Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 123, No. 88 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday
April 11, 2014
Ordinance amendment to ban e-cigarettes fails JILL MCLAUGHLIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
A majority of councilors voted Thursday not to add electronic cigarettes to the list of items not allowed in public places. The amendment to the Clean Air Ordinance failed after five councilors voted against it. Councilors Juan Oropesa and Steve Henderson voted in favor. Councilors Jason Perry and Elena Velasquez were absent from the meeting. Several members of the
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public spoke against adding electronic smoking devices to the list of banned items to the smoking policy. Former Councilor Jimmy Craig said he was in opposition to the change. “I’m generally one that does not believe in over intrusive gover nment,” Craig said. “You have to have a real reason to intrude in personal likes and dislikes.” Craig said it appeared to him that there was no conclusive scientific evidence
in regards to the electronic devices. E-cigarettes had helped him as a lawyer in court and it had been good to him, he said. “It’s actually been very beneficial to me. I was a smoker and quit,” Craig said. “Just because it’s of fensive to someone, I don’t think we need to do something about it. I would urge the council to leave it alone.” Craig did feel the need to point out, as a side note, that when he was researching the Clean Air Ordi-
Firefighters respond to trestle fire
nance, its language was only specific about tobacco products in public places. It did not mention the use of medical marijuana. “The way I read the ordinance, the smoking of cannabis is not prohibited in public areas,” Craig said. Another concerned citizen, Randy Smith, had also quit smoking using the devices. He now owns the kiosk that sells electronic smoking devices and products at the Roswell Mall. “I have a pretty good background knowledge of
Mark Wilson Photo
Roswell firefighters put out a blaze that was consuming a railroad trestle that spans the Hondo River in the Chihuahuita neighborhood, Thursday afternoon. The source of the fire was unknown.
electronic cigarettes,” Smith said. “They are actually a very positive thing for this community and society overall, that most people don’t realize. The reason I got into electronic cigarettes is because it saved my life and my family’s life.” The products that his company manufactures can be customized to gradually wean users off nicotine, he said. “The other thing, the FDA is all over this. Give the FDA a chance to finish
their testing, finish their results,” Smith said. “Please think about the lives e-cigarettes are saving.” Henderson said the intention of the amended ordinance was not to deny people smoking the devices, but just to deny them the opportunity to “smoke in your face at a restaurant.” “We’re denying them to smoke in public places, just like denying them to smoke tobacco in public
RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
across the U.S., with the help of their own community foundations, will host local giving events to support local causes and organizations. Each local gift will be amplified with dollars from a national incentive pool of funds, plus New Mexico will also have its own, additional incentive prizes, according to the website givegrandenm.org. Local nonprofits participating in the Give Grande! Day include Wings for L.I.F.E., Down Syndrome Foundation of Southeastern New Mexico, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southeastern New Mexico and Assurance Home. On May 6, during the daylong giving event, local residents can log onto the website, givegrandenm.org, and make donations to local nonprofits. All the money will go directly to the organizations, and the minimum
New Mexico to ‘Give Grande!’ The act of giving is going viral in May. Give Grande! New Mexico will be a 24-hour event raising money for New Mexico nonprofit organizations, including groups that are based in Roswell — and the giving will all be done online. “This is a first annual event, and it is being done as part of the National Day of Giving,” said Wendy Cook of Roswell, a local volunteer coordinator for Give Grande! “All of the New Mexico Community Foundations have come together to host a statewide event in Give Grande! New Mexico.” In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Community Foundations, The Community Foundation Coalition of New Mexico is supporting New Mexico to participate in a national day of community giving. Over 100 communities
See E-CIGS, Page A3
Roswell Police warn FBI, police seek Santa Fe bank robber of Craigslist scam
Roswell Police Department wants to remind the public to be aware of scams and fraud. Various types of rip-offs are received by individuals every day on the internet, in the mail, and through telephone calls. Scams and fraudulent ads can even be found on popular sites such as Ebay, Craigslist, or even Facebook, according to a news release from the police department. One of the most recent reports of fraud involves Craigslist. The Craigslist advertisements could be for any number of items. However, one fraudulent post in particular involves a sales
advertisement for a 2005 Acura passenger vehicle. The purchaser contacted the listed seller of the vehicle via email. The seller informed the buyer money would need to be sent through Western Union to complete the transaction. The seller also stated the vehicle would be shipped to the buyer. However, later, the seller requested an additional amount of money for “buyer’s protection” in case the buyer didn’t like the vehicle so it could be returned to the seller without additional costs. Once the buyer sent See SCAM, Page A2
AP Photo
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, left, and Police Chief Gorden Eden speak to reporters Thursday, after the U.S. Justice Department released a report in response to a series of deadly Albuquerque police shootings.
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TODAY’S FORECAST
The FBI and the Santa Fe Police Department are looking for a man who robbed the First National Bank of Santa Fe, located at 516 W. Cordova Road, in Santa Fe, on Wednesday. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his mid-20s, approximately 6’ tall, with a slender to medium build. The man’s face was covered by a black bandana with a white pattern. He wore a dark blue or black hoodie with a white logo and writing on the front that included the words “Santa Fe;” maroon sweat pants, white gloves, sunglasses and white tennis shoes. Witnesses say the suspect walked into the bank at approximately 10 a.m. with a handgun, ordered people to get down on the floor, and demanded money from two tellers.
See GRANDE, Page A3
The tellers handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the suspect, who left the bank.
Bank robbery is punishable by a 20-year prison sentence for each offense, and the penalty increases if a dangerous weapon is used in the commission of the crime.
Anyone with information about this robbery is asked to call the Albuquerque FBI Office at 505-8891300 (24 hours) or Santa Fe Police Department at 505-955-5033. The FBI may pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the suspect’s arrest and conviction.
Information about other bank robbers wanted by the FBI can be found at https://bankrobbers.fbi.gov.
Courtesy Photo
This photo shows a suspect wanted by the FBI and the Santa Fe Police Department for the robbery of the First National Bank of Santa Fe.
DOJ report: ‘Excessive force’ used by APD
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A scathing report by the U.S. Justice Department released Thursday revealed a troubling patter n of excessive force by the Albuquerque Police Department and recommended that New Mexico’s largest city become the latest municipality to adopt refor ms aimed at cleaning up its police force. The report, which immediately drew support from Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and other city officials, came after
• DANIEL RAY BARROW
federal of ficials spent months conducting interviews, scouring videos and reviewing hundreds of pages of documents. According to the report, Albuquerque officers too frequently used deadly force on people who posed a minimal threat and used a higher level of force too often on those with mental illness, often violating their constitutional rights. Albuquerque joins a list of cities targeted by the Justice Department over allegations of brutality and
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violations of constitutional rights by police officers. Portland and New Orleans, for example, are among those that have been investigated amid similar complaints.
In Albuquerque, federal investigators focused on 37 shootings — 23 of them fatal — by officers since 2010. By comparison, police in the similarly sized cities of Denver and Oakland have been involved in fatal and non-fatal shootings totaling 27 and 23, respectively. CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....B4 FINANCIAL ..............B3
Federal investigators found the majority of those Albuquerque shootings were unreasonable and violated constitutional rights. They also uncovered a significant number of instances in which officers used less lethal measures such as Tasers in an unconstitutional manner. “Based on our investigation, we have reasonable cause to believe that APD engages in a patter n or practice of use of excessive
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2 HOROSCOPES .........B4 LOTTERIES .............A2 OPINION .................A4
See APD, Page A3
OPINION .................A4 SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8