Crime & Courts
Piecing it together: Picture of June homicide takes shape as DA continues investigation
| Jan. 21, 2020 :: 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 before sunrise. The shooter then pointed the gun at her…. READ MORE
Federal agency alleges someone within LVPD aided drug trafficker
| Sept. 24, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
For more than a year, the Drug Enforcement Administration has been investigating, and attempting to disrupt, the flow of illegal drugs into Las Vegas, a search warrant affidavit filed in U.S. District Court shows…. READ MORE
Smoking Gun: Man ID’d in 2018 deadly shooting remains free
| Dec. 13, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
On a cold Sunday morning, just 21 days into 2018, the sound of gunfire shattered the peace in a small west side neighborhood nestled between Luis E. Armijo Elementary and an Allsup’s convenience store. A man reported the incident to police dispatchers at 10:44 a.m. “There’s been a shooting. They just killed someone,” the caller told a dispatch operator…. READ MORE
A summer of secrets: Police provide little information on multiple homicides, while skirting state law | Sept. 13, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Following a particularly violent summer, the Las Vegas Police Department is investigating four homicides and one non-fatal shooting. To date, charges have been filed in just one case. Police have provided the public with very little information on these incidents, and have denied three open records requests… READ MORE
AG determines PD, city violated sunshine laws
| Jan. 14, 2020 :: Las Vegas Optic
The City of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Police Department violated state law, according to determinations issued last week by the Office of the Attorney General. In a series of determination letters sent to city officials, the OAG concluded that the City of Las Vegas violated portions of both the Inspection of Public Records Act and the Open Meetings Act, and warned the city that continued violations could result in criminal charges… READ MORE
Federal warrant names suspects in Las Vegas homicides
| Sept. 20, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
A recently unsealed search warrant filed in U.S. District Court shines some light on a deadly summer in Las Vegas…. READ MORE
July homicide drew FBI attention to Las Vegas
| Sept. 27, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Agents and officers from several law enforcement agencies executed more than 20 search warrants on Sept. 19, raiding multiple homes and one business in Las Vegas. The raids were part of a federal investigation that began nearly five years ago, but recently-unsealed court documents reveal that Las Vegas wasn’t a target of the investigation until the July 22 slaying of Leroy “Smurf” Lucero…. READ MORE
Man breaks into Plaza Hotel to steal TV, take shower
| Aug. 8, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
A Las Vegas man’s getaway wasn’t clean, but at least he was. Las Vegas Police say 30-year-old Ignacio E. Gallegos broke into a room at the Plaza Hotel, apparently took a shower, then removed a 50-inch television from the wall… READ MORE
Beloved Northern New Mexico singer killed in Santa Fe shooting
| July 12, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Award-winning singer and songwriter Ernestine Romero and her husband, Jessie Saucedo, were found dead in Santa Fe Thursday afternoon. Romero had just celebrated her birthday a day before… READ MORE
One dead, one in custody following weekend shootings
| Aug. 6, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Las Vegas Police responded to two shootings Saturday — a half hour apart — that left one man dead and a second in the hospital. The latest violence marks the city’s fourth shooting and third unsolved homicide in seven weeks…. READ MORE
Man shot, killed outside Las Vegas home
| July 30, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Las Vegas Police are investigating the city’s second homicide in just over four weeks. According to LVPD, 48-year-old Leroy “Smurf” Lucero, of Las Vegas, was shot and killed around 11:30 p.m on Monday, July 22… READ MORE
Police confirm victim in June homicide, seek unknown suspect
| July 18, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Police have identified the man shot and killed inside a home on the city’s west side, more than a month after the slaying took place… READ MORE
Affidavit: Vegas man stole electronics from WLV Head Start program
| July 11, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
A Las Vegas man is facing 36 criminal charges, including 18 felonies, after police say he broke into West Las Vegas Schools’ Head Start buildings and stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of electronics and tools… READ MORE
Several Las Vegans nabbed in federal drug trafficking investigation
| Sept. 26, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Twelve homes and a bank in the Las Vegas area were raided last week as federal authorities executed search warrants targeting drug traffickers and a well-known New Mexico prison gang… READ MORE
Suspect in Rociada slaying held without bond
| Nov. 28, 2018 :: Las Vegas Optic
The man accused of shooting and killing a Rociada man will remain in jail as he awaits trial. William Daniels, 60, was charged in the slaying of 46-year-old Roman Latimer Lucero after the two men got into an argument… READ MORE
Man held on murder charges following fatal shooting of Rociada man
| Oct. 29, 2018 :: Las Vegas Optic
A man is being held without bond following the fatal shooting of 46-year-old Roman Lucero of Rociada. William R. Daniels, 60, was arrested Saturday night following an investigation by New Mexico State Police and is being held at the San Miguel County Detention Center on an open count of second-degree murder…. READ MORE
Children taken from couple living in van
| Oct. 5, 2018 :: Las Vegas Optic
New Mexico State Police recently arrested a man and a woman on charges of child abuse after finding two children in a van with drug paraphernalia…. READ MORE
Police identify man killed in recent shooting
| Aug. 7, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
Las Vegas Police have identified the man killed last week following two shootings within minutes of each other. Marcos “Mark” L. Carrillo, 42, of Montezuma, died of a single gunshot wound…. READ MORE
Las Vegas man arrested on sex abuse charges
| Sept. 22, 2018 :: Las Vegas Optic
A Las Vegas man has been charged with felony criminal penetration and child abuse following a disturbance at a home in Las Vegas early Thursday morning…. READ MORE
Apparent road rage incident ends with 15-year-old shot in the head
| Jan. 29, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
A high-speed car chase through the streets of west Las Vegas culminated in a 15-year-old boy being airlifted to Albuquerque with a gunshot wound to the head… READ MORE
One Way Out: July homicide tied to violent New Mexico prison gang
| Feb. 14, 2020 :: 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…. READ MORE
One man dead in Mora double shooting
| Oct. 3, 2019 :: Las Vegas Optic
New Mexico State Police are investigating a double shooting in Mora that left a man dead and sent another to the hospital. NMSP identified the man killed as Jermain R. Jennings of Rio Rancho, and according to a criminal complaint filed in Mora Magistrate Court, the man wounded was his husband, Ben Montoya Jr., also of Rio Rancho…. READ MORE
