Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Pages past - Dec. 18

On this date ...

1979: A Roosevelt County jury hearing a murder trial was told of a bomb threat that had been received that morning.

The caller simply said, “Judge (Fred) Hensley has a bomb in his court,” County Sheriff Sonny Carter told reporters.

Jurors were told officials had searched the courthouse and courtroom and the threat was a hoax. The trial continued.

The defendant’s attorney asked that jurors not be told of the threat because “it could prejudice the case against the defendant” the newspaper reported. Judge Hensley said he wanted jurors to hear the information from the court rather than from family members who might be expressing safety concerns.

A day later, Gilbert Chavez was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to two-to-10 years in prison.

Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens. Contact:

[email protected]

For more regional history, see the website:

pagespast.net

 
 
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