Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security have arrested a teacher working at La Tierra Montessori School on charges of possessing child pornography.

First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Lidyard denied a request by District Attorney Marco Serna’s office to recuse himself from Henrietta Trujillo’s Northern New Mexico College embezzlement case.

The Santa Fe chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) plans to hold a free brake-light fixing clinic Nov. 23 in the O’ Reilly Auto Parts Store parking lot on North Riverside Drive.

A jury found Laura Seeds guilty of five of 12 counts of felony voter fraud Nov. 7 in relation to her work on her husband Robert Seeds’ 2016 election campaign for an Española City Council District 4 seat.

Appointment of a permanent Española police chief could be pushed back as far as after the March 2020 municipal election.

Readers who pay close attention will notice that these calls took place Oct. 8 through 14. After the records were formally requested from the E911 dispatch center, the Rio Grande SUN had to wait for them to be redacted and returned. This is part of an ongoing records dispute with  Rio Arriba…

First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Lidyard said during a Nov. 1 hearing that he will convene a special grand jury that will solely investigate allegations made against the North Central Solid Waste Authority in a citizens petition submitted to the courts in June.

Students from the University of New Mexico School of Law assembled Nov. 1 in the Plaza de Española to learn from fellow student Mara Yarbrough about a contaminant plume, which, at its deepest, extends 260 feet into the ground.

A jury found Laura Seeds guilty of five of 12 counts of felony voter fraud Thursday in relation to her work on her husband Robert Seeds’ 2016 election campaign for an Española City Council District 4 seat.

Rio Arriba County officials have accused an Española School Board member and a candidate of allegedly intimidating and coercing voters at a polling site. Now, the state Office of the Attorney General is investigating the allegations.

Readers who pay close attention will notice that these calls took place Oct. 4 through 7. After the records were formally requested from the E911 dispatch center, the Rio Grande SUN had to wait for them to be redacted and returned. This is part of an ongoing records dispute with  Rio Arriba …

As the Española School District continues working on an agreement for student resource officers (SROs) at its schools, state lawmakers met at Northern New Mexico College to discuss policing in schools and listen to experts in the field.

Former Española mayor Richard Lucero faces a new lawsuit alleging he repeatedly drugged and raped a second underage boy, whose account of a pattern of grooming and abuse bears stark similarities to another plaintiff who sued Lucero in July.

A former campaign volunteer for Española City Councilor Robert Seeds took a plea deal Oct. 25, agreeing to testify in the upcoming voter fraud trial of Seeds’ wife, Laura Seeds.

Readers who pay close attention will notice that these calls took place more than two weeks ago. After the records were formally requested from the E911 dispatch center, the Rio Grande SUN had to wait for them to be redacted and returned. This is part of an ongoing records dispute with  Rio …

There were 167 new domestic violence cases filed with the Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court in 2018, up from the 145 cases filed the previous year, according to a report from the New Mexico Interpersonal Violence Data Central Repository.

When Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative District 5 Trustee Stanley Crawford asked Co-op Executive Assistant Laura Rendon Oct. 11 for the names of trustees and Co-op staff who made the decision to offer Bruce Duran a $50,000 settlement offer, he did not get any answers.

Frustrated residents and increasingly impatient Española police officials will have to wait at least another two weeks for final word on Department leadership after the City Council pushed back the appointment of a police chief at its Tuesday meeting, based largely on 11th-hour input from Ci…

The blotter makes its return this week, but readers who pay close attention will notice that these calls took place four weeks ago. After the records were formally requested from the E911 dispatch center, the Rio Grande SUN had to wait for them to be redacted and returned. Still, some of the…

A temporary restraining order has been issued in the aftermath of a brawl between two Española families outside an Albuquerque stadium.

Española Police Department Sgt. Cody Martinez led a multi-agency pursuit to capture a local man which started and ended on Fairview Lane, but not before it tore through Ohkay Owingeh and Hernandez at speeds of nearly 90 mph.

The Rio Grande SUN settled a lawsuit with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety for its failure to follow the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act and for violating a 2007 settlement agreement, which outlined the way the Department was to correctly respond to record requests and how…

Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan raised yet another new reason for his decision to change a long-standing policy of releasing E911 Center dispatch logs to the media voluntarily was brought forward at the Oct. 2 911 Board Meeting.

Following the high-profile arrest and tasing of an Española Valley High School student with special needs, Española School Disrict officials are finalizing an agreement with the Española Police Department to have two student resource officers (SRO’s) at its schools.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico filed a tort claim notice on behalf of Rio Grande SUN reporter Tabitha Clay for alleged civil rights violations by Rio Arriba County employees in the Sheriff’s Office, as well as by Sheriff James Lujan.

A Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office deputy sent a formal complaint to the County’s Human Resources director alleging she is being retaliated against by Sheriff’s Office employees and Sheriff James Lujan for reporting sexual harassment by her fellow deputies.

Newly-released data show the distinctions between prescription opioid and heroin use, and how that has shaped public perceptions of the Española Valley and Rio Arriba County. And once the opioid crisis accelerated to become a national issue prior to the 2016 elections, Española became a scapegoat for the entire state’s drug problems.

The early morning stillness of Española was interrupted by small explosions, likely flash-bang grenades or bean bag rounds, Sept. 17 as the FBI, DEA and other agencies took part in a statewide sweep arresting multiple members of the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico gang, also known as SNM or the Sy…

The police blotter is published to give readers an abridged look at criminal activity in their community and neighborhood. It is simply an illustration of what local law enforcement, funded by taxpayers, must deal with daily throughout the Española Valley. 

Newly-released court records show more criminal charges in Colorado against former Española city manager David Valdez related to money he allegedly stole from area cannabis producers.

As the rest of the nation has been focused on what is now being called the opioid epidemic, in Chimayó, Española and Rio Arriba County the battle has been raging for decades.

Throughout the years as the Rio Grande SUN has compiled these lists, the conversations about substance use has shifted dynamically. Gone are the days where it was appropriate and acceptable to use terms like ”tecato” or “junkie” when referring to the people who live in Rio Arriba County.

The records that the Rio Grande SUN's weekly Police Blotter relies on have been delayed due to Española/Rio Arriba E911 Board Director Sheriff James Lujan. The delay also means the actions of local law enforcement in recent days are unknown.

Peter Romero, 71, rode his white 1985 Honda Goldwing motorcycle for the first time in at least five years this summer when he took a drive through Tierra Amarilla and then drove the eight miles from Chama to the New Mexico-Colorado state line.

The Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy who used a taser on a 15-year-old special education student may soon find himself wearing handcuffs now that New Mexico Office of the Attorney General has filed charges Monday, accusing him of child abuse and battery.

The New Mexico Supreme Court issued an order Aug. 22 stating parts of House Bill 407, which was passed during this year’s legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham April 3, are unconstitutional.

The Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative quietly settled a Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint in the United States District Court of New Mexico late last year.

The police blotter is published to give readers an abridged look at criminal activity in their community and neighborhood. It is simply an illustration of what local law enforcement, funded by taxpayers, must deal with daily throughout the Española Valley. 

Henrietta Trujillo, 63, of Corrales, tried to plead guilty to embezzlement of over $20,000 Monday, but First Judicial District Court Judge Jason Lidyard rejected the plea arrangement.

The Pueblo County District Attorney filed felony theft and embezzlement charges against former Española city manager David Valdez for alleged “financial improprieties” in his role as Colorado City Metropolitan District Manager, from which he resigned in 2018.

The police blotter is published to give readers an abridged look at criminal activity in their community and neighborhood. It is simply an illustration of what local law enforcement, funded by taxpayers, must deal with daily throughout the Española Valley.

Brittany Garcia, Mark Hice, Anton Martinez and Axel Zamarron will have to wait until 2020 to see if Rio Arriba County jurors will find them guilty of the October 2018 murder of Cameron Martinez, no relation. The defendants will also be facing their trials separately after prosecution and def…

Akal Security’s parent organization distanced the massive Española-based firm from its longstanding ties with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement last month in response to at least a year of internal backlash in the 3HO Sikh community to ICE’s human rights violations and family detenti…

Rio Arriba County Sheriff James Lujan has not completed the legally-required in-service or biennium training to maintain his certification as a law enforcement officer but has not faced any action from the Law Enforcement Academy, records show.