- TROUBLED VILLAGE-HARASSMENT
Village restores police chief amid harassment investigation
(Information from: Gallup Independent, http://www.gallupindependent.com)
MILAN, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico village's police chief has been reinstated while a village manager and two female employees who have alleged sexual harassment have been fired.
The Gallup Independent reports the Village of Milan Board of Trustees terminated Manager Paul Peña almost a month after he placed Police Chief Patrick Salazar on administrative leave.
Peña says he placed Salazar on administrative leave after two female employees of the Milan Police Department made allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, discrimination and hostile work environment. It was not known if Salazar was the target of their complaint.
But the board voted Thursday to fire Peña and reinstate Salazar pending an investigation. The board also appointed Carlos Vallejos as deputy police chief, who then fired the female employees.
Salazar says he's happy to be back.
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- STUN GUN-STUDENT
Mom of New Mexico high school student hit with stun gun sues
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The mother of a New Mexico high school student with special needs who was hit with a stun gun by a sheriff's deputy is suing.
The woman filed a lawsuit this week in the state's First Judicial District and accused the Rio Arriba County sheriff's deputy of assault, battery and false imprisonment of her 15-year-old boy.
The May 10 episode at Española Valley High School has attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and state Attorney General Hector Balderas.
According to a lapel video, Rio Arriba County sheriff's deputy Jeremy Barnes used a stun gun the boy after he refused to follow orders and called the deputy a homophobic slur.
Rio Arriba County Manager Tomas Campos declined to comment.
- IMMIGRATION-NEW MEXICO
New Mexico offers shelter, but dorms stay vacant
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — No migrants have stayed at state fairground dormitories in Albuquerque six weeks after New Mexico began offering the facilities as a possible temporary shelter for asylum seeking families.
Expo New Mexico spokeswoman Oona Gonzales on Wednesday said that the state remains on standby if the fairground dormitories are needed by migrants as they seek out their final destinations elsewhere in the U.S.
In May, a film production company briefly worked out of dormitories that are equipped for up to 60 people, but otherwise the dorms have been available.
New Mexico and Albuquerque last week filed suit against the Trump administration to stem the quick release of migrants that has strained public and charitable resources in southern New Mexico communities including Las Cruces and Deming.
- EMBEZZLEMENT SCHEME-SENTENCE
New Mexico woman gets prison term for $816K embezzlement
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico woman who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000 from her employer has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
Prosecutors say 54-year-old Lori Whitaker also must pay about $816,000 in restitution.
They say Whitaker changed her plea to guilty in May 2018 and was facing up to a 20-year prison sentence in the case.
Whitaker, a former resident of Carlsbad, was an office manager for the Otis Mutual Domestic Water Consumers and Sewage Works Association.
The non-profit association provides potable water and a wastewater system to more than 4,300 people in Otis, New Mexico.
Whitaker allegedly transmitted funds between March 2015 and February 2017 as part of a scheme to defraud the association.
Prosecutors say the 75 wired transactions ranged from $416 to nearly $16,000.
- MILITARY BASE-SPACE DEFENSE
US Air Force base gets upgrade for 'space defense'
(Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has begun construction on a facility at Kirtland Air Force Base that officials say will play a role in the proposed "space defense."
The Albuquerque Journal reports the Air Force Research Laboratory's $12.8 million Space Control Laboratory will consolidate efforts on the New Mexico base.
The new facility will include office and lab space for 65 civilian and military contractors. It will contain a 5,000 square-foot (1,524 square-meter) high-bay laboratory space and more than 5,000 square feet (1,524 square meters) of secure office, laboratory and meeting space.
Air Force Col. Eric Felt says space is now "a war-fighting domain."
President Donald Trump has proposed creating a new U.S. Space Force — a plan that has hit widespread resistance on Capitol Hill.
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- MIGRANT CHILDREN-SHELTER
Oklahoma base set for migrant site was WWII internment camp
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A U.S. Army base in Oklahoma that the federal government selected as a temporary shelter for migrant children also held hundreds in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
Historical data from the National Park Service and private organizations show Fort Sill was among at least 14 Army and Department of Justice facilities nationwide where Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants were interred. The Army's War Relocation Authority held about 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans in "relocation centers" during the war with Japan.
The president of Densho, an organization that documents history of the camps, says sites like Fort Sill should be closed, not reused.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement plans to house up to 1,400 migrant children at Fort Sill, near Lawton, Oklahoma . The base also served as a temporary shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in 2014.
- ALBUQUERQUE KILLING-DECAPITATION
Man arrested in Albuquerque killing of Native American woman
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque police have arrested a man in the 2017 killing of a Native American woman who was fatally stabbed and found decapitated in a ditch.
Police and court records say 31-year-old Andrew Garcia Jr. was arrested Monday and remained jailed Wednesday on suspicion of murder in the killing of 39-year-old Audra Wills.
Her death stirred concern among advocates for the homeless and Native American community in Albuquerque.
Police say two friends of Garcia, 30-year-old Eric Emerson and 33-year-old Damaris Marquez, were arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence. They're accused of disposing of Willis' body.
Court records don't list defense attorneys who could comment on the allegations.
Deputy Police Chief Art Gonzalez said the arrests capped "a long and arduous investigation" and he credited the lead detective for persevering.
- FLOOD WARNING-NEW MEXICO
Flood warning issued for San Juan River in New Mexico
BLOOMFIELD, N.M. (AP) — A flood warning is in effect along the San Juan River in rural northwestern New Mexico due to releases of runoff from Navajo Dam.
The National Weather Service said Wednesday its warning is in effect between Navajo Dam and Bloomfield in San Juan County until Thursday evening.
According to the weather service, that river was cresting Wednesday morning but was expected to gradually fall below flood stage.
The county Office of Emergency Management says there's a possibility of minor flooding that "it is not expected to be a great impact."
The office says it is discouraging recreational activities on the river due to swift flows, debris and impassible bridges.
The dam is 55 miles (65 kilometers) east of Farmington.