04-29-2011

Page 1

Roswell Daily Record

Gomez: I stabbed him

Vol. 120, No. 103 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

INSIDE NEWS

JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

James Gomez took the stand in his own defense, Thursday, and admitted to stabbing Zachary Perez in February 2010. “I stabbed him. I don’t know many times.” The confession from the

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

April 29, 2011

FRIDAY

www.rdrnews.com

witness stand came after the state rested its case on day three of the trial of The State of New Mexico v. James Gomez. Gomez, 20, is charged with first-degree murder for killing of 16-year -old Zachary Perez. Perez’s body was found around 3 a.m. on Feb. 13,

“He was stabbed 22 times. In this alleged knife fight, didn’t you notice he (Perez) was not fighting back?” — Assistant District Attorney Debra Hutchins

2010, in a vacant lot between Mulberry Avenue

and Fifth Street. Before Gomez testified,

attor ney Randall Harris presented a motion to the court for a directed verdict, where a presiding judge directs the jury to return a particular verdict. Harris argued, “We have no evidence, no witnesses, directly linking James See TRIAL, Page A7

ABBEY CROWDS SWELL

LONDON (AP) — Each step has been rehearsed, each flower meticulously arranged, the aisle of Westminster Abbey transformed into a flowering avenue of trees. With just hours to go before his wedding to Kate Middleton, dedicated royal watchers camped - PAGE A6

TOP 5 WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

• Gomez on trial for Perez murder • RPD responds to shots fired at Allsup’s • Yucca Rec Center morphs into Mars • Duane Evans ‘Saves the Mo Ave Murals’ • NMMI names Montoya HS football coach

INSIDE SPORTS

Mark Wilson Photo

Hundreds protest against potential lizard listing Crowds gather at RIAC, Thursday, to protest endangered species protection for the dunes sagebrush lizard.

EMILY RUSSO MILLER RECORD STAFF WRITER

GHS BOYS WIN, GIRLS LOSE

There are certain things that must be learned the hard way, like hot glass looks like cold glass or never tickle a sleeping dragon, for example. Tennis is no different and one of the things that players must learn is to take .... - PAGE B1

TODAY’S OBITUARIES

• Maxine Wilson • Mickie Finlay • Marvin Curry • Bernice M. Lovejoy • Robert Thompson - PAGE A6

HIGH ...98˚ LOW ....55˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

CLASSIFIEDS..........B5 COMICS.................B3 FINANCIAL .............B4 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

Mark Wilson Photo

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce speaks during a rally at the Roswell International Air Center, Thursday.

Hundreds of people worried about job security rallied inside a hangar at the Roswell International Air Center Thursday night to protest the potential listing of a species of lizard native to southeast New Mexico with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The crowd then walked down the street to attend a public hearing on the issue hosted by the Service at Eastern New Mexico Uni-

versity-Roswell. U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce, R-N.M., who helped coordinate the protest and headlined the event, reiterated the message he delivered last week to a crowd at the Artesia Chamber of Commerce: Listing the dunes sagebrush lizard, commonly called the sand dune lizard, as an endangered species would kill jobs in the oil and gas industry, devastating the local economy that is dependent on the indus-

Fire truck rolls enroute to grass fire

cials said, adding it’s unknown whether the tanker is a complete loss. It overturned near Brown Street and Highway 380. “The firefighter was responding to a suspected grass fire,” said Georgiana Hunt, administrator for Chaves County Fire Services. “It was an illegal barrel burn.” Hunt said that the county recently spent about $417,000 on a simMark Wilson Photo ilar tank for another county fire department. A Sierra Volunteer Fire Department tanker trunk overShe said the tanker turned Thursday while responding to an illegal burn, offiwas carrying water, but cials said. she was not immediately A Sierra Volunteer Fire county fire officials said. sure whether it was at Department tanker truck The driver of the truck full capacity. rolled over Thursday was transported to the Chaves County’s volunafternoon while respond- hospital and released teer departments have ing to an illegal bur n, with minor injuries, offi- eight tanker trucks.

try’s revenue. The federal lawmaker was joined onstage by a host of other elected officials, including Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, state Reps. Candy Spence Ezzell, RRoswell, Dennis Kintigh, R-Roswell and Bob Wooley, R-Roswell and county commissioners from Eddy, Lincoln, Hobbs, Otero and Chaves counties. The sand dune lizard has already been listed as endangered by the state See LIZARD, Page A7

Mark Wilson Photo

Bob Madill, left, and John Selkirk prepare to load fire retardant into an awaiting Aero Union tanker plane.

Air tankers refuel at RIAC Fire officials from the State Forestry Division and Bureau of Land Management took to fighting the Last Chance Fire located just west of Queen, from Roswell this

week. Officials on the ground at the Roswell International Air Center were tasked with the imporSee TANKERS, Page A7


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