Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
A Curry County grand jury handed down first degree murder indictments Friday afternoon in the double homicide of Wesley Griest and Alex Rodriguez on Feb. 28.
According to 9th Judicial District Attorney Brett Carter, the grand jury indicted Dominic L. Murphy, 25, of Clovis, on two counts of first degree murder and tampering with evidence, as well as one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and bribery of a witness.
Murphy will come before Judge Robert Brack for an arraignment within 15 days. Arrested on April 29, Murphy is currently held in the Curry County Adult Detention Center on a $100,000 cash only bond.
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A Parmer County grand jury decided Tuesday that evidence now available doesn’t justify charging the parents of an infant who died in Bovina, according to Parmer County Sheriff Andy Geries.
According to Texas 287th District Attorney Johnny Actkinson, Fidencio Fierro, 26, and Amanda Garcia, 20, were initially charged with second-degree felony endangerment after their baby, Xavier Fierro, became entangled in a set of blinds near the infant’s bed and died on May 10. That charge carried a possible sentence of two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Both Garcia and Fierro remained free after each posted $10,000 bond.
“(The grand jury) heard the case and at the end of the case they simply passed and made no decision one way or another,” Geries said. “(Passing) gives them the opportunity to look at it again. They will allow investigators and other information to be presented later.”
Geries said the next regularly scheduled grand jury meeting will be in August, though a special session could be held earlier if an urgent case came up.
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Four local police agencies received more than $7,300 in 2002 through federal grants to purchase bulletproof vests, according to U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, a co-sponsor of the legislation that authorized the grant program.
Those communities include the Texico Police Department which received $2,350 to purchase four vests; the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office which received $524 for one vest; the Logan Police Department which received $549 for two vests; and the DeBaca County Sheriff’s Office which received $3,950 for seven vests.
According to federal rules, the federal government pays half of the cost and local jurisdictions pay the remainder. At least half of the money must be used for agencies serving fewer that 100,000 residents. The grant also helped the New Mexico State Police purchase 904 bulletproof vests at a cost of $26,674.
Cops and Courts is compiled by CNJ staff writer Darrell Todd Maurina. He can be contacted at 763-6991 or: