Free Republic

Harold Medina, who severely injured a driver while fleeing a gunman, ordered a thorough investigation of his own conduct.The Albuquerque Police Department's Fleet Crash Review Board, which consists of four officers and a civilian, has unanimously deemed a February 17 accident involving Police Chief Harold Medina "non-preventable." That conclusion, a local TV station reports, "got some city councilors asking questions" during an Albuquerque City Council meeting on Wednesday night. It is not hard to see why. Medina severely injured the driver of a car that he broadsided with his unmarked, department-issued pickup truck after he ran a red light while...

The scandal has resulted in the dismissal of some 200 DWI cases, an internal probe, and an FBI investigation.On a Sunday evening last June, Albuquerque police officer Joshua Montaño pulled Carlos Smith over for speeding near the intersection of Central Avenue and Interstate 21. Smith was contrite. "I apologize," he says in a body camera video. "I was just trying to get over in the lane and get on the freeway. My bad." Smith got more than a speeding ticket. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI), even though two breath tests indicated that his blood alcohol concentration was...

A 33-year-old former jail guard in New Mexico has been arrested for allegedly killing the husband of the woman with whom he was having an affair, using his truck to intentionally run over the man as his wife looked on in horror. Christopher Facey was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with one count each of second-degree murder, accident involving death, and homicide by vehicle in the slaying of Guadalupe Maldonado, authorities announced. According to a news release from the Albuquerque Police Department, Facey met up with Maldonado’s wife in the parking lot of a dog park in the...

For those who don’t believe in a bureaucratic deep state, look no further than the outrageous conduct this week of the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board. Just who do these people think they are? Despite the majority of the air board being publicly fired Monday night by the Albuquerque City Council, the unelected air board is merrily moving along this week with a proposed regulation that advocates consider the “holy grail of environmental justice organizing,” but which business leaders consider a job-killer, military folks consider a national security threat and many others simply consider environmental extremism. The so-called Health,...

Proterra, which President Joe Biden once said was "making me look good," sold hundreds of electric buses to municipalities across North America. Every transit district Just The News spoke with, except one, has inoperable buses awaiting repairs. Across the country, towns and cities of various sizes envisioned an electrified public transit system that could shuttle residents with vehicles that produced no carbon-filled exhaust. Many of those communities purchased buses from Silicon Valley-based Proterra, which was able to produce 550 buses over its 19-year existence before it went bankrupt in August. The company announced last month it had concluded auctions as...

On Friday, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller (D) responded to Gov. Michell Lujan Grisham’s (D) amended order — banning concealed carry in city parks and playgrounds — by explaining the city of Albuquerque banned guns in city parks three years ago. He noted the ban is facing a lawsuit: Grisham issued her original order banning concealed and open carry in many New Mexico cities on September 8. Lawsuits were almost immediately filed against the order and on September 13, a Biden-appointed judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the ban on concealed and open carry.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's (D) illegal 30-day concealed and open carry ban is having trouble finding support in any of the other branches of the state government. Attorney General of New Mexico Raúl Torrez (D) wrote a letter to Lujan Grisham explaining his office will not defend her administration in lawsuits that have been filed against the the gun ban, saying it will not solve gun crime and it is unconstitutional. Though I recognize my statutory obligation as New Mexico’s chief legal officer to defend state officials when they are sued in their official capacity, my duty to...

The sheriff in New Mexico’s largest metro area has vowed not to enforce an emergency order by the governor to temporarily suspend the right to carry firearms in public in and around the city of Albuquerque

Visibly armed gun owners on Sunday afternoon courageously walked around Old Town, Albuquerque proudly displaying their firearms in defiance of Governor Grisham’s unconstitutional gun grab.People gathered around with their firearms while holding American flags and Gadsden flags. The gun owners spoke out against the governor’s order.According to Ford Fischer, a reporter on the scene, there was no police intervention.Police did not enforce a $5,000 fine for violators.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman made clear Saturday he will not be enforcing New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) 30-day ban on concealed carry. Breitbart News reported that Grisham issued the ban on Friday and it took effect Saturday, September 8, 2023. The ban bars the carrying of handguns in public and covers both open and concealed carry. It applies to cities like Albuquerque, which is located in Bernalillo County. Grisham’s ban applies to licensed concealed carriers.

When some of the most vocal anti-gun activists call out New Mexico’s governor for going off the reservation on her recent anti-gun order, you know it’s unhinged. It’s also illegal. In the wake of a series of shootings in Albuquerque, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham banned open and concealed carry for 30 days, using public health orders to enforce this ordinance (via AP): New Mexico governor declares gun violence a public health emergency https://t.co/FH09tdkbuf — KOAT.com (@koat7news) September 8, 2023 The Democratic governor said she is expecting legal challenges but felt compelled to act in response to gun deaths, including...

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced a new public health order that, she said, will ban people from carrying firearms, either open or concealed, in Albuquerque and throughout Bernalillo County for the next 30 days, regardless of whether they have a permit. Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, issued an executive order Thursday evening declaring gun violence a public health emergency. During a news conference Friday, she said she expects legal challenges to the public health order and expressed uncertainty about whether the order would prevail in court. The order states "no person, other than a law enforcement officer or licensed...

Second Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman said the justice system’s current approach to prosecuting shoplifting cases isn’t working, so his office is going to change its approach. Bregman on Tuesday announced that his office has started prosecuting all shoplifting cases, including misdemeanors, which began at the start of the month. With these attorneys now handling shoplifting cases, the plan will free up more officers who were previously having to prosecute shoplifting cases themselves. According to a news release from Bregman’s office, 40 to 70 misdemeanor shoplifting cases are going go through Metropolitan Court every month. “Residents of Bernalillo County have...

The family of a 23-year-old Albuquerque woman shot dead by a 13-year-old when she confronted the thieves who stole her car on Monday is calling for the "maximum sentence" for the teen. Sydney Wilson faced off with a 13-year-old suspect after she tracked her stolen car to a Smith's grocery store and gas station in Southwest Albuquerque using a GPS app, her family said. The teen shot her in response, according to KOAT Action News, and she was pronounced dead at the scene by Albuquerque police. The minor turned himself in to authorities two days later, per the outlet, and...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A male suspect was arrested on Wednesday after disguising himself as a woman during a SWAT standoff. Agents from the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office responded to Mission Hill Apartments on Menaul Boulevard NE to arrest David Flores after locating him. After refusing to leave a residence, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office SWAT team responded to assist in the arrest. Flores attempted to use a disguise to appear as a female, according to a Facebook post on Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman's account. Photos in the post show Flores wearing a wig and pink top....

The Taos County Sheriff's Office has offered safety tips for campers in the area due to a Bigfoot warning. The tips are the "do's and don'ts" if you happen to encounter one. The warning states that the species are coming down from the high country to the Kern River to hunt for fish and vegetation. If you happen to see one, here's what they are saying to do: Do's Go about your business Take photos documenting the event Don'ts Do not run toward or away from Bigfoot Do not yell Do not try to feed Bigfoot The sheriff's office also...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. wildlife managers on Friday proposed federal protections for a rare lizard found only in parts of one of the world’s most lucrative oil and natural gas basins. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the dunes sagebrush lizard should be listed as an endangered species due to the ongoing threats of energy development, mining and climate change in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. The agency will be collecting public comments on the proposed listing through Sept. 1. Environmentalists have been pushing for protections for the reptile for decades, resulting in petitions and lawsuits. There...

The disturbing moment an alleged child rapist was found with six children in his car after being pulled over for drunk driving with his pants unbuttoned was captured in bodycam footage. Jeremy Guthrie, 42, was stopped by New Mexico state police last year after he was seen swerving in and out of lanes in in Albuquerque, but what officers found was much darker than a DWI case. Recently unearthed police cam video of the arrest shows a sloppy and slurring Guthrie claiming the six children in his vehicle are 'his friends.' He is seen struggling to find his documents when...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White and his son recently traveled nearly 6,000 miles to Ukraine for work to dig up landmines. KOAT first told you about the story at the beginning of April Advertisement White has since returned from his 10-day trip to Ukraine, and KOAT’s John Cardinale had the opportunity to sit down with him about his experience. "It's unsettling. It's eye-opening. And at the same time, it's heartbreaking,” White said. “We see the images on TV, but that is nothing until you see it firsthand. It's estimated that because of the war, Ukraine now...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque Police says a former New Mexico House candidate who lost his election in November is now accused of conspiring to shoot at the homes of four Albuquerque lawmakers in December and January. The department made the announcement late Monday afternoon, saying Solomon Peña is accused of shooting at the homes of two Democratic Bernalillo County commissioners and two Democratic state lawmakers. A 39-year-old Republican, Peña ran and lost the race for House District 14 in the November 2022 election. APD arrested Peña during a SWAT situation Monday afternoon near downtown Albuquerque. Albuquerque Police Chief Harold...