Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 246 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
MAGAZINE STARTED PROTESTS NEW YORK (AP) — Early this year, the editors of a Canadian anti-establishment magazine watched Egyptians demanding democracy in Cairo, and young Spaniards camping out in city centers to protest high unemployment, and wondered, “Why isn’t this happening in America?” - PAGE B3
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
October 13, 2011
THURSDAY
www.rdrnews.com
Justices consolidate redistricting in Santa Fe SANTA FE (AP) — The state Supreme Court on Wednesday resolved a dispute between Republicans and Democrats by consolidating redistricting lawsuits in Santa Fe and naming a retired judge to handle the cases. The court assigned all redistricting lawsuits, including any that may be filed later, to the 1st Judicial District in Santa Fe. It said retired District Court Judge James Hall will preside over the cases. The justices offered no explanation for their decision in a brief order, but the outcome was what a group of Democrats had requested. The court’s decision came after Democrats and Republicans had feuded over where their redistricting lawsuits should be heard. The stakes in the redistricting
fight are high for both parties for the rest of the decade. The makeup of new districts can determine whether one political party and its candidates gain an advantage in future elections for Congress, the Legislature and the Public Regulation Commission. The goal of redistricting is to ensure that all voters of New Mexico have equal representation. That’s done by realigning districts to try to equalize their populations as much as possible, meeting the requirements of the legal doctrine of one person, one vote. Redistricting is necessary to adjust for population shifts within the state during the past decade. The fight went to court after the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Susana Mar-
High above Roswell
tinez couldn’t agree on new redistricting plans. Six lawsuits have been filed in three different courts — Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Lovington — and the state Supreme Court was asked to resolve how those cases would be handled. A group of Democrats, including House and Senate Democratic leaders, wanted the Supreme Court to consolidate all the redistricting lawsuits in state district court in Santa Fe — a heavily Democratic area of the state — and assign a judge to handle them. Laguna Pueblo, which brought one of the cases, agreed. However, opposition came from Republicans, including the governor, Lt. Gov. John Sanchez and Secretary of State Dianna Duran. In written arguments submitted Tuesday, the governor and other Repub-
WEB
For The Last 24 Hours
• School bus crash • Robert Vigil Jr. • Whistleblower • Avery steps down • Purple Ribbon Dinner
INSIDE SPORTS Mark Wilson Photo
Corey John of Broken Arrow Communications climbs a water tower at the Roswell International Air Center on Tuesday morning to fix a Sprint antenna.
TODAY’S OBITUARIES
• David Salas • Joyce Kay Whitt • Lupe Lucero - PAGE B3
HIGH ...84˚ LOW ....50˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 NATION .................B3 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8 LOCAL ..................A5
INDEX
On Sept. 29, the Roswell Police Department received information about a possible scam from Fedex. “They became suspicious when a man came in asking for 50 separate shipping envelops. He returned with 33 addressed to different private addresses,” said RPD spokesman Officer Travis Holley. During investigation, Detective Neil Binderman of the Criminal Investigation white-collar division discovered that the account number provided to Fedex belonged to a stem cell therapy company in Califor nia. “Why would a veterinary company be sending things out from Roswell?” asked Holley.
Couple hopes to buy Unity Center for teens
Murder case to go to trial
Currently serving as a safe haven for pigeons, the Unity Center, which once provided a secure place for youth to hang out and a venue for local bands to play, may be reopening its doors. Roswell residents Casey and Heidi Key hope to renovate and reinstate the Unity Center as a youth ministry to provide Roswell teenagers with a positive, faith-based environment. The Keys have been involved in ministry at their parish, Tabernacle Baptist Church, for more than four years. City officials condemned the building, which hosted the Unity Center, in April 2010 due to safety concerns. The Roswell City Council approved asbestos abatement and the removal of lead-based paint from the building in July as part of the city’s 2011-2012 fiscal budget, according to City Manager Larry Fry, who said $100,000 was allotted for the cleaning. The total cost ended up being $96,849, according to Mike Mathews, who is with special services for the city. Mathews said the work was 99.9 percent completed. Once the cleaning of the building is completed, it will be up to the City Council to determine the future of the building, according to Fry. Born and raised in Roswell, Casey and his wife saw a need in the community to improve the day-to-day lives of Roswell teens. Also seeing a need for something to come out of the neglected building, Casey said he and Heidi would be
The preliminary hearing in the Mario Montoya murder trial was held in Magistrate Court on Tuesday. Montoya is charged with the revenge killing of Jericole Coleman, 21. The incident occurred on Aug. 22 at the intersection of Ash and Albuquerque streets. Deputy District Attorney Alan Griffin on Tuesday called an eyewitness to the shooting as the state’s first witness. Under questioning, the witness said he was surprised to see the two men together since the last time Montoya had spoken to him about Coleman, “Montoya just said Jericole Coleman ratted me out and he’s going to get what he deserves.” The witness had known both men, Montoya and Coleman, since they were in school together. The day before the incident, the Albuquerque Street residence had been the subject of a drive-by shooting. The eyewitness said that he dropped by to see if everyone was all right, only to find Coleman there and Montoya holding a gun. Montoya brought the two men into the residence to show them bullet holes.
JULIA BERGMAN RECORD STAFF WRITER
The expectations for this year’s version of the New Mexico Military Institute Bronco volleyball team are high to say the least. The Broncos’ effort on Wednesday showed exactly why. - PAGE B1
RPD goes after scam operation
See JUSTICES, Page A6
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5
BRONCOS DOWN ODESSA
licans urged the Supreme Court to consolidate the redistricting cases in the 2nd Judicial District in Albuquerque, which is the state’s largest city and politically more friendly to Republicans than Santa Fe. Another group of Republicans wanted the cases in Lovington, but said they preferred Albuquerque over Santa Fe. Albuquerque traditionally is a critical battleground in statewide elections and voters often swing back and forth in backing either Republicans or Democrats. The Albuquerque-area 1st Congressional District was held by Republicans for decades, but a Democrat has occupied the seat since winning in
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
See SCAM, Page A6
“We went into the kitchen and I wasn’t too comfortable with that. He (Montoya) took us around the house to show how it was guarded.” When the three men exited the building to the backyard, Montoya pointed to the basement and said: “That’s where I’m going to put my bodies.” According to the eyewitness, the next thing he knew: “Montoya shot Jericole. He (Montoya) asked me to help him with the body, and I said, ‘no’.” He could see that Coleman was still moving as he ran around the side of the house attempting to escape from Montoya. When police arrived, the eyewitness surrendered immediately, giving officers not only his keys but permission to search his house. Defense attorney Anna Marie Green noted that the witness owned a .45 caliber gun and that a .45 caliber casing had been located in Montoya’s yard. Under cross examination, the witness stated that Coleman had shot it from his vehicle in the past. Green suggested that he, rather than Montoya, was the shooter. Jesse Davis with the Office of the
Jova kills 3 in Mexico, while 2nd storm kills 13 See COUPLE, Page A6
MANZANILLO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Jova slammed into Mexico’s Pacific coast as a Category 2 storm early Wednesday, killing three people and injuring six, while a tropical depression hit farther south and unleashed steady rains that contributed to 13 deaths across the border in Guatemala. Jova came ashore west of the Mexican port of Manzanillo and the beach town of Barra de Navidad before dawn with 100 mph (160 kph) winds and heavy rains, before moving inland and weakening to a tropical depression by afternoon. It continued to dump rain over a large swath of north-
west Mexico, including Jalisco state where rainfall this year had been low. A 71-year -old woman drowned in Colima state after a strong current swept away the car in which she and her son were riding. Her son survived, Colima Gov. Mario Anguiano said. In the neighboring state of Jalisco, Jova triggered a mudslide in the town of Cihuatlan, just inland from Barra de Navidad, that swept away a house on a hillside, killing two of its occupants, said Oscar Mejia, the spokesman for the Jalisco state Red Cross See JOVA, Page A6
See MURDER, Page A6
Cars pile up after being dragged by flood waters in Villa de Coral, Mexico, Wednesday.
AP Photo