practices as well as relatively stable and adequate reserves. New Mexico expects to draw down it general fund reserves by more than $350 million during the fiscal year ending in June to help balance general fund revenues and spending amid weak energy prices.
The withdrawals are expected to leave reserves at about 5.6 percent of general fund spending. That is down from 11.6 percent at the start of the fiscal year.
New Mexico Governor, Donald Trump Converge On Gala – Associated Press
A Republican gala honoring New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez in April will also include presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump as a special guest.
The New York Republican Party confirmed Wednesday that the two politicians are scheduled to converge at a fundraiser in New York City. The event takes place five days before the April 19 New York primary.
Martinez indicated Wednesday that she still has not endorsed Trump or any other GOP candidate after she campaigned unsuccessfully for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. GOP candidates John Kasich and Ted Cruz also have been invited to the gala.
Martinez is the chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association, a fundraising arm of the GOP on state-level campaigns and issues. She previously denounced Trump when he compared Mexican immigrants to rapists and drug dealers.
$3M Settlement Reached In Police Sexual Assault Case – Associated Press
A New Mexico city has agreed to a $3 million settlement in the case of a high school police intern who was sexually assaulted by an officer during a ride-along.
Michael Garcia of the Las Cruces Police Department was sentenced in 2014 to nine years in federal prison for the sexual assault.
The victim, Diana Guerrero, sued the city last year saying the department allowed for a culture of sexism and inappropriate behavior and that Garcia was never disciplined for a history of misconduct.
Guerrero says she's glad the lawsuit brought to light what she called "a cesspool of sexual violence and harassment" in police departments across the country.
In a yearlong investigation of sexual misconduct by U.S. law enforcement, the AP uncovered about 1,000 officers who lost their badges in a six-year period for various sex crimes.
January Jackpot Boosted Funds For Lottery Scholarships – Associated Press
A boost in the money funneled to New Mexico's lottery scholarship fund is due to frenzied sales in January brought on by the record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
The New Mexico Lottery Authority says it transferred $8.5 million to the scholarship fund in January. That's more than twice the $3.8 million that was funneled to the fund in January 2015.
State legislative analysts say proceeds so far this year total nearly $28 million compared to more than $23 million for the same period last year.
Still, higher education officials expect demand for the financial assistance to continue outpacing lottery proceeds.
Lawmakers are expected to weigh options over the next several months before proposing another round of measures aimed at addressing the scholarship program's solvency during the next session.
Missing Model Flying Saucer Found In Pieces In Roswell – Associated Press
A fiberglass and metal version of a spaceship reported missing from the UFO Museum in the New Mexico town of Roswell has been found in pieces west of the city.
Police say the model UFO was stolen from the museum early Saturday and surveillance video showed three people hauling the spaceship off in a pickup truck.
Albuquerque TV station KOB reported Wednesday that the saucer was located in a ditch off Highway 70 about two miles west of Roswell.
The spaceship had been a fixture in downtown Roswell, where it was long mounted outside the UFO museum before a recent snowstorm damaged it.
It was being stored behind the museum before it was stolen.
Roswell still stirs debate about extraterrestrials seven decades after the 1947 crash of a flying object.
No Charges Planned For Guards In Inmate Escape – Associated Press
The chief of New Mexico state police says investigators are close to concluding their inquiry into the escape of two violent inmates, with no charges pending against the guards who were transporting the men.
Chief Pete Kassetas told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it's possible others would be arrested in the March 9 escape.
State police say convicted murderer Joseph Cruz and Lionel Clah, another violent felon, picked their handcuffs and fled a fortified prisoner transport van as guards stopped for gas along a rural highway. They were apprehended days later in Albuquerque.
Kassetas says the agency will soon hand over its findings to the Department of Corrections, which also is investigating.
Authorities previously said the investigation would look at whether guards were directly involved in the escape.
Jury Convicts Navajo Lawmaker In Discretionary Fund Case – Associated Press
A Navajo Nation jury has convicted a tribal lawmaker on 10 criminal counts in a case that centered on his approval of nearly $34,000 in tribal funds for his family.
The jury spent less than three hours deliberating Wednesday before finding Mel Begay guilty. He faces the loss of his legislative seat, jail time and fines on tribal charges of conspiracy and submitting or permitting false vouchers.
Begay's attorney, Jeffrey Rasmussen, says Begay wasn't given a fair trial and will appeal the conviction.
Sentencing is set for May 17.
Begay's trial was the first of two in a yearslong investigation of a discretionary fund meant for Navajos facing extreme hardship.
More than two dozen other current and former lawmakers have resolved their criminal or ethics cases.
State Revokes Charter Of Albuquerque High School – Albuquerque Journal
State officials have revoked the charter of the Creative Education Preparatory Institute over financial problems and a failure to provide enough teaching hours.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that the New Mexico Public Education Commission voted to revoke the Albuquerque school’s charter on Tuesday after a lengthy hearing.
The school racked up $900,000 in back taxes and penalties over five years. The New Mexico Public Education Department also said the school did not provide a minimal number of instructional hours and saw heavy turnover on its governing board.
The school’s principal, Christopher Hotchkiss, said the institution could pay off the debts in several years if it was allowed to continue operating.
Authorities Prepare For New Mexico Religious Pilgrimage - Associated Press
Authorities are preparing for the thousands of people who are expected for the annual Good Friday pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo.
Santa Fe County sheriff's deputies will increase traffic patrols beginning Thursday when the majority of pilgrims begin walking to the northern New Mexico shrine.
Deputies are urging walkers to make themselves visible by using reflective tape, safety vests or glow sticks.
New Mexico State Police, Santa Fe police and tribal officers also will be patrolling the area throughout the Easter weekend.
State transportation crews will be installing message boards along roadways in the area as well as temporary stop signs, portable lights and trash cans.
Chimayo is a national historic landmark. Some 200,000 people are estimated to visit each year, with the bulk occurring during Holy Week.