Category: Articles

State Supreme Court upholds 2003 murder suspect’s extended commitment to NMBHI

State Supreme Court upholds 2003 murder suspect’s extended commitment to NMBHI

From the Las Vegas Optic On the evening of April 11, 2003, officers with the Las Vegas Police Department responded to a home on Sixth Street near Baca Avenue after receiving a call about a possible dead body. Those officers ultimately entered the home with a search warrant, and soon began investigating one of the…

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Police: Woman repeatedly rammed vehicle

Police: Woman repeatedly rammed vehicle

From the Las Vegas Optic A Mora woman intentionally rammed her vehicle into another vehicle — nearly hitting two men — fled the scene, then returned to ram the vehicle four more times, according to a criminal complaint filed in Mora Magistrate Court. Amity F. Maes, 29, was arrested March 15 and charged with two…

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Father charged in 2020 sexual assault of 5-year-old daughter

Father charged in 2020 sexual assault of 5-year-old daughter

From the Las Vegas Optic A Pecos man has been charged with criminal sexual contact with a minor, nearly a year after police were first notified of the sexual assault involving his 5-year-old daughter. Lester Ortiz, 45, was arrested March 12 and booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on one count of second-degree…

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Motive remains elusive as 14-year-old charged in Villanueva slayings

Motive remains elusive as 14-year-old charged in Villanueva slayings

From the Las Vegas Optic A 14-year-old Las Vegas boy has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the February killings of two men from Villanueva. Enrique Duran-Garcia was arrested March 8 in Albuquerque. During a March 10 detention hearing in District Court in Las Vegas, Duran-Garcia was ordered to be…

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Invoices show LVCS spends tens of thousands responding to records requests

Invoices show LVCS spends tens of thousands responding to records requests

From the Las Vegas Optic In the six-month period between Oct. 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, Las Vegas City Schools spent more than $38,000 in legal fees either responding to records requests, researching laws, redacting requests, pushing back against requests and complaints, or responding to the attorney general, according to invoices obtained by the…

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School district resists sharing documents with public, press

School district resists sharing documents with public, press

From the Las Vegas Optic In January 2020, Las Vegas City Schools Superintendent Larryssa Archuleta addressed the Board of Education with concerns about the number of requests for public records citizens and journalists had filed with the district. During that school year, according to Archuleta, the district had received 10 such requests. Archuleta’s concern, she…

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WLVS employee charged with possession of meth

WLVS employee charged with possession of meth

From the Las Vegas Optic A traffic stop resulted in a West Las Vegas Schools employee being arrested on charges of possessing methamphetamine and paraphernalia. Orlando L. Lefebre, 40, of Las Vegas, was arrested Feb. 26 following a traffic stop on Seventh Street in Las Vegas. Lefebre is the program specialist for WLV’s Consolidated Federal…

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Luna board extends interim president’s contract

Luna board extends interim president’s contract

From the Las Vegas Optic The search for a new president continues for Luna Community College, and in the meantime, Dr. Kenneth Patterson will continue to serve as the college’s interim president. The Luna Board of Trustees voted unanimously Friday afternoon to extend Patterson’s contract through June 30, or until “the presidential search is terminated.”…

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Suspect in murder of ‘Skip’ to remain jailed until trial

Suspect in murder of ‘Skip’ to remain jailed until trial

From the Las Vegas Optic The man charged in the stabbing death of 71-year-old William “Skip” Smith Jr. in the summer of 2019 will remain in jail until the case goes to trial, according to Fourth Judicial District Attorney Tom Clayton. Seig Isaac Chavez, 41, was arraigned in District Court on Monday, clearing the way…

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Mora moves to ‘green’ as San Miguel remains in the ‘yellow’

Mora moves to ‘green’ as San Miguel remains in the ‘yellow’

From the Las Vegas Optic Mora County moved to the “green” level of the state’s color-coded COVID-19 mapping system Wednesday, while San Miguel County will stay at the “yellow” level. Mora’s move from yellow to green means businesses and churches will be allowed to operate with fewer restrictions, while those in San Miguel County will…

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