Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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PORTALES — A Roosevelt County rancher was indicted Thursday on 18 felony counts including fraud, embezzlement and racketeering during a three-year period leading the Miss New Mexico Scholarship Organization. Greg Smith, 56, of Elida, was indicted for second-degree felony racketeering during the period Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2017, and a litany of more specific allegations of embezzlement, fraud, issuing worthless checks and attempted tax evasion. Investigators say Smith "stole money from the organization" according to a n...
CLOVIS - Entering its 99th year, the 2019 Curry County Fair promises "Starry Nights and Midway Lights" for a week of carnival fun, daredevils, livestock contests and live music. The fair runs Tuesday-Saturday, with Monday designated for accepting entries to the exhibits and contests the rest of the week. New to this year's fair are the "Distinguished Daredevils," scheduled for multiple showcases during the evenings of Tuesday through Friday and on Saturday afternoon. Also new...
CLOVIS — Grand juries on Friday returned indictments against two Clovis men for unrelated felony child sex crime cases in the Ninth Judicial District. Dino Paul Lucero, 33, was indicted on nine felony counts, including seven counts of criminal sexual penetration in the first degree (child under 13) for incidents dating back to 2015. An investigation started July 9 following a crime stoppers tip, according to court records. Lucero’s alleged crimes started soon after he was released from prison in 2015. Jerry Ingram, 23, was...
CLOVIS — An alleged child sex offender will face no prison time under the terms of a plea agreement scheduled to be finalized this month. A jury trial last week for Rubel Encinias, 45, of Clovis, was canceled after attorneys submitted a plea agreement and scheduled a conference for Aug. 22. By terms of that agreement, Encinias will plead no contest to one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor in the third degree and be sentenced to six years in the Department of Corrections, suspended in favor of supervised p...
BOVINA - Texas Rangers on Monday charged a man with murder for the death of a woman in Bovina. Erica Sanchez, 31, of Bovina, "was killed Monday morning in the city," according to a news release that night from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Michael Orozco, 39, of Muleshoe, "has been charged with murder and is currently in police custody," said the release from Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the DPS' Amarillo office. Sanchez is the mother of three children and moved into her...
CLOVIS - Noting concerns that its pipeline effort would never directly serve all outlying residents of Curry County, commissioners on Tuesday narrowly approved a motion to change the county's "position" in the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority. The county will remain a member of ENMWUA and continue paying dues for now, but it will meanwhile "market our interest" for its attendant forthcoming water rights from the in-progress Ute Pipeline. There was confusion among com...
BOVINA — Texas Rangers on Monday charged a man with murder for the death of a woman in Bovina. Erica Sanchez, 31, of Bovina, “was killed Monday morning in the city,” according to a news release that night from the Texas Dept. of Public Safety. Michael Orozco, 39, of Muleshoe, “has been charged with murder and is currently in police custody,” said the release from Sgt. Cindy Barkley of the DPS’ Amarillo office. Sanchez is the mother of three children and moved into her residen...
PORTALES — A woman charged with arson for the July 27 structure fire in Portales is suspected of starting several other fires in the area, according to court records. An arrest warrant for Patricia Villanueva, 38, of Portales, was issued for charges of second-degree felony arson and criminal damage to property in connection with the fire on the 300 block of North Avenue I in Portales. The Roosevelt County Detention Center on Saturday listed a Patricia Villanueva in the facility last month, but an administrator told The N...
A second smaller-member community may withdraw from the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority. Grady Mayor Wesley Shafer said in Tuesday’s ENMWUA board meeting that the village council would consider the departure at its Aug. 12 meeting. This follows the recent word from Melrose Mayor Barry Green that its own village council had “voted to begin the steps of withdrawing” last month. Shafer told The News on Friday the consideration was partly based on Melrose’s withdrawal and also from an assessment of where ENMWUA...
ALBUQUERQUE — At least there’s no more “false hope.” The New Mexico Racing Commission took care of that Thursday in announcing a proposed sixth racino license would not be awarded. “The commission felt compelled to not leave false hope out there in the open, to do something that seems more definitive,” Izzy Trejo told The News on Thursday afternoon. NMRC’s official statement was that it “has decided not to issue a sixth racing license” and “has left open the possibility of issuing it in the future, but not before signific...
ALBUQUERQUE - Regulators wanted to dispell false hopes in announcing today that a sixth racino license would not be awarded, according to the New Mexico Racing Commission's executive director. "The commission felt compelled to not leave false hope out there in the open, to do something that seems more definitive," Izzy Trejo told The News on Thursday afternoon. NMRC's official statement today is that it "has decided not to issue a sixth racing license" and "has left open the possibility of issuing it in the future, but not...
PORTALES - Shot and bleeding, Quintin Carmichael crawled outside Derek Garcia's house toward the front lawn where his friend since childhood lay dying. Carmichael didn't immediately realize the extent of Garcia's injuries, and he had barely realized himself that he had been shot in the leg. Inside the house, he saw another young man clutching his face and bleeding from a stab wound. That was around 2 a.m. Saturday. The evening had started out good-naturedly just a few hours earlier. "I showed up around 10:30, 11 p.m., a...
PORTALES — Roosevelt County officials emphasized Tuesday that the recent district realignments did not entail any change in which constituents are represented by which commissioners. In her county manager report at the regular commission meeting Tuesday morning, Amber Hamilton said she had received “a significant amount of calls” — approximately 20 — following recent word of the one-time realignment mandated by House Bill 407. The change was organized by the secretary of state’s office to create system where odd-numbere...
PORTALES — Police found a revolver, a shotgun, a Glock pistol, four .40-caliber bullet casings, loaded magazines, brass knuckles, at least two pocket knives and “several bottles of alcohol” while investigating Saturday’s shooting death of a Portales Army veteran. The items were discovered on scene or during the execution of nine search warrants served Saturday against five individuals and involving three residences and one automobile. Police found only alcohol, bullet casings and two knives at the scene itself, 510 E. 18th...
PORTALES — He had barely turned 24 this month, but Derek Garcia had already served his country and traveled the world before returning to his hometown. Garcia, the eldest of six children, graduated Dora High School in 2014 and completed 38 career jumps as a U.S. Army paratrooper before receiving an honorable discharge in November 2018 and returning “to make his life in his hometown,” according to his mother. Annmarie Garcia told The News this weekend that she hopes justi...
PORTALES — A young man was killed and others were injured in an incident early Saturday at a residence just outside Portales. Derek Garcia turned 24 this month and had "returned home to make his life in his hometown" after being honorably discharged in November 2018 from the U.S. Army, his mother told The News in a message Saturday. Garcia served overseas and completed 38 career jumps in his time as an Army paratrooper after graduating Dora High School in 2014. He is the e... Full story
PORTALES — City Manager Sammy Standefer projected drawing down further on reserves for Portales' general fund in a presentation Tuesday evening on the coming fiscal year budget. In a public hearing before the Portales City Council the "Final Budget for 107th Fiscal Year 2019-2020," Standefer forecasted drawing down reserves by $1,428,252, $127,863 more than projected in the interim budget. He maintained as he had in previous council meetings that either revenues must be increased or expenditures decreased to protect the c...
CLOVIS — The New Mexico State Police on Thursday identified the police officer who discharged a weapon during a July 6 standoff. Officer Jesus Sarabia has been with the Clovis Police Department for three years. Sarabia was back on full duty June 10 after spending three days on administrative duty. He discharged his weapon, officials said, in response to Damon Smith, 42, brandishing a weapon during a two-hour standoff that began around 5 p.m. July 6. Police were called to a report of a domestic disturbance with shots fired o...
CLOVIS - Fire crews battled a structure fire Sunday afternoon at 13th and Mitchell streets, with minor heat exhaustion to two firefighters but no other injuries reported. The fire remains under investigation, said Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen, and the investigation as to its cause has been turned over to the state fire marshal. That's "because of the size of the building, the type of previous occupancy - it is a high-value building - and if we can't get right in there and...
CLOVIS - Marcos Urban Jr. "lived for community service" and was en route Friday morning to a funeral in Portales at the time of his fatal collision south of Cannon Air Force Base. Urban Jr., 64, was transported to Plains Regional Medical Center with critical injuries and died at the hospital soon after a head-on collision Friday morning on State Road 467. Urban Jr. was driving southbound on SR467 in a 1996 Cadillac and was struck when Octavio Vasquez, 28, of Clovis, attempted...
CLOVIS — Major crimes were down significantly but it was still “a very challenging year” for Clovis police, according to the department’s 2018 report issued last week. Homicides were down from six in 2017 to just one last year, while sex crimes were down from 49 to 33, aggravated assault from 102 to 75 and burglary from 639 to 375 in the same time frame. From 2017 to 2018 CPD noted “index crime” increases only in motor vehicle theft (from 140 to 149) and larceny / shoplifting / auto burglary (from 813 to 899). CPD noted l...
CLOVIS - Entering its 28th year, Clovis' annual Ethnic Fair has found a good rhythm and harmony bringing educational and cultural programming into a family-friendly day at the park. New to the afternoon entertainment Saturday at Hillcrest Park are "Izcalli In Nanantzin," a traditional Aztec dance group from Taos. They were formed in 1981 and represent a "living thriving culture that has coexisted for more than 500 years and continues to unlock the mysteries of our universe, co...
CLOVIS - Some three dozen gathered Wednesday morning to witness the swearing-in of Clovis' newest city commissioner. David Robinson was appointed last month to replace District 1 Commissioner Ladona Clayton, who resigned this month to start a new job in Dallas. His term expires in March, at which time the seat is open for election again. Robinson is the chief executive officer of telecommunications company Plateau and said he has no intention to seek another term after...
CLOVIS - Many people knew him as "Uncle Freddy," a smart, outgoing man with "a big heart," his niece told The News last week. Alfred Tacorante, 50, was pulled dead from the site of a structure fire July 14. The fire resulted in Tacorante's mother, 71-year old Mary Delgado, being hospitalized on breathing support. Clovis Police Chief Doug Ford told The News that a determination as to the cause of Tacorante's death was still pending autopsy, and that fire investigators...
PORTALES - His grow is only in its baby stages now, but one Roosevelt County farmer hopes hemp can blossom into a thriving industry for eastern New Mexico in the coming years. You may say he's a dreamer, but he's not the only one, not by far. Heath Grider, a farmer and carpenter in Portales, has one of 11 current licenses this year to grow hemp in Roosevelt County. In Curry County there are three, and statewide there are a total of 356 as of Friday, according to the New...
