08 22 14 Roswell Daily Record

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Roswell Daily Record

Vol. 123, No. 202 75¢ Daily / $1.25 Sunday

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

August 22, 2014

FRIDAY

www.rdrnews.com

Woman testifies against ex-husband in murder case BY JEFF TUCKER RECORD STAFF WRITER

The murder case against a Roswell man charged with ambushing and killing his ex-wife’s boyfriend was bound over to 5th Judicial District Court Wednesday after an hour-long preliminary hearing at which the defendant’s ex-wife provided implicating testimony of her ex-husband’s guilt. Chaves County Magistrate Court Judge K.C. Rogers found suf ficient probable cause Wednesday

to believe Steven Lee Lucero, 30, murdered 30year -old Isaiah “Blue” Sanchez on June 4 at a vacant Roswell home. The judge bound over all the charges against Lucero to 5th Judicial District Court. Lucero, most recently of 701 E. Ninth St. in Roswell, and his brother, Gilbert Lucero, 32, most recently of 612 Greenbriar St. in Roswell, are both charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit firstdegree murder, tampering

with evidence and armed robbery. The brothers are being held without bond at the Chaves County Detention Center. They both face potential maximum sentences of 99 years in prison on the first-degree murder charges alone. Gilbert Lucero’s preliminary hearing has been rescheduled for Sept. 9 in Chaves County Magistrate Court before Judge John Halvorson. The woman at the middle of the love triangle involv-

ing Steven Lucero and Sanchez testified at Wednesday’s preliminary hearing. According to court records, Vanessa Lucero, the ex-wife of Steven Lucero, lured Sanchez to his death at the dark Roswell home at 1812 N. Maryland Ave. that lacked electricity. The Lucero brothers were lying in wait at the home and hidden before they attacked Sanchez with a gun and knives, leaving him in a pool of blood and still

breathing, court records state. “After (Vanessa Lucero) went by them, they began hitting Isaiah,” Of ficer Robert Scribner of the Roswell Police Department wrote in the criminal complaint for both Steven and Gilbert Lucero. “Isaiah was screaming at her to tell them to stop. She was going outside, but Steven yelled at her to stay and stated that if he went down, she was, too. Steven had a gun and both of them had knives. She

heard two gunshots and Steven and Gilbert began stabbing Isaiah. Isaiah was still screaming. Both Steven and Gilbert stabbed him in the hall.” Scribner said Steven and Gilbert Lucero left the murder scene in Sanchez’s pickup truck, but the brothers returned to the crime scene because the handle of Steven Lucero’s gun had fallen off during the slaying. “Isaiah was still breathSee MURDER, Page A3

Summer of ’56

1956 Little League champs reminisce on historic event

BY TIMOTHY P. HOWSARE RECORD EDITOR

The Lions Hondo Little League Baseball Team of 1956 was the only Little League team from Roswell to ever win a world championship. The boys who played on that team, however, didn’t really know how big of an achievement that was until they arrived at the train station in Roswell after the championship game. “I don’t think we really knew what we had done until we came back to the train station and saw 5,000 to 10,000 people out of town of 30,000 waiting there to congratulate us,” said Harold Hobson, a former Chaves County commissioner who played on the team. “Every game we played, we just played baseball,” said Farrrel Dunham, one of his former teammates. Five of the former players from the team of 14 had gotten together earlier this week for an infor mal reunion. The two others who still live in Roswell along with

Above: Submitted Photo

The 1956 Lions Hondo team that won the Little League World Championship in Williamsport, Pa.

Right: Timothy P. Howsare Photo

Former players on the Lions Hondo Little League Baseball Team of 1956 got together for an informal reunion earlier this week. From left, Farrel Dunham, Billy Turley, Harold Hobson and Tommy Jordan. Not pictured is Jimmy Valdez.

City to update signs, ensure compliance with Open Meetings Act BY BILL MOFFITT RECORD CORRESPONDENT

The city’s Community Improvement Commission voted Thursday to have the city make minor repairs to the “Welcome to Roswell” sign on North Main Street until funding to redo all of the signs is approved. The sign was originally donated to the city by Southwest Dairy Farmers, according to a representative from Dairy Producers of New Mexico. The city plans to update its current “entry signs” in order to reflect a common theme in the future. City Clerk Sharon Coll addressed the commission on the Open Meetings Act, saying that there “must be 72 hours notice” given to the news media before a meeting can be legally held. Coll asked for an additional two hours of notice in order for her office to contact the 25 different media outlets that need notification. “The public has the right to attend, but we are not required to let them speak,” Coll explained. “Consider

that if you let one person speak then it would only be fair to let the rest of the room speak.” Coll added that it would be possible to have a quorum present by use of a conference call. “As long as you can hear them and they can hear you it’s OK,” Coll said. However, Coll war ned that discussing the agenda by phone, email, or in groups outside of the official meeting time is a violation. She also noted that some of the meetings had become “more infor mal” and recommended that the commission follow “Robert’s Rules of Order” more closely. “Don’t even give (the public) the wrong idea by standing outside (of City Hall) and talking,” Coll added. “We don’t want people to think that we’re keeping something from them.” Coll also noted that only items on the agenda could be voted on. One item on Thursday’s

Hobson are Jim Valdez and Tommy Jordan. Ferrell Dunham made the four hour drive from Amarillo, Texas, to visit with his old pals while Billy Turley traveled from San Diego. The 1956 championships were held in Williamsport, Pa., where Little League was bor n 75 years ago. There were eight teams competing in single eliminations for the winning spot. The 11- and 12-year-old players had already traveled throughout the Southwest to play in the regionals, but the trip to the East Coast was special because the train made a stop over in Chicago as it traveled in both directions. They boys got to watch the White Sox play on the way to the Keystone State and the Cubs play on the way back. They watched in awe as Willie Mays of the then Brooklyn Giants drove in a home run one time at bat, and then fouled out in another. The last time for mer See CHAMPS, Page A3

Rotunda loses plaster

Jeff Tucker Photos plaster, about 5 feet long, fell

recently from the 103-yearold rotunda at the Chaves County Courthouse. The missing piece can be seen in the left of this photo. Chaves County Manager Stanton Riggs said the dome was inspected about 10 years ago during a courthouse renovation. “We haven’t had any issues, but here we go,” Riggs said at Thursday’s meeting of the Chaves County commissioners. Riggs said Bradbury Stamm Construction of Albuquerque, which is performing a $15 million jail renovation project for the county, would take a look at the rotunda. “It’s just one of those freak Below: A missing piece of things,” Riggs said.

Right: Chaves County workers have been constructing this protective walkway after a large piece of plaster fell from the historic rotunda overhead at the Chaves County Courthouse. Chaves County Public Services Director Sonny Chancey said the protective walkway should be completed today. “Once we get that built, we’ll fully investigate why that fell or if there are other pieces about to fall,” Chancey said at Thursday’s meeting of the Chaves County commissioners. “At this point, we don’t even know why the plaster fell.”

See COMMISSION, Page A3

HIGH 90 LOW 67

TODAY’S FORECAST

• ORALIA VELASQUEZ • ZOLA GRACE HORNEY • ANNA RUTH LEE

• AURORA JARAMILLO • MARY HELEN FIMBRES

TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B6

CLASSIFIEDS ..........B8 COMICS .................B7 ENTERTAINMENT .....B5 FINANCIAL ..............B4

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

HOROSCOPES .........B5 LOTTERIES .............A2

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

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

WEATHER ............A10


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