Roswell Daily Record
Coon charged with 9 felonies THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
Vol. 120, No. 90 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new budget estimate released Wednesday shows that the spending bill negotiated between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner would produce less than 1 percent of the $38 billion in promised savings by the end of this budget year. - PAGE A3
THURSDAY
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MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
NOT EVEN CLOSE
April 14, 2011
Justin Coon
A city police officer was fired from the Roswell Police Department and charged with nine fourthdegree felonies, including identity theft and possession of a controlled substance, and a petty misdemeanor, late Wednesday. Justin Coon, a nearly five-year veteran of the department and son to Chaves County Sheriff Rob Coon, turned himself in to
the RPD shortly after a warrant was issued for his arrest Wednesday, police said. Coon had been on paid administrative leave beginning March 25, a day before a police report listed him as a suspect in a fraud case. He is accused of attempting to purchase a pharmaceutical product containing ephedrine, Bronkaid, with a driver’s license belonging to an individual he previously arrested, according to a criminal complaint. New Mexico limits the
amount of pharmacy drugs containing ephedrine that individuals can buy in a given month. Although unsuccessful in his attempt to purchase Bronkaid with the false identification, the mother of the person’s license Coon presented at the store worked at the Walgreens Pharmacy. She and her son contacted police on March 24 to report the incident. “(Police) then viewed the surveillance video of the incident,” reads the criminal complaint. “(Officers)
A-PLUS or F-MINUS?
‘Race ‘ya to the mall!’
WEB For The Past 24 Hours
• UFO memo creates buzz • Local flea market burglarized • Revitalized program presents ‘Grease’ • Motion to dismiss proposed in case • Report filed naming Coon
INSIDE
Character Counts! of Chaves County released the fourth installment of its Spring Athletes of Recognition program. This week’s honorees are from the sport of boys track & field. This week’s winners are Scott Christiansen, Joshua Coronado, Benjamin Eberhardt, Ramon Lupercio, Richard Medrano, Matthew Straley and Mason Thomas. - PAGE B1
TODAY’S • • • • • •
OBITUARIES
Gloria Morrow Rosie Darnell Lori Salcido Charles Corzine Octaviano Talamantes John Foster - PAGE B3
HIGH ...84˚ LOW ....43˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 FINANCIAL .............B5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
INDEX
Mark Wilson Photo
Some local landowners have burrs under their saddles about the new Department of Game and Fish system that changes how the state allocates private-land antelope licenses. About 18 ranchers from Capitan, Carrizozo, Carlsbad and Roswell, including state lawmaker Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell, convened in the back room of Game and Fish’s Roswell office, Tuesday night, with the Santa Fe Wildlife Management Division Chief for the Department of Game and Fish, Jim Lane. Lane says it was the first of three public meetings in the southeastern part of the state intended to increase transparency within the department, explain the new rules
2011 UFO Festival Vote on census appeal tonight headin’ downtown Ducks take flight at a Roswell area watering hole, early Wednesday morning.
MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
CC! HONORS TRACKSTERS
See COON, Page A6
EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5
SPORTS
immediately recognized the male subject to be Officer Justin Coon.” Sometime after officials approached, he consented to a search of his home where police found “17 empty blister packets of Bronkaid ... (and) 25 empty blister packets of an unknown brand ephedrine medication,” according to the report. After searching his police cruiser, police found a
Organizers behind this year’s UFO Festival say the majority of work that goes behind planning the event is wrapping up and they are looking forward to a great festival for everyone, near and far, to enjoy. Planners say numerous
bands, street performers, vendors, UFO researchers, beer, wine tastings and even free balloon art for children, are just among the few activities and events planned for the 2011 festival. “We expect this year to be a good year,” said Julie See UFO, Page A6
MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
City officials say they are in the very preliminary stages in their efforts to dispute 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data that show Roswell’s population to be below 50,000 residents. City Planner Michael Vickers, who is essentially heading the effort on
Realtors honor Bill Armstrong JONATHAN ENTZMINGER RECORD STAFF WRITER
Roswell Association of Realtors honored Bill Armstrong Jr., with the Roswell Association of Realtors 2011 Citizen of the Year Award, Wednesday. “It’s a great award. I was in disbelief,” Armstrong said. “I don’t do what I do for notoriety. I do it because I believe in this community and there’s so many great
Mark Wilson Photo
From left, John Grieves and Bill Armstrong Jr., chat at the Roswell Association of Realtors Luncheon, Wednesday. See REALTORS, Page A6
See ANTELOPE, Page A6
the city’s end to argue the data, said Wednesday that of ficials are just beginning to review their options. “We’re still trying to find a consultant, ... someone who has been in this situation before,” he said. Vickers explained he is sifting through hundreds of pages of previous years’ census data, looking to
see if there were any other cities that had similar results that Roswell experienced this year, namely cities that may have disputed the data and cleared the 50,000 hurdle after an appeal process. “(I’m) looking through the data from the 2000 and 1999 census for See CENSUS, Page A6
Riverside Drive residents object to golf course fence MATTHEW ARCO RECORD STAFF WRITER
A group of Roswell residents are fuming over a proposal by the city’s parks department to build a fence on a section of the Spring River Golf Course that they say will have detrimental effects to the value of their homes and would be an eyesore to the neighborhood. Residents along Riverside Drive near the golf course and bearing the organization name, “Fight the Fence,” say they are upset
the project was hashed by the parks officials without any input from residents. In addition, some say they are troubled that multiple large trees were cut down to make room for the fence project. “We bought the homes (on Riverside Drive) predicated on the fact that we bought the homes with no fence,” said Matt Hinkle, the group’s organizer. “It’s going to look just like a prison on our street,” he said. “And what we realSee FENCE, Page A6
Obama calls for cut in spending, raising taxes on the wealthy
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama coupled a call for $4 trillion in long-term deficit reductions with a blistering attack on Republican plans for taxes, Medicare and Medicaid on Wednesday, laying down markers for a roiling debate in Congress and the 2012 presidential campaign to come. Obama said spending cuts and higher taxes alike must be part of any deficitreduction plan, including an end to Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. He proposed an unspecified
“debt failsafe” that would go into effect if Congress failed to make sure the national debt would be falling by 2014 relative to the size of the overall economy. “We have to live within our means, reduce our deficit and get back on a path that will allow us to pay down our debt,” the president said in a speech at George Washington University a few blocks from the White House. ”And we have to do it in a way that protects the recovery, and protects the investments
we need to grow, create jobs and win the future.” Obama’s speech was salted with calls for bipartisanship, but it also bristled with attacks on Republicans. They want to “end Medicare as we know it,” he said, and to extend tax cuts for the wealthy while demanding that seniors pay more for health care. “That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I am president,” he vowed. Medicare serves 47 million seniors and disSee BUDGET, Page A6
AP Photo
President Barack Obama outlines his fiscal policy during an address at George Washington University in Washington, Wednesday.