Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 111
An email from a Curry County jail captain reports an investigation into a June 27 fight was almost complete by noon on June 29. A Curry County commissioner wants to know how that's possible if the jail administrator did not request an investigation until at least June 29 as county officials have indicated. "There's been a huge cover-up," Commissioner Robert Sandoval said after learning of the email from Capt. Keith Farkas to County Manager Lance Pyle. The email was among more than 200 county officials released last week in... Full story
A BNSF Railway train enters a train crossing Tuesday on County Road R. Curry County commissioners on a 4-1 vote Tuesday approved closing a chunk of Curry Road R between U.S. 60-84 and County Road 7 because of security concerns at Cannon Air Force Base. The decision was questioned by Commissioners Frank Blackburn and Robert Sandoval as well as some angry landowners, who charged the county ignored their concerns. Additionally, Clovis attorney Quentin Ray said there is a... Full story
At issue: Grand juries and how the secret panels are selected in Curry and Roosevelt counties. On one side, the defense lawyers who make a living challenging the system. On the other side, District Court Chief Judge Teddy Hartley and District Attorney Matt Chandler who say the system is fair. The defense lawyers say dozens of pending criminal cases could be in jeopardy because the district court has failed to follow state law for excusing grand jurors. Among the cases in question, the high profile murder trial of longtime and... Full story
Former DeBaca County Administrator MelindaJoy Pattison is the new interim executive director of the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico, the organization's board announced Thursday. Food bank board President Allan Isbell of Clovis said Pattison will temporarily fill the position held by Nancy Taylor, who died unexpectedly Aug. 2. Isbell said the decision to offer Pattison the position was approved at the board's meeting Tuesday. "Ms. Pattison has experience working within local and state governments as well as serving on the...
A former school resource police officer accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met at Portales High School has a new bond. Magistrate Judge Richard Hollis set Victor Castillo's bond at $100,000 cash only Friday at a hearing dominated with concerns about the one-time officer's mental state. District Attorney Matt Chandler told Hollis that he and defense attorney Kirk Chavez had concerns Castillo was a danger to himself. Chandler added he also was concerned Castillo was a danger to his victim, the public and members...
A former school resource police officer accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met at Portales High School has a new bond. Magistrate Judge Richard Hollis set Victor Castillo's bond at $100,000 cash only Friday at a hearing dominated with concerns about the one-time officer's mental state. District Attorney Matt Chandler told Hollis that he and defense attorney Kirk Chavez had concerns Castillo was a danger to himself. Chandler added he also was concerned Castillo was a danger to his victim, the public and members...
A Portales woman arrested and jailed for an overdue library book filed suit against the city Thursday in 9th Judicial District Court. The lawsuit filed by Lori Martinez, also known as Lori Teel, asks for unspecified monetary damages and a court injunction to stop the city and Portales Municipal Court from issuing criminal warrants to collect library fines. Martinez's attorney Eric Dixon said that immediately after news accounts of his client's arrest made international headlines, the city dismissed charges against her and... Full story
A Portales woman arrested and jailed for an overdue library book filed suit against the city Thursday in 9th Judicial District Court. The lawsuit filed by Lori Martinez, also known as Lori Teel, asks for unspecified monetary damages and a court injunction to stop the city and Portales Municipal Court from issuing criminal warrants to collect library fines. Martinez's attorney Eric Dixon said that immediately after news accounts of his client's arrest made international headlines, the city dismissed charges against her and...
A Curry County jail inmate was discovered bloody and beaten shortly after noon on March 29. That's when another inmate "buzzed in to control and stated 'you better get me out of this pod before I kill someone.'" The report detailing the incident was released by county officials on Wednesday in response to a Clovis News Journal public records request. According to the reports: - Inmates Terry Damron and Joseph Steward were in the same cell. - Damron told jail staff Steward snapped and "he (Steward) untwisted (a) broom handle...
A proposed $1.9 billion Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB) by Curry County for the Tres Amigas project doesn't pose any financial or legal liability for the county, a trio of financial experts said Monday. County commissioners are meeting in special session at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Clovis-Carver Public Library annex to consider adopting a resolution stating the county intends to approve the bond. Called an inducement resolution, it will enable Tres Amigas to begin ordering equipment to build its plant without having to pay... Full story
The June 27 assault of Jaime Perez may not have been the first time this year an inmate has used a broom handle to beat another inmate at the Curry County jail. Clovis attorney Marna Trammell said Monday that her client Terry Damron was attacked and beaten in the jail March 26 by another inmate. Trammell said the inmate "with a broom handle ... struck Inmate Damron about the head and body" causing "serious physical injury and emotional damage as a result of said beating." Trammell filed notice of a pending lawsuit on the coun...
Curry County voters won't see a $9 million jail bond issue on the ballot for the second time this year. County Commission Chairman Wendell Bostwick's push to place the once-defeated issue on the November ballot was tabled Tuesday after it became clear he couldn't muster majority support during a long and lively 4 1/2-hour commission session. Also during Tuesday's meeting, Bostwick's request to boost the salary of elected officials by almost 14 percent got trimmed backed to a 3 percent raise, jail Administrator Gerry Billy... Full story
Telephone conversations recorded at the Curry County jail show Louis Guerra telling his mother he beat up Jaime Perez last month after jail staff placed the two in the same pod of cells. The conversations — two calls Guerra placed the morning after the fight — are part of a new seven-page report released by county officials Wednesday in response to a CNJ request under the state's Inspection of Public Records Act. In the first call at 11:05 a.m., Guerra tells his mother he got...
A Clovis man pleaded guilty to murder and other felony charges Friday, three days before he was set to face a jury trial for gunning down Daniel Perez last year in a drive-by shooting. Louis Guerra District Attorney Matt Chandler said he accepted a request from Louis Guerra — charged with first-degree murder — to plead to second-degree murder, shooting from a moving vehicle, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of tampering with evidence. Chandler said Guerra fac... Full story
The lawyer representing accused child killer Noe Torres is asking District Judge Donna Mowrer to set aside Torres' grand jury murder indictment. In a motion filed Wednesday, Attorney Kirk Chavez alleges grand jury selection in Curry County is tainted because the District Court has allowed members of District Attorney Matt Chandler's staff to select and excuse grand jury members at will. Chavez made the same charges in another murder case last year and they were rejected by Ninth Judicial District Chief Judge Teddy Hartley.... Full story
The lawyer representing accused child killer Noe Torres is asking District Judge Donna Mowrer to set aside Torres' grand jury murder indictment. In a motion filed Wednesday, Attorney Kirk Chavez alleges grand jury selection in Curry County is tainted because the District Court has allowed members of District Attorney Matt Chandler's staff to select and excuse grand jury members at will. Chavez made the same charges in another murder case last year and they were rejected by Ninth Judicial District Chief Judge Teddy Hartley....
An emotional plea from accused child killer and longtime fugitive Noe Torres to remain jailed in Clovis and be close to his family was rejected Wednesday by District Judge Donna Mowrer. CNJ staff photo: Tony Bullocks District attorney Matt Chandler explains Wednesday to Judge Donna Mowrer why Noe Torres should not be released on bond at Torres' arraignment. Appearing via video at his arraignment on murder charges, Torres, his voice choking, asked Mowrer to reconsider an order...
An emotional plea from accused child killer and longtime fugitive Noe Torres to remain jailed in Clovis and be close to his family was rejected Wednesday by District Judge Donna Mowrer. CNJ staff photo: Tony Bullocks District attorney Matt Chandler explains Wednesday to Judge Donna Mowrer why Noe Torres should not be released on bond at Torres' arraignment. Appearing via video at his arraignment on murder charges, Torres, his voice choking, asked Mowrer to reconsider an order... Full story
Not front page coverage of a jail fight. Not a star witness possibly changing his testimony. Not even the question of evidence from the victim's pocket will stop Louis Guerra's murder trial from taking place next week in Clovis. CNJ staff photo: Tony Bullocks Louis Guerra, left, is led away after his court appearance Wednesday in front of Judge Donna Mowrer while his attorney, James Klipstine, of Hobbs watches. Guerra was denied a change of venue and continuance for his...
An emotional plea from accused child killer Noe Torres to remain jailed in Clovis and be close to his family was rejected Wednesday by District Judge Donna Mowrer. Appearing via video at his arraignment on murder charges, Torres, his voice choking, asked Mowrer to reconsider an order signed earlier this week that places him in a state prison instead of the troubled Curry County jail. CNJ staff photo: Tony Bullocks Noe Torres, right, pleads Wednesday with Judge Donna Mowrer to let him stay in the Curry County Detention Center...
Curry County Undersheriff Wesley Waller said Thursday that the criminal investigation into last week's assault at the jail ended with felony charges filed against inmate Louis Guerra. Waller said any other issues at the jail are considered administrative and will be up to county officials to resolve. County officials have declined to answer multiple questions about the assault, including: - How did a murder suspect — Guerra — end up in the same jail pod as the victim's brother, who witnessed the slaying; - Why did Guerra hav...
Louis Guerra told investigators he believes authorities set him up to attack Jaime Perez by placing the two in adjacent cells last week at the Curry County jail. Louis Guerra The allegations are contained in documents filed Monday in magistrate court, charging Guerra, 31, with felony aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and felony retaliation against a witness. The charges stem from a June 27 attack at the jail. Guerra was in the jail awaiting trial for the killing of...
A witness in a homicide case was assaulted and injured Wednesday by the suspect in the same case after the two were mistakenly placed in the same pod of cells at the Curry County Adult Detention Center, Administrator Gerry Billy confirmed Thursday. Officials said Jaime Perez was taken to Plains Regional Medical Center for treatment and later returned to the jail after an altercation with Louis Guerra. Guerra is accused in the 2011 shooting death of Daniel Perez in Clovis. Undersheriff Wesley Waller wrote in an email that Jaim... Full story
Curry County Commission Chairman Wendell Bostwick's push to place an already voter-rejected $9.3 million jail bond issue on the Nov. 6 general election ballot is receiving mixed reviews from other commissioners. Voters defeated the same bond issue in an April special election. While Commissioner Frank Blackburn thinks asking voters again in November is "a good idea," Commissioner Robert Sandoval isn't convinced. "I know we need it. We need it tomorrow," Sandoval said Wednesday. "I'm really not sure that this November is the...
A Tucumcari city commissioner's concerns about a proposed drought management plan for the Ute Lake Reservoir were cut short Thursday by former Clovis Mayor Gayla Brumfield. Brumfield, who chairs the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, told Tucumcari Commissioner Robert Lumpkin his concerns about water levels at reservoir should be saved for a July steering committee hearing on the plan. The steering committee meets July 19 at Portales City Hall to hammer out details of the plan. Lumpkin has long advocated...
