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Saturday, October 31, 2009
Around New Mexico
Toddler Found Alone Outside
An Albuquerque couple was arrested early Friday after the woman's 2-year-old blind son was found wandering outside in the cold wearing only light pajamas, according to a criminal complaint.
The boy was cold and lethargic when he was found about 3 a.m. He couldn't walk.
Residents at an apartment complex in the 4300 block of Washington NE saw the boy outside crying and called police. The temperature was 31 degrees when police got to him, the complaint said.
He was recovering at University of New Mexico Hospital.
Police located the boy's mother, 35-year-old Tricia Haar, at her apartment. She and her boyfriend, 33-year-old Benjamin Lucero, were "extremely intoxicated," according to the complaint.
Both were arrested and charged with misdemeanor child abandonment.
Outward Bound Seeks Veterans
Outward Bound, a national outdoor adventure and education organization, is looking for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to participate in expenses-paid wilderness expeditions.
The expeditions are designed to provide positive outdoor experiences for veterans that can help them heal while giving them a quality environmental education.
The five- to seven-day trips are physically, mentally and emotionally challenging, but they build the self-confidence, trust and communication skills needed to transition from wartime service to civilian life, according to a news release.
They may include backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, dog-sledding, sailing, sea kayaking and whitewater rafting. Dates are available year-round in a variety of states.
There is no cost to participants, and funding is provided by the Military Family Outdoor Initiative Project, a joint project of the Sierra Club and the Sierra Club Foundation. A medical screening is required.
For more information, visit www.outwardbound.org/veterans or call 866-669-2362.
Man Guilty in Attack on Guards
CLOVIS — A 29-year-old man has been convicted of attempted murder in an attack on jail guards at the Curry County Detention Center.
Guadalupe Urquizo was also found guilty of aggravated battery on a peace officer and possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner.
District Attorney Matthew Chandler says that on Oct. 24, 2008, Urquizo attacked two jail guards with a 7-inch metal shank when they tried to retrieve a food tray from his cell.
Other guards responded and restrained Urquizo. The two injured officers were treated at Plains Regional Medical Center.
Chandler says jurors deliberated for less than an hour. rquizo faces up to 24 years in prison.
State Severs MVD Contractor
SANTA FE — The state has temporarily terminated its relationship with an Albuquerque-based private Motor Vehicle Division contractor after one of its employees was suspected of issuing titles and registrations for stolen vehicles.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department searched the offices of New Mexico Registration Services Inc. on Thursday and seized computers and other equipment used for issuing vehicle titles and registrations.
Secretary Rick Homans of the State Taxation & Revenue Department, which oversees the MVD, said department officials are "deeply troubled" by allegations against the firm.
Homan said that to protect the integrity and confidentiality of MVD customers, the state severed all ties to the company and terminated its access to a state database.
Trial Date Set in Abuse Case
LAS CRUCES — A Las Cruces couple charged in the death of a baby in their care will go on trial March 8 in state District Court.
Doña Ana County authorities said 37-year-old Reynaldo Daniel Holguin and 23-year-old Viola Jimenez were arrested after 4-month-old Isaiah Lawrence Jimenez died in August.
Investigators said they found bruises on the baby's right and left inner biceps area and swelling of the brain.
Holguin is charged with felony child abuse resulting in death, and Jimenez with witness intimidation and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A conviction on Holguin's charge is punishable by life in prison.
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