Albuquerque
Police: Driver with gunshot wound crashed into 2 vehicles
A man driving with a gunshot wound to his arm crashed into two vehicles on Central Ave. near Eubank Friday afternoon.
The crashes happened just before 5:30 p.m. Friday. Police say the driver was transported to UNMH and is expected to be OK.
A passenger in the vehicle the man was driving fled the scene of the crashes and the driver was uncooperative with police when asked when or why he was shot.
Police said they received a call about a shooting at the nearby Deluxe Inn around the same time the man crashed into the vehicles, but have not directly linked the two scenes at this time.
Police said the passenger was not located.
Police: Suspected burglar shot by Rio Rancho homeowner was 15-year-old Albuquerque boy
Rio Rancho police on Friday named the burglary suspect who was shot by a Rio Rancho homeowner early Wednesday morning as a 15-year-old Albuquerque boy.
Rio Rancho police say the boy has been identified as 15-year-old Shaquan Ketcham, of Albuquerque. He remains hospitalized in critical condition as of Friday, police said.
He faces aggravated burglary charges related to the robbery. Police said Friday they had confirmed Ketcham was armed with a handgun during the burglary.
Police say Ketcham was dropped off at Presbyterian Rust Hospital with gunshot wounds to his chest and that officers found evidence from the burglary still on his person.
KOB has learned his father was in jail on a child abuse charge.
Sifting through the young man’s recent family past may give quite a bit of insight into where Ketcham’s head was on Wednesday — the day police say he broke into that house.
KOB has learned Ketcham’s 34-year-old father, Howard Ketcham, was booked on a child abuse charge May 20. The victim of that alleged abuse is unclear, but the older Ketcham was still in jail Wednesday.
In fact, the older Ketcham was formally indicted by a grand jury on an open count of child abuse on Wednesday, likely within hours of the burglary and shooting allegedly involving his son.
According to jail records, the older Ketcham was released from jail Friday morning.
But visits to all five of the older Ketcham’s previously-known addresses in Albuquerque turned up nothing — many neighbors telling KOB the man and his son had moved around southeast Albuquerque neighborhoods.
The homeowner who fired on him may not be out of the woods. Police say it’s still under investigation whether that man did anything to warrant his own charges.
Howard Ketcham’s next court appearance on his child abuse charge hasn’t yet been scheduled, but KOB will be following his case.
Authorities ID bodies found in grave in Sandoval Co.; 3 suspects in custody
Law enforcement and medical investigators have positively identified two of the three bodies found in a shallow grave southeast of the San Felipe Casino just over a week ago, and say they believe they know the identity of the third body.
Sandoval Co. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Keith Elder on Thursday identified the bodies as those of 32-year-old John Santistevan and 48-year-old Geraldine Sena. Lt. Elder said the third body is likely that of 25-year-old Samuel Sena, but the Office of the Medical Investigator is working to positively identify it as Sena. Continue reading
Judge: Attorneys can’t use James Boyd’s full criminal history at trial
Defense and prosecuting attorneys will not be able to use James Boyd’s full criminal history in a trial later this year for two former Albuquerque police officers charged with his murder, a judge ruled Thursday.
Second Judicial District Court Judge Alisa Hadfield agreed Thursday with a motion filed by prosecutors for the state that jurors should only be able to know what officers were aware of regarding Boyd’s criminal history when they confronted him in the Albuquerque foothills in 2014.
“I don’t think it’s really any disagreement that evidence of specific instances of the victim’s prior violent conduct that the defendants were aware of it may be admitted for the purpose of showing the defendants’ fear of the victim,” said Judge Hadfield. “But that is limited to what they were actually aware of at the time of or prior to the incident.”
Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez are both charged with second-degree murder in Boyd’s shooting death and face a September trial.
Boyd had been arrested at least a dozen times before officers confronted him that day in the foothills for camping on open space land, which is illegal in the city.
Hadfield had previously said that she did not want the extra information to possibly taint the jury pool, something special prosecutor Randi McGinn also argued for.
“It’s not just blaming the victim. It’s something worse,” said McGinn. “It’s saying that no matter if we just shot him justifiably or not, it’s OK because he was mentally ill and he had done some bad things in his life and deserved to die.”
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Sept. 12.
Rio Rancho homeowner shoots suspected burglar during break-in
A homeowner in Rio Rancho shot a suspected burglar several times in the chest early Wednesday morning.
The shooting happened just before 2 a.m. in the 1000 block of Luz Del Sol.
The homeowner called Sandoval County Regional Dispatch to say a person who had broken into the home had been shot and had fled the scene.
Rio Rancho police say that moments before the call, another call was received by dispatch from Presbyterian Rust Hospital saying a man had been dropped off at the emergency room with gunshots to his chest.
Police went to the hospital and allegedly found evidence from the burglary still on the suspect’s person.
He was flown to UNM Hospital for his gunshot wounds. He survived the shooting, but police have not been able to identify him yet.
Rio Rancho police say the investigation remains ongoing and that the homeowner is not facing charges at this time.
But the situation begs the question: what would you do in that scenario?
KOB 4 spoke to a concealed-carry instructor who says you have a lot to think about before you pull the trigger.
“Ability is do they have a weapon? Opportunity: can they use that weapon? Imminent jeopardy is imminent jeopardy of death or great bodily harm, and then, preclusion: what did you do to exhaust all other opportunities before using deadly force?” Steven Martinez said. “If you can avoid the situation, get out. If you’re by yourself and you have the back door behind you and you can get out, then get out. If you have your family inside the home, be prepared to do something to protect yourself and your family.”
Martinez also says you never shoot for your property. He says New Mexico doesn’t really have a clear-cut “Stand Your Ground” law. Each incident is reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Torrez wins Democratic BernCo. DA primary by landslide
Democratic candidate for Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez won the nomination in Tuesday’s primary matchup with Ed Perea by a landslide, garnering 67 percent of the vote in early totals.
Torrez served as counsel to the Deputy Attorney General of the U.S. His resume also includes a decade-long career as a U.S. attorney.
Torrez on Tuesday discussed his plan to handle a massive backlog of cases in the Second Judicial District.
“Anything that’s been dismissed and can be refilled absolutely has to be reevaluated,” Torrez said. “There is a backlog of cases there and we have to take the measure of the resources that are available in the office, prioritize the defendants and go through systematically and re-evaluate those cases.”
Some questions have been raised about a $107,000 out-of-state donation to a political action committee backing Torrez by billionaire George Soros.
“My sense is that anyone who supports me supports the idea of a fundamental criminal justice reform and that’s why they’re supporting this campaign,” Torrez said Tuesday.
It’s unclear whether Soros will continue contributions into the General Election, but the Republican candidate for district attorney, Simon Kubiak, had strong words Tuesday about the donation.
“He received $107,000 in PAC money from George Soros; that’s unheard of for this county race…[it has] less to do with DA and more to do with a national or state-level race,” Kubiak said.
Kubiak is running unopposed in the race to replace Kari Brandenburg, who has served as district attorney since 2001.
Clinton wins New Mexico Democratic primary
Hillary Clinton won the New Mexico Democratic primary Tuesday, drawing 51.54 percent of the vote statewide, according to numbers that are virtually finalized. Bernie Sanders drew 48.46 percent of the vote.
Follow along with KOB’s coverage of the New Mexico primary by clicking here.
The New Mexico numbers are final — 33.7 percent of eligible registered voters in New Mexico cast a ballot, according to voting figures — 325,042 out of 963,352, according to the Secretary of State’s website. Continue reading
Live updates as NM voters hit the polls in primary
Tuesday is Primary Day in New Mexico and five other states. Democratic and Republican voters can decide who they want for president.
View: Live results from the New Mexico primaries will be available here starting at 7 p.m.
View: Live county-by-county map of presidential primary results in New Mexico from The AP.
Democrats will decide between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton as their presidential candidate. On the Republican side, there is a list of candidates but Donald Trump is already considered the presumptive nominee. Continue reading
Trump wins New Mexico GOP primary
Donald Trump won the New Mexico Republican primary Tuesday, drawing 70.7 percent of the vote statewide, according to finalized numbers.
With all of 1,492 total precincts partially reporting, Trump had garnered 70.7 percent of the vote. He was followed by Ted Cruz (13.3 percent); John Kasich (7.6 percent); Ben Carson (3.7 percent); Jeb Bush (3.4 percent) and Carly Fiorina (1.5 percent). Continue reading
Albuquerque police union complaint: APD, city failed to properly equip officers for Trump rally
The Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association – the union that represents the city’s rank-and-file officers – filed a complaint against the city and police department Monday alleging the department failed to protect its own officers during violent protests that took place following Donald Trump’s rally in Albuquerque.
The complaint, which seeks attorneys’ fees and other costs, asks for the city’s Labor-Management Relations Board to find that the city and APD broke the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the union and the city by “failing to properly plan, supervise and equip” officers during the violence. Continue reading