Police

Op-Ed: ‘County Shows It Doesn’t Give A Flock About Surveilling Citizens’

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By JAMES RICKMAN
Los Alamos

Perhaps I should feel grateful that County leaders dispatched their official Spin Doctor to reply to my letter about the emergence of a network of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) in our community (link). But outside of Mr. Krueger’s “Trust Us, We’re the Government” response, the County continues to sidestep the issue of why the cameras were installed in the first place.

Is Los Alamos facing some kind of underlying existential threat that necessitates its citizens giving up some of their liberties to gain a little more security?

The way the County tells it, Read More

County Clarifications On Op-Ed ‘Don’t Join The Flock’

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By DAVID KRUEGER
Public Information Officer
Los Alamos County

I’m writing to provide some clarification regarding the Op-Ed “Don’t Join The Flock” (link).

Our data collection and retention policy for the Police Department’s automated license plate readers (ALPR) is clear that all data collected from those cameras are secured on local servers and solely for official use by the Los Alamos Police Department.

Only Evidence Technicians have access to the data. Everyone who accesses the data is logged. Evidence Technicians review requests to ensure access to the data is approved only for legitimate Read More

Los Alamos Police Department Honors Three Retiring Officers Following Decades Of Service

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From left to right: Sergeant Eric Wilhoit, Corporal Robert Larsen, Corporal Gilbert Padilla. Courtesy/LAC

LAPD News:

The Los Alamos Police Department is honoring the careers and service of three respected veteran officers whose retirements mark the end of decades of dedicated law enforcement service to the citizens of Los Alamos and communities across New Mexico.

Sergeant Eric Wilhoit, Corporal Robert Larsen, and Corporal Gilbert Padilla each retired during the month of May, with all three departures occurring within approximately one week of one another. While retirements represent Read More

Navajo Nation Woman Pleads Guilty To Assault Charges

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — A Navajo Nation woman pleaded guilty to shooting and seriously injuring a man in 2024.

According to court documents, on Nov. 17, 2024, Beverleta Tayah, 54, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, assaulted John Doe at a residence on the Navajo Nation after she armed herself with a handgun and shot John Doe in the chest causing serious bodily injury.

Tayah pleaded guilty to two federal felony offenses—Assault resulting in serious bodily injury and Assault with a dangerous weapon, each of which carries up to 10 years in prison at sentencing. Tayah will also be subject to up Read More

FBI: Gallup Man Faces Federal Charges For Assault

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — A Gallup man is facing federal charges for an assault that allegedly occurred in 2024.

According to court documents, on Nov. 9, 2024, Russell Lee Saunders, Sr., 45, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, assaulted and seriously injured John Doe.

Saunders is charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and will remain in third party custody pending trial which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Saunders faces up to 10 years in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Read More

Fugitive Who Stole Dead Man’s Identity For Four Decades Pleads Guilty To Fraud Charges

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — A fugitive who lived for more than 40 years under the stolen identity of a deceased Arkansas man pleaded guilty to federal identity theft, passport fraud, and firearms offenses.

According to court documents, Stephen Craig Campbell, 73, assumed the identity of Walter Lee Coffman, who died in 1975 at the age of 22, just months after graduating from the University of Arkansas with an engineering degree in the early 1980s. Campbell first applied for a U.S. passport in Coffman’s name in 1984 and renewed it multiple times, always submitting his own photograph and current address. Read More

State Police Checkpoints, Saturation Patrols Across State

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NMSP News:

State Police will be conducting sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols; and registration, insurance, and driver’s license checkpoints in all New Mexico counties during June 2026.

We are bringing awareness to these events to reduce impaired driving-related fatalities through continued media attention and intensive advertising. 

These checkpoints are helping to change society’s attitude about driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs.

Hundreds of lives could be saved each year if every driver had the courage to make the right decision Read More

New Mexico Supreme Court Reverses First-Degree Murder Conviction Of Roman Cerna For 2020 Fatal Shooting

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State Supreme Court News:

The New Mexico Supreme Court has reversed the first-degree murder conviction of Roman Cerna for a fatal shooting in 2020 outside of an Albuquerque smoke shop, and ordered the Second Judicial District Court to enter a judgment for second-degree murder.

Click here to read the decision in State v. Cerna, S-1-SC-40598.  Read More

FBI: Three Inmates Charged In Brutal Assault On Correction Officer At Doña Ana County Detention Center Face 20 Years

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Three inmates accused of violently attacking a correction officer assisting the U.S. Marshals Service at the Doña Ana County Detention Center have been charged federally after the officer was beaten unconscious and tased during a 22-second assault.

According to court documents, May 11, 2026, John Doe was assisting the U.S. Marshal Service as a correction officer at the Doña Ana County Detention Center when he walked up the stairs to the top level to monitor six inmates who were supposed to be locked in their cells, including a federal inmate whom John Doe was required Read More

FBI: Fruitland Man Pleads Guilty In Fatal Drunk Driving Crash

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FBI News:

ALBUQUERQUE — A Fruitland man pleaded guilty to second degree murder after driving drunk at 107 miles per hour and crashing into an oncoming vehicle, killing the driver.

According to court documents, Dec. 9, 2024, Timothy Begay, 39, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving drunk when he crossed the center line and hit a car driving the opposite direction, killing the driver. At the time of the crash, Begay was driving 107 MPH. Medical records showed that he has a blood alcohol level of .239.

Begay pleaded guilty to second degree murder and faces up 15 years in prison at sentencing. Read More