An arrest warrant has been issued for a possible suspect in the million-dollar jewelry heist in Santa Fe last week. Santa Fe Police issued the warrant Thursday for 45-year-old Luis Villalba Boca-Negra in the case. Santa Fe police have said that they're also looking for two men and woman who had been in the Diva Diamonds and Jewels store two weeks before the November 27th theft. Police believe two people created a diversion and a third snatched valuables from an unlocked display case. Authorities say Boca-Negra was arrested in October 2014 for stealing a ring worth 35-thousand dollars’ from a different downtown Santa Fe store. He fled the state but was later arrested and pleaded guilty to theft and currently is on probation. Police say Boca-Negra's whereabouts are unknown.
An independent monitor says Albuquerque police are at odds with his team on how to revamp the department's use-of-force policy. Court-appointed monitor James Ginger told a federal judge Thursday that there's no agreement on a new policy and that is among the things delaying reform. The Albuquerque Police Department is one of several agencies nationwide that are under court-ordered agreements with the U.S. Justice Department. Federal officials found Albuquerque officers routinely used excessive force. Ginger says timelines established by the settlement between police and the Justice Department also have been delayed because his contract wasn't approved until months after the reform agreement took effect. Despite the disagreement over the use-of-force policy, Ginger noted that police are in compliance with goals up to this point.
Rio Grande Resources' underground mine in western New Mexico has been idle for years but the company wants to change that. New Mexico regulators are hosting a public hearing Friday in Grants to consider the company's application to change the status of its permit for the Mount Taylor Mine from standby to active. The application also calls for updating the mine's closeout plan and requiring financial assurances from the company. It could be months before a final decision is made. Environmental groups are challenging the economic viability of restarting the mine and contend the application is a ploy by the company to avoid cleanup at the site. The documents the company submitted to the state include plans for a new system to remove selenium and other metals from the water.
A former corrections officer in Santa Fe County has pleaded guilty to possessing and conspiring to distribute a narcotic drug in New Mexico. Federal prosecutors say 21-year-old Edward Owens entered his plea Thursday in an Albuquerque court. A sentencing date wasn't immediately announced. Owens was arrested in February and indicted along with another man of participating in a conspiracy to distribute Buprenorphine in August 2014. At the time, prosecutors say Owens was employed as a corrections officer at the Santa Fe County Adult Correctional Facility. He was accused of smuggling 47 strips of the painkiller-type drug into the jail in exchange for payment from an inmate, who also was arrested in the case.
Police in Deming say an officer shot and killed a man suspected of fatally shooting his girlfriend. The New Mexico State Police is investigating the shooting, which took place Wednesday afternoon. Authorities say Deming police were called about a domestic dispute. Responding officers found a woman with a gunshot wound lying outside a home and then encountered FlorencioLucero, who was armed with a gun. According to police, Lucero threatened them with the weapon and was shot once by an officer. Police attempted first aid on Lucero and the woman, who is believed to be the suspect's girlfriend. Both were later pronounced dead at area hospitals. The primary officer involved in the shooting has been placed on standard administrative leave.
A judge has denied a motion for mistrial in the case of a 20-year-old man accused of fatally beating two homeless men in Albuquerque last year. Judge Briana Zamora's decision comes after the attorney for suspect Alex Rios said Thursday that three jurors appeared inadvertently in television news footage during the first day of testimony. While the trial resumed Thursday afternoon, she dismissed the three jurors who inadvertently appeared on TV. State laws forbid jurors from being filmed or photographed out of concern for protection of their identities, and to ensure objectivity during testimony and deliberations. Rios and two juveniles are accused of attacking Allison Gorman and Kee Thompson as they slept in a vacant lot. Rios' attorney says he didn't participate in the beating. He faces murder charges in the July 2014 attack.
Santa Fe Weather: Mostly sunny today with the high reaching 50. Tonight: Partly cloudy with the overnight low, 27. Tomorrow: Sunny and a bit cooler, with Saturday’s high, 46.