Latest news with #AlbuquerquePolice
CBS News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
National Guard troops deployed to crime-plagued Albuquerque are unarmed and not in military uniform
Albuquerque, New Mexico — Outside his motorcycle shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, James Grice every day clears trash before he can open his doors to customers. "All around the building, it's just a daily thing," said Grice, owner of J&L Motorsports, who added that he also sometimes has to clear away unhoused people. "Yeah...I got someone sleeping right there right now." There are bullet holes in his shop's windows, and Grice and officers with the Albuquerque Police Department told CBS News they have a name for this part of the city, known as the Central Avenue Corridor: the "war zone." The Central Avenue Corridor has seen shootings, assaults and drug abuse, including fentanyl, which reached a level that drove Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina in late March to issue a memo asking New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for reinforcements. "As you may know, we have made significant progress in reducing shootings and aggravated assaults along Central Avenue Corridor through a comprehensive approach to public safety centered on proactive police activity," the memo read. "However, sustaining this momentum requires immediate reinforcement." According to a violent crime survey conducted by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an organization representing police executives, the Albuquerque Police Department reported a drop in violent crime in recent months. It recorded 11 homicides in the first quarter of 2025, down from 21 in the same period in 2024. There were 48 rapes reported in the city in the first quarter of this year, down from 63 over the same period last year. The police department received 153 robbery reports, down from 232 robberies last year, and there were 895 aggravated assaults in the first quarter, down from 1,095 in the same period of 2024, the survey said. Grisham, a Democrat, responded to the memo by declaring a state of emergency in April and authorizing the deployment of about 70 New Mexico National Guard members to the city. The National Guard spent May in training and arrived on Albuquerque's streets on June 5. "I see drug dealing, drug use, prostitution," Grisham recently told CBS affiliate KRQE regarding the Central Avenue Corridor. "I worry about human trafficking. I see violence on the streets." Those Guard members have been training in crisis intervention and de-escalation. And unlike the California National Guard troops that were deployed by President Trump earlier this month in response to protests in Los Angeles, the Guard members deployed by Grisham in Albuquerque are not armed or in military uniform, according to city officials. "The intent of it all is to free Albuquerque police officers to be more available to the community, to answer calls for service, so that's in the capacity we'll be doing this," Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar, adjutant general for the New Mexico National Guard, said in briefing last month in Santa Fe. Aguilar also said that 53 of the 71 Guard members deployed are from the Albuquerque area. "We coach in the community, we work in the community, it's a little different when you talk about the national guard. I think it's important to understand that," Aguilar said. During two homicide calls and a SWAT activation this week in Albuquerque, the job of the Guard members was to secure a perimeter. That freed up police officers who would have done that job to go back on the streets and respond to other calls, according to Albuquerque police. "We need to stop playing games with crime," Det. Shaun Willoughby, president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association, the department's union, told CBS News. Willoughby has his doubts about the effectiveness of the Guard's impact so far. He believes the violence is too fierce for unarmed Guard members to help with. "What are they going to do?" Willoughby asked. "They can't intervene. They don't have the authority to take anybody to jail. They're not armed. They're going to be in one of the most violent communities in this country, in a polo shirt, recognizing themselves as this helper, and they're limited onto what they can do." Civil liberty advocates are uneasy with any plan that increases policing. Still, Grice says the city needs all the help it can get. Grice said he has remained in Albuquerque because he needs to "make it work." "I've got to support my family," Grice said. "I've got employees to worry about." After CBS News finished speaking to Grice, it came across a crime scene in which Albuquerque police were investigating a possible homicide, just a block from the front door of Grice's business.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
APD charges man involved in robbery, police shooting in Northwest ABQ
Jun. 16—Police released the name of a man who allegedly robbed a convenience store, fled from police and was shot by officers in a vacant lot in Northwest Albuquerque on Sunday. Gabriel Moralez, 23, of Albuquerque, is charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. Moralez is being booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said in a news release at 5:50 p.m. Monday. At about 3:10 p.m. Sunday, APD received an alert from a cash tracker — a GPS tracking device that allows police to track stolen money — inside the Circle K convenience store in the 300 block of Coors NW, near Bluewater, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. Two minutes earlier, a store employee called dispatch and told them he had been robbed at gunpoint, police said. The employee told police a man — later identified as Moralez — walked up to the door and yelled, "Mask, mask mask," the complaint states. The employee told police after they told Moralez he could not wear a mask inside, he pointed a gun at them and said they had to give him money from the register or he would shoot them, police said. The employee told police Moralez left with $140 in cash, eight packs of cigarettes and the cash tracker, according to the complaint. The tracker traced Moralez to the 200 block of 63rd Street, near Central, where detectives conducted covert surveillance, police said. Minutes later, they saw Moralez walk in the area of 60th and Avalon SW where they contacted him and he ran, the complaint states. Moralez then jumped over a fence carrying a black backpack and ran through a vacant property on Westcourt Place then "produced a handgun and officers shot a rifle" and less lethal rounds at Moralez, Gallegos said. After being shot, he ran again before being arrested and taken to a local hospital, Gallegos said. In March, Moralez pleaded not guilty to criminal trespassing after hanging out in an alley outside a Southeast Albuquerque apartment, according to court records. He was ordered to enter a pre-adjudication diversion program, court records state.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
VIDEO: Man accused of stabbing child in the neck arrested by Albuquerque police
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New video shows when Albuquerque Police arrested the man accused of stabbing an eight-year-old girl at a local restaurant. People at the scene described to police how a man attacked the girl with a bottle before stabbing her in the neck. That girl was injured but expected to be okay. Story continues below New Mexico Crime Files: Grocery store worker hands out semen-tainted yogurt Film: These productions were filmed at White Sands. Have you seen them? New Mexico News Insiders: Who Will Fix New Mexico's Mental Health Problems? News: Governor's Office: Operation Zia Shield is different than situation in California It happened at the Saggios restaurant on Cornell Dr. near the University of New Mexico on April 25. When police found the suspect, Nichalas San Souci, he was in a parking lot, bleeding from his head. Then, an officer told the others that San Souci had stabbed a little girl. Police later found what appeared to be a pocketknife and scissors in his pocket, but it was a Corona beer bottle that witnesses said San Souci used to stab the girl, after he hit her in the head with it. They told police that the girl was with her family near a fountain when the attack happened, saying bystanders jumped in to help when they heard the girl scream. The girl was taken to the hospital. The father of the victim told police that San Souci attacked the girl because he was angry she stepped in front of him. When police questioned San Souci, he claimed he dropped the beer bottle and it wasn't an attack. However, that's not what officers saw when Saggio's staff showed them the video. The father later identified San Souci as the attacker in the parking lot, and San Souci can be heard apologizing. San Souci is facing charges for child abuse, aggravated battery, and aggravated assault. Last month, San Souci pled not guilty. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Suspect in deadly Albuquerque police shooting had lengthy criminal history
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque SWAT operation to apprehend a suspected car thief ended in tragedy early Thursday morning, leaving both the suspect and a police K-9 dead, and KRQE News 13 has learned more about the suspect. Story continues below Crime: Albuquerque business owner faces murder charge for shooting fleeing shoplifter News: Las Vegas deputy charged with aggravated battery and robbery Business: A downtown Albuquerque shoe shine parlor is still serving patrons after nearly a century Events: What's happening around New Mexico May 30-June 5? Kirtland Air Fiesta and more Albuquerque Police Department officers responded to the Comfort Inn near the Albuquerque International Sunport around midnight in search of 39-year-old Jorge Eduardo Dominguez. According to authorities, Dominguez attempted to evade arrest by jumping from a second-story window. Officers deployed a K-9 unit, and the service dog, Rebel, was released to pursue him. During the attempted arrest, police discovered Dominguez was armed. Shots were fired, resulting in Dominguez being fatally shot. Rebel was also injured in the confrontation and later died from his wounds. Dominguez had a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2006. In 2022, he was convicted of firing a weapon at another driver but avoided prison time after accepting a plea deal that resulted in a suspended sentence. His record includes charges of domestic violence, battery, and driving while intoxicated. The most recent charge that led to Thursday's encounter involved receiving and transferring a stolen vehicle. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
27-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
One-year-old boy dies after relative locked him inside hot pickup truck and 'forgot he was there'
A one-year-old boy was found dead inside a blisteringly hot pickup truck in southwest Albuquerque on Sunday evening. Police have described the death as 'a very tragic incident' and one that occurred while the child was supposed to be under the supervision of a male relative who authorities say, simply forgot he was there. 'It's obviously a tragedy. But a one-year-old - it's really difficult to fathom,' said Albuquerque Police Department Public Information Officer Gilbert Gallegos The child's parents dropped him off around 10:30am leaving him in the care of a young adult relative. But what should have been a routine day turned to horror when that relative left the child in the back seat of his vehicle, parked in the sun with the windows closed. It wasn't until almost six hours later at 5pm that someone realized the baby was missing. Family members contacted the caregiver to ask where the child was, prompting a frantic search - and a heartbreaking discovery. 'They realized the child wasn't inside the home,' Gallegos said at a press briefing. 'Family members may have started CPR, but Albuquerque Fire Rescue took over. They tried for a long time to revive the child. Unfortunately, the child died at the scene.' Although the official cause of death is pending an autopsy, police say all signs point to heatstroke. 'I know the family was really devastated at the scene,' Gallegos said. 'It was a pretty large extended family. So I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers and be respectful of what they're going through right now.' The neighborhood has been left stunned by the horror of what happened. The National Weather Service estimates the interior of the parked vehicle could have reached more than 200 degrees Fahrenheit even though Albuquerque's high on Sunday was around 83 degrees. The closed car turned the vehicle into a oven. According to experts, 80 percent of a car's temperature rise occurs in the first 10 minutes, making such tragedies horrifyingly quick. 'It doesn't have to be that hot outside for it to be deadly,' Gallegos stressed. 'Being in a hot truck with the windows up can get extremely hot after just a little bit of time.' As temperatures rise with the warmer weather experts are once again urging vigilance. 'A child's body overheats three to five times faster than an adult's,' Gallegos said. 'Even at 72 degrees outside, the inside of a car can become deadly in minutes.' Kids and Car Safety is pushing for more widespread use of technology like rear-seat reminders in vehicles, and greater public awareness campaigns - especially in states like New Mexico, where summer heat can strike with lethal speed.' 'Check the back seat,' Gallegos urged. 'Always.' 'The temperature the car can hit can go over 115 degrees - and in many cases, even higher. These situations happen at least once a year, and in some years, multiple times,' said Paul Szych, a public safety expert with KOAT. Despite the devastating outcome, no arrests have been made but police say the case remains under investigation and that they've been working closely with the local district attorney and the Children, Youth and Families Department. The young caregiver, who initially fled the scene before returning, has been interviewed but is not currently facing charges. 'His relatives speculated that he was just traumatized,' Gallegos said. 'They said he was a good person, but he was just in shock when this happened.' Authorities have also confirmed that there is no prior history of child abuse or neglect involving the family. According to the national nonprofit Kids and Car Safety, the death of the Albuquerque child marks the fourth hot car death of a child in the US this year. Since 1990, at least 1,127 children have died in hot cars across the country and more than 7,500 have suffered injuries ranging from heat exhaustion to severe brain damage. Nearly 90 percent of the victims are under the age of 3. In over half of those cases, the child was unknowingly left behind by a parent or caregiver. 'The problem is, people jump to the conclusion that a parent left a child in the vehicle,' said Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp. 'But a lot of times, it's somebody who's not accustomed to having a child with them - a family member, a friend. And those few hours - that's all it takes.' Propp also voiced his frustration with bystanders who hesitate to intervene when they see a child trapped in a hot vehicle.
