New Mexico's Largest City To Review Crime Data System -Associated Press
After taking heat for discrepancies in its crime numbers, the city of Albuquerque will do an independent review of the systems used by the police department to track crime statistics.
Mayor Tim Keller said Friday that it was clear the data systems need an overhaul. After reporting significant drops in crime in July, the city later indicated in October that there were problems with the statistics.
More details recently emerged, spurring criticism of Keller's administration. Crime statistics and rankings have remained a political flash point in New Mexico as lawmakers and officials grapple with improving public safety.
Records: Most Arrested In Albuquerque In 'Surge' Released - KOAT-TV, Associated Press
Records show 88% of those arrested in Albuquerque by New Mexico State Police on felony charges during a so-called surge are no longer in custody.
KOAT-TV reports records show most of the 201 felony arrests made over 60 days resulted in suspects going back on the streets within days.
State Police launched "Operation Surge" earlier this year in New Mexico's largest city following high-profile homicides of a mail carrierand a University of New Mexico baseball player. The city also has seen a jump in overall homicides this year.
Earlier this year, the country of Uruguay issued a warning to its citizens about traveling to Albuquerque.
Operation Surge was touted as a way to crack down on violent crime in Albuquerque by bringing in state police officers from rural parts of the state.
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against New Mexico Health Provider -Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
A U.S. district judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of cancer doctors against a New Mexico health care provider after she found no violations of federal antitrust laws.
The Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday that New Mexico Oncology and Hematology Consultants Ltd. filed the lawsuit in 2012 after a long relationship ended between Presbyterian Healthcare Services and the company.
The judge ruled last month that there is no evidence Presbyterian engaged in anti-competitive conduct.
Officials say the lawsuit alleges that Presbyterian retaliated against the doctors after it built an oncology clinic in Albuquerque by pressing patients to change doctors and seek care elsewhere.
Singer Harris Was Impaired, Speeding When Killed In Crash -Associated Press
A northern New Mexico sheriff says Texas country singer Kylie Rae Harris was legally impaired by alcohol and driving 95 miles per hour when she and another driver were killed in a three-vehicle crash in September.
Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe says in a statement Thursday that toxicology testing showed Harris had a blood-alcohol level of .28 percent. That is more than three times the legal limit for impaired driving.
Holgrefe says on-board computer data also indicated Harris was driving 102 mph (164 mph) before the crash. Hogrefe says the other driver killed in the wreck had no alcohol in her system.
State Will Pay $10M To Mental Health Providers After Suit - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
New Mexico will pay out $10 million to resolve the last remaining lawsuits over a shake-up of its behavioral health system in 2013 under the prior administration of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.
Martinez's administration froze payments to 15 behavioral health service providers after an audit identified $36 million in Medicaid overpayments.
The state attorney general later cleared the providers of any criminal wrongdoing, but 10 filed lawsuits, saying some providers were forced to close their doors and discontinue provision of any behavioral health services.
New Mexico Teen Held For Week After Mistaken Identification – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
Authorities say a teen girl was jailed for a week after a school employee mistakenly identified her as a suspect in a fatal shooting.
The Albuquerque Journal reported the 17-year-old was booked into a juvenile detention center after an Albuquerque Public Schools employee mistakenly identified her to police from a social media photo.
The Albuquerque High School student was charged in November with murder, armed robbery and conspiracy in connection with the July death of 21-year-old Calvin Kelly.
Officials say she was released six days later after a suspect told police they had charged the wrong girl.
CEO Touts Virgin Galactic Marks 'Incredible' Year Of Milestones – Associated Press
The CEO of Virgin Galactic says the space tourism venture is on the verge of making more history in 2020 following an “incredible” year of progress.
George Whitesides told hundreds of business leaders during a luncheon Thursday in Albuquerque that 2019 was marked by many milestones including going public on the New York Stock Exchange.
The move raised $450 million for the company's balance sheet as it prepares for commercial flights once test flights are complete. Virgin Galactic has not announced a specific date for beginning commercial flights, but it's expected that 2020 will finally be the year.
New Mexico School Football Programs To See Big Realignments - Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The governing board for New Mexico high school sports has voted to realign several football programs.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Mayfield High School, one of New Mexico's most storied programs and winner of eight big-school state championships, is leaving the largest classification starting in 2020.
The Las Cruces school is dropping from 6A to 5A in response to an expected enrollment drop. Their new district partners will be Deming, Santa Teresa and Chaparral.
Highland and Del Norte are leaving their current districts and will be a part of a reconfigured District 5/6 along with Belen, Los Lunas and Valley.
Capital and Los Alamos — which have been sharing a football district with Del Norte and Santa Fe — are going to be part of a newly formed District 1-5A that also includes Farmington, Piedra Vista and Miyamura.
Cowboys For Trump Take National Monument Sand To DC - KOB-TV, Associated Press
The New Mexico group Cowboys for Trump is facing criticism after a member bragged the group brought iconic gypsum sands from the White Sands National Monument to Washington for a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.
The Alamogordo Daily News reports Cowboys for Trump co-founder Couy Griffin said the group brought four "big plastic bins" of the sand for the ceremony Wednesday. Removing natural resources from national monuments is illegal without permission.
Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told the Albuquerque-based KOB-TV she was proud the Christmas tree from New Mexico has sand from White Sands National Monument.
Ex-Navajo Housing CEO: Nude Photos Part Of Revenge Plot - Gallup Independent, Associated Press
Former Navajo Housing Authority CEO says he deleted nude photos of him and his wife on a company cell phone, but his predecessor restored them out of anger.
Craig Dougall told the Gallup Independent this week he made a mistake in using the company phone to share intimate correspondence with his wife of 20 years. But Dougall said he didn't deliberately return the phone with the photos to be seen by the staff.
Dougall alleged that former CEO Roberta Roberts, whom he replaced, took the phone to a tech company to restore the photos.
Dougall was fired from his position in March after Roberts reported the photos. Roberts also was fired.
Attorney David Jordan, who is representing Roberts, says the claim Roberts undeleted information on the phone is false. He says she received the phone and found the naked photos.
Report Finds Homicide Victim's Body Was Put In Car Before Fire – Gallup Independent, Associated Press
Authorities say a man whose remains were found in the trunk of a burning car in northwestern New Mexico had been killed beforehand.
The Gallup Independent reports the state Office of the Medical Investigator's autopsy report cited evidence that indicated the remains of 51-year-old Nastacio Keith Travis of Zuni had begun decomposing before being burned. The car was found north of Church Rock on July 15. Church Rock is 8 miles east of Gallup.
The report said the fire consumed much of Travis' remains and that it appeared his body was placed in the trunk of the car then set on fire in an attempt to conceal evidence.