04 29 14 Roswell Daily Record

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Roswell Daily Record THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Vol. 123, No. 103 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday

April 29, 2014

TUESDAY

www.rdrnews.com

Arkansans rush for cover against twister; 15 die

VILONIA, Ark. (AP) — The sky tur ned black as the funnel cloud closed in, and Maggie Caro rushed with her husband and two children to a community shelter at a Vilonia school, where they were among the last to get inside the fortified gym before the doors were shut. “They were screaming, ‘Run! Run! It’s coming!”’ Caro recalled. And then all hell broke loose. The half-mile-wide tornado carved an 80-mile path of destruction through the Little Rock suburbs Sun-

Aftermath

day evening, killing at least 15 people, flattening rows of homes, shredding cars along a highway and demolishing a brand-new school before it even had a chance to open. Officials said the death toll could have been worse if residents hadn’t piled into underground stor m shelters and fortified safe rooms after listening to forecasts on TV and radio, getting cell phone alerts or calls or texts from loved ones, and hearing sirens blare through their neighborhoods. Also on people’s minds:

Memories of a weaker torthat smashed nado through on April 25, 2011. It took nearly the same path and killed at least four people. “You had people breaking down because they were reliving three years ago,” Kimber Standridge said of the scene inside the community shelter, which she said was packed with perhaps more than 100 people. Standridge and a friend had gathered up seven children they were watching and sped through the streets just minutes before

the twister hit.

“When they shut the doors, we knew it was on us,” Standridge said. “Everybody hunkered down. There were a lot of people doing prayer circles, holding hands and praying.”

Caro and Standridge said the shelter was so solid they barely felt or heard the tornado.

It was among a rash of twisters and violent storms across the Midwest and South that killed 17 people in all on Sunday.

AP Photo

A concrete slab and rubble are all that is left of a home in a Vilonia, Ark., neighborhood Monday, after a tornado struck the town late Sunday.

Number of Navajo homicides tops some metro areas FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — New FBI statistics show the vast Navajo Nation saw a sharp increase in the murder rate in 2013 and finished the year with 42 homicides, eclipsing major metropolitan areas with less space and far more people, such as Seattle and Boston.

Randal Seyler Photo

A weekend of strong winds, some clocked at 69 mph, took its toll on numerous trees around Roswell. This tree, on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Seventh Street, was chopped up and ready to be taken away by Monday afternoon.

About 180,000 people live on the reservation that spans 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. It’s a place where culture and language thrive but where jobs are scarce, alcoholism is among the greatest social ills, and cycles of violence and lack of access to basic necessities can stifle people’s spirits. When those factors combine, “you’re always going to find higher crime rates,” said McDonald Rominger, head of the FBI’s office in

northern Arizona. “There’s a correlation.” The number of people killed on the Navajo Nation increased from 34 in 2012, representing a per -capita murder rate of 18.8 per 100,000 people — four times the national rate. The FBI has not yet released a national murder rate for 2013. Not a single day passed in 2013 before the first incident of deadly violence was reported on the Arizona portion of the reservation, a murder -suicide in Sanders along Interstate 40. Three more people were killed on the Arizona portion that January, according to court documents. A man was stabbed at home in Dilkon after he made an inflammatory comment about a gay cou-

Carlsbad man killed RPD seeking armed robbery suspect when struck by SUV

A Carlsbad man died Friday when he was struck by an SUV on U.S. 285, according to a New Mexico State Police report. Officers responded to a report of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle at about 8:30 p.m. The accident occurred on U.S. Highway 285, near mile marker 38 north of Carlsbad. Police say Robert Garcia, 20, of Carlsbad, was walking on the right lane of the northbound lanes. A 2013 GMC Yukon SUV, driven by Ralph Nix, 73, of Artesia, was traveling northbound on U.S. 285. As the Yukon traveled north on U.S. 285, it was

traveling in the right lane. Garcia was walking in the right lane at this time. The Yukon attempted to avoid striking Garcia, but he was struck by the Yukon, receiving severe head and upper body trauma.

Garcia was taken to the Carlsbad Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.

Police say pedestrian inattention may have been a contributing factor to the accident.

There is no evidence to indicate alcohol was a contributing factor, according to the police.

The Roswell Police Department is seeking the community’s assistance in locating a man wanted in connection with an ar med robbery that occurred on Saturday. The robbery took place on the 1800 block of South Pennsylvania Avenue. A man, later identified as Henry Garcia Jr., 26, allegedly pulled a gun on a man he knew in order to steal prescription drugs from him. Both the victim and Garcia reportedly know one another. The incident does not appear to be a random act of violence. Through the course of

“Real Heroes” from the 2013 American Red Cross at New Mexico Real Heroes Recognition Breakfast gather following the event.

HIGH 70 LOW 47

TODAY’S FORECAST

the investigation, detectives obtained sufficient probable cause and secured an arrest warrant for Garcia.

Garcia is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall, 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He is known to wear glasses most of the time.

Garcia is believed to be ar med and danger ous. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Henry G a r c i a J r. , i s u rg e d t o contact the Roswell Police Department 6246770 or Crime Stoppers 1-888-594-8477 immediately.

Garcia

Red Cross accepting ‘Real Heroes’ nominations

RANDAL SEYLER RECORD STAFF WRITER

Courtesy Photo

See HOMICIDES, Page A3

Who is your hero? If you have a hero who lives here in our community, then now is your chance to honor them. Nominations for the Real Heroes Recognition Breakfast, sponsored by the American Red Cross in New Mexico, will be accepted until Friday. “We’ve received numerous submissions, but we wanted to extend the deadline to give everyone an opportunity to make

nominations,” said Gale Landrum, community relations manager for American Red Cross. This will be the second time the event will be held in Roswell, and Landrum said she hopes it will become an annual event. “There is an advisory committee of community leaders who will review the nominations from the community, and they will make the selections of who is named a Real Hero,” Landrum said. Once the nominees are chosen, they will be announced at the

TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE A6 • LAWRENCE DEAN “PETE” • ROBERT ERIC JULIAN GARCIA DEBORDE • RITA A. GALLAGHER • VICTORIA NUÑEZ HERRERA • LOIS ELSIE CROWDER DOYAL • FRANCISCO B. LUNA

Real Heroes Recognition Breakfast, which will be held at 7 a.m. on June 18 at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center. The purpose of the Real Heroes program is to honor ordinary people who make extraordinary contributions by putting their needs aside to help others in the community, Landrum said. Award categories include humanitarian; adult Good Samaritan; youth Good Samaritan; military; firefighter; animal rescue; emergency med-

CLASSIFIEDS ..........B6 COMICS .................B5 ENTERTAINMENT .....A8 FINANCIAL ..............B4

ical; disaster relief; workplace; education; law enforcement and water safety.

Recognizing local people for their humanitarianism began as an initiative of the American Red Cross in New Mexico. Countless acts of heroism went unnoticed and the staff, board of directors, volunteers, local businesses and donors agreed that outstanding individuals and groups from communities

See HEROES, Page A3

INDEX GENERAL ...............A2

HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2

OPINION .................A4

SPORTS .................B1

WEATHER ..............A8


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