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SANTA FE (KRQE) - A unique solution to a shortage of gift cards and a big mistake led to the personal information of dozens who participated in Santa Fe's gun buyback program open to the public. "It shouldn't have happened, but it did," said Santa Fe Police Department Chief Raymond Rael. "I apologize on behalf of the city, I don't think that information should've been out there."

The city is paying $100 for long guns (rifles, shotguns and the like), $150 for handguns, and $200 for any armament considered an assault weapon. On Jan. 12, the program netted 194 guns. On Saturday, it had garnered about 115 hand guns and at least 95 long guns by 2 p.m., with still an hour to go before closing. -------------------------------cut----------------------- Outside the police station, a group of four or five men gathered to offer cash to people who were bringing guns in. One man in the group said they did not wish to be identified, but said that they were...

FReeper Rogle, former New Mexico State Representative Rory Ogle, will be removed from life support this morning. He is not expected to live.

On 9 February, 2013, the Santa Fe Police Department collected 224 guns turned in to it for Visa gift cards. The cards were worth $150 for handguns, $100 for long guns, and $200 for "high capacity or assault" weapons. The police scared off a number of people who wished to offer more money than the police would give in prepaid visa cards. What legal authority the police had to do this is unknown. Another gun turn in will be held on the ninth of March. Dean Weingarten

Government prosecutors argued against granting bond to Deming, N.M., gun dealer Rick Reese and his son Ryin, painting them as dangerous risks for release, court documents received this evening by Gun Rights Examiner reveal. United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, nominated by President Obama last November to serve on the U.S. District Court in the District of New Mexico, filed a supplement to the defendant’s motion for release in that court last Tuesday, citing an affidavit he claimed contained “statements relevant to the motion. “[T]hey highlight the Defendants release still pose a danger to the community,” Gonzales wrote in the...

This week the Reese family continues to wait for Rick and Ryin to be released from jail pursuant to Judge Brack’s Memorandum Opinion and Order last week granting a new trial. Underscoring the decision are allegations that Luna County Sheriff Deputy Alan Batts may have had incentive to lie under oath. Rick and Terri Reese and their two sons, Ryin and Remington Reese were arrested in August 2011. They were charged with 30 counts of criminal activity related to making false statements in connection with the sale of firearms, international weapons trafficking related to smuggling weapons to the Mexican cartel,...

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Police say a serial burglar, who has been arrested 37 times, was shot by a homeowner in northwest Albuquerque Sunday morning. Authorities say the homeowner heard a loud bang and then his alarm go off. After arming himself with a gun the homeowner says he saw the burglar at the top of his stairs and shot at him twice, hitting him once. Police say the burglar will survive his wounds. That burglar has been identified as Richard Garcia, 43, a man with a very long history of home and vehicle burglaries. Court records show he's been prosecuted...

In addition to granting conditional release to Rick and Ryin Reese, the two remaining members of a New Mexico gun dealer family still behind bars after 18 months incarceration, Judge Robert C. Brack of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico has also granted a motion for a new trial, a Memorandum and Opinion Order filed today mandates. “This matter came before the Court on Defendants’ Motion for a New Trial … and Motion for Release on Conditions Pending Sentencing,” the order states. “On January 28, 2013, the Court held a hearing on these motions. Having...

Despite two orders from an obviously irked New Mexico U.S. District Court judge that the Reese family will be given a new trial and that father Rick and son Reese are to be released on bond, the pair remain behind bars this weekend because monitoring devices required by the order are not on hand, sources close to the case have confirmed to Gun Rights Examiner. “Yes, bail money is good for now,” the source reveled, explaining “relatives, good friends and well-wishers have donated to the defense fund. “They are waiting for the ankle monitors to get in for the release....

After 18 months behind bars, Rick and Ryin Reese have been granted bond today, Judge Robert C. Brack of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico ruled. They are the last two members of a New Mexico gun dealer family jailed for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members, but who were found not guilty on the most serious charges of conspiracy and had money laundering charges against them dismissed. They were convicted on a handful of lesser charges of making false statements on forms, basically under the presumption that they should have know federal agents...

A court order filed yesterday and obtained by Gun Rights Examiner in the case of U.S. vs. Reese has denied a motion by the prosecution to seal a hearing from the public. Defendants Rick and Terri Reese and son Ryin, New Mexico gun dealers jailed for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members, and who have since had conspiracy and money laundering charges against them dismissed, have filed a motion for a new trial after being convicted of, as Jeff Knox of the Firearms Coalition described it, “the comparatively minor charge of lying on gun sales forms -- even though...

I've made it easy for you to contact your New Mexico legislative representatives and TELL THEM TO OPPOSE a 'Sweeping Gun Control Measure In Santa Fe.' Use the following links/resources to: 1) find your New Mexico state senator and house rep and contact them via email, phone, and/or snail-mail; 2) use sample letter text; and, 3) contact every member of the New Mexico House Judiciary Committee because they're holding a public hearing Monday on the "Sweeping Gun Control Measure": 1) Find your reps' contact info Find your state house representative; and,Find your state senator 2) Use sample letter text I...

... To be clear, our family has differing views on gun rights and gun control. What we do agree on is that those who wish to score political points should not use a confused, misguided, 15-year old boy to make their case. We ask those in the media and those who would use the media to make their political case, to not use Nehemiah as a pawn for ratings or to score political points. He is a troubled young man who made a terrible decision that will haunt him and his family forever. ... These are the words of...

SANTA FE -- State Rep. Cathrynn Brown, reversing herself based on her constituents' wishes, said Wednesday she will introduce a bill requiring identification to vote. Brown, R-Carlsbad, had said only two weeks ago that she would not offer a voter ID bill this session because it had no chance to pass. "I changed my mind after hearing from my constituents," she said in an interview. "The prevailing view is that election integrity is too important not to do anything."

What started as a motion to release a former New Mexico gun dealer and his son from jail until their sentencing date for federal gun form convictions will turn into a request for a new trial, a source close to the case and courtroom observer of yesterday’s hearing in the United States District Court in Las Cruces, N.M., has informed Gun Rights Examiner. Another report, filed today by consistently informed and reliable chroniclers of the case, documents due process violations via information withheld from the defense, and reveals a key government witness against the family is himself under investigation. Rick...

Lawyers for Rick and Ryin Reese, New Mexico gun dealers imprisoned without bail for well over a year, “filed a motion to release them until their sentencing date,” a source close to the case informed supporters this morning. “The motion is set for [a hearing on] Tuesday, December 18, 2012, at 10:30 a.m. in the Federal Courthouse in Judge Brack's courtroom,” the source announced. “Anyone who can attend would be WONDERFUL,” the source continued. “If you can't be there, please keep us in your prayers for release of the guys after 477 days in jail.” “The Reese family, facing up...

Additional information investigated this afternoon by Gun Rights Examiner provided by a source close to the Reese case in Las Cruces, N.M., points to further questions about testimony given in that case, as well as further circumstantial tie-ins to two other high-profile gun trafficking cases. The Reese family were Deming gun dealers who were alleged to have knowingly sold guns to straw purchasers acting on behalf of Mexican cartels, arrested, imprisoned, had their assets seized, and who have since had conspiracy and money laundering charges against them dismissed. Sentencing for their August convictions for “making false statements” still has not...

Barack Obama has nominated U.S. Attorney for New Mexico Ken Gonzales to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge. This nomination is particularly significant because Gonzales was the U.S. attorney who oversaw the investigation, arrest and prosecution of the Reese family. At the time of the Reese’s arrest, Gonzales had the audacity to release a statement saying, “Those who sell firearms knowing that they will be illegally smuggled into Mexico to arm Mexican cartels share responsibility for the violence that has been devastating Mexico.” So far, he has not called for the prosecution of any of the federal agents or...

It's no secret that there are a lot of concealed carry permit (CCW) holders in New Mexico. As of the last count there are 22,000 licensees in the state according to: Legally Armed. Thanks to Governor Bill Richardson the law was passed and even our state's current governor, Susanna Martinez packs heat and has her CCW license. See the New Mexico Concealed Carry Act HERE. After all this is the Wild, Wild West and known acclaimed outlaws like "Billy the Kid" have been known to frequent these parts. Let's face it Guns and the Frontier way are a part of...

Hover over Google's state map at link.