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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Around the Metro Area


Journal Staff Report
       APS Didn't Violate Rights
    A judge has ruled that the former head of the Albuquerque Public Schools police department was an at-will employee, and that his due process rights were not violated when APS let his contract expire last summer.
    The parties to the lawsuit brought against APS by Gil Lovato met Wednesday, after U.S. District Court Judge William "Chip" Johnson threw out the due process charge earlier this month, said Lovato's attorney Sam Bregman. Other charges in the suit still stand.
    Lovato was on paid leave and being investigated for the first six months of 2007 due to allegations of favoritism, misuse of police property and mishandling of money collected as evidence.
    Lovato contends he lost his job because he complained to APS administrators about their decision to hire a private investigator to look into allegations against certain employees.
    Bregman said more motions will be filed and that he hopes to get the case before a jury.
    4 Men Arrested in Robbery
    Four men were arrested early Tuesday and charged with robbery after they allegedly assaulted a man and woman, forced the man to undress and made off with their vehicle.
    According to a criminal complaint, the victims were driving on Indiana SE when seven men approached the vehicle. The man got out of the car to see what they wanted, and some of the men started punching him and stripping off his clothes, according to the complaint.
    The men allegedly removed the victim's shoes, shirt and pants, which contained two cell phones, his car keys and his wallet. According to the complaint, the man got away and ran north on Indiana.
    The men then attacked the woman, who was still in the car, punching her in the face and pulling her out of the vehicle by her hair, according to the complaint. The female victim then ran east on Trumbull and saw the men drive away in the stolen vehicle, according to the complaint.
    The victims called police, and when police returned to the scene, they found four men in a courtyard on the 500 block of Indiana. The victims identified the men as their attackers, and the men were arrested.
    Jamar Reineke, 19, Michael Johnson, 24, Chris Griffin, 32, and Willie Russel, 22, were all arrested and charged with robbery and conspiracy. Police were still looking for the other three men involved.