From the Las Vegas Optic Las Vegas Police are searching for a man investigators allege killed William “Skip” Smith Jr. in August 2019. An arrest warrant for Seig Isaac Chavez, 40, was issued following a lengthy investigation by LVPD. Chavez has been charged with first-degree murder and felony tampering with evidence in the stabbing death…
From the Las Vegas Optic Editor’s note: The following is Part 1 in a series. In the coming weeks, the Optic will explore drug and alcohol addiction in San Miguel and Mora counties, hear stories from police and prosecutors, health care providers and by those struggling with addiction. We’ll explore the roots of addiction, what’s…
From the Las Vegas Optic A Las Vegas man pleaded guilty to being intoxicated when he crashed a vehicle with four juvenile passengers on July 4, 2019. According to a plea agreement filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court, Alexander C. Crowell, 29, pleaded guilty to aggravated DWI, improper restraining of a child in a vehicle…
From the Las Vegas Optic A car horn disrupted the quiet July evening. Then came the gunshots. Three bullets that killed Leroy “Smurf” Lucero, leaving his wife without a husband, and his four children without their father. His violent death also shifted the focus of a nearly five-year-long FBI investigation to Las Vegas. That federal…
From the Las Vegas Optic Las Vegas City Schools illegally withheld documents and charged unlawful fees for access to public records, according to a determination letter issued Jan. 27 by the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. The OAG’s determination was issued in response to multiple violations of New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records…
From the Las Vegas Optic A Mora County woman allegedly punished a 6-year-old child routinely by punching him in the stomach, applying force to pressure points and forcing him to run laps and stay in stress positions, according to court documents. Taylor M. Ealey, 28, of Chacon, was arrested Jan. 15 and charged with felony…
From the Las Vegas Optic She was near the front door when the shot was fired. A single bullet pierced the man’s rib cage, just below his right armpit. “They got me,” 27-year-old Cruz Gallegos said as he stumbled past her, through the front door and into the darkness of the early June morning, hours…
From the Las Vegas Optic A disagreement over tools and methamphetamine ended with one man being treated for a gunshot wound and another man facing criminal charges. Kelvin L. Jeffrey, 27, was arrested Jan. 8 and charged with felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, as well as misdemeanor negligent use of a deadly weapon.…
From the Las Vegas Optic Police in Mora caught up with a wanted man late last month, 18 days after a warrant for his arrest was issued. Amadeo “Fred” Pino, 52, of Buena Vista, was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center Dec. 23, 2019 on multiple felony charges, including burglary, assault with a…
From the Las Vegas Optic An Albuquerque man is facing multiple felony charges following a 15-mile police chase that began near Ilfeld and ended with a crash in Chapelle. Pasqual R. Valenzuela Jr., 22, appeared in San Miguel Magistrate Court Dec. 27 to face several charges, including auto theft, fleeing law enforcement and possession of…
