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…
From the Las Vegas Optic An 18-year-old Las Vegas man has been charged with raping a 15-year-old girl at his west side home. Ivan Trujillo, 18, was arrested Feb. 12 and was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center, charged with second-degree criminal sexual penetration. The girl told police she was running on a…
From the Las Vegas Optic Las Vegas police have named the man who shot and killed 27-year-old Leroy Salazar, and the department has offered a possible motive, but to date, charges have not been filed and the investigation continues. LVPD received a call of shots fired the evening of Jan. 18 and responded to Salazar’s…
From the Las Vegas Optic A city employee has been placed on leave and charged with a felony after threatening another city worker with a handgun while the two men were working at a job site. Manuel A. Sanchez, 21, of Las Vegas, has been charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly…
From the Las Vegas Optic A Springer man accused of shooting at a New Mexico State Police officer in Las Vegas last month will be held without bond until trial. Two women have also been arrested and charged as accomplices, according to court records. Shaun A. Kemp, 22, was arrested in Raton on Jan. 30…
From the Las Vegas Optic The snowy evening of Jan. 18 ended in violence when 27-year-old Leroy Phillip Salazar was shot outside his home near Seventh Street and Mountain View Drive. By morning, Salazar was dead and a second man had been transported to a hospital in Albuquerque to be treated for injuries related to…
From the Las Vegas Optic Alta Vista Regional Hospital is seeking payment of more than $2.6 million from San Miguel County for health care services provided to incarcerated inmates at the San Miguel County Detention Center. The county denies it owes that amount, and asserts it shouldn’t be billed for inmates’ health care at all,…
From the Las Vegas Optic A man charged with committing violent robberies is receiving court-ordered treatment for addiction while his girlfriend, who is also charged in a number of robberies, has been arrested again. Brian J. Sandoval, 19, and Adamina R. Esquibel, 20, who were both arrested in October, have since been released from jail…
From the Las Vegas Optic Editor’s note: The following is part four of a series exploring the role street gangs, prison gangs and organized crime play in violence, drug trafficking and addiction within Las Vegas and its surrounding communities. The summer of 2019 was a violent one in Las Vegas. By early August, four people…
From the Las Vegas Optic By Phil Scherer and Ryan Lowery Local school districts remain unsure whether they will return to the classroom in early February, following Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s announcement Tuesday that districts would have the option to return to the classroom during her annual State of the State address. Most schools have…
