05-22-2011

Page 1

Roswell Daily Record

INSIDE NEWS

NEW LOOK AT THE O.K. CORRAL

TOMBSTONE, Ariz. (AP) — Past Boothill Graveyard and around the bend where Arizona 80 becomes Fremont Street, a larger-thanlife statue of a man rises from a low sandstone pedestal. Clad in a duster and broad-brimmed hat, a sawed-off shotgun over one shoulder, Wyatt Earp stands guard at the entrance - PAGE C6

THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY

Judicial bribery scandal unfolds

Vol. 120, No. 123 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday

May 22, 2011

SUNDAY

www.rdrnews.com

AP Photo

Suspended State District Judge Michael Murphy waits in the Civil/Criminal Filings office prior to being fingerprinted, at the 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces, Friday.

GHS graduates 219

SANTA FE (AP) — A Las businessman Cruces entangled in an alleged pay-to-play scheme for judicial appointments has contributed more than $50,000 to former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson and played a role in Richardson hiring a state investment officer who’s been implicated in a separate public corruption scandal. Edgar Lopez, who runs a real estate investment business called IMA Inc., is portrayed by gover nment investigators as a political

power broker who helped secure appointments by Richardson for those wanting to serve on Doña Ana County courts. District Judge Michael Murphy of Las Cruces pleaded not guilty on Friday to felony bribery charges in the ongoing judicial pay-to-play investigation. According to a report by prosecution investigators, Murphy told a Las Cruces lawyer that she needed to make weekly payments in the form of campaign contributions — and deliver

TOP 5 WEB

For The Past 24 Hours

• Roswell woman shot, killed • Three teens arrested on ‘joy ride’ • Bolaños on RHS ’11: A great class • Herrera pre-trials to begin July 18 • RPD seeks info on shooting

INSIDE SPORTS

Mark Wilson Photo

NO TRIPLE CROWN WINNER THIS YEAR

BALTIMORE (AP) — Shackleford was sweating profusely, bucking and kicking until six crewmen finally shoved him into the No. 5 gate at the Preakness. One ton of horseflesh all but screamed, “Get me out of here.” Less than two minutes after the gate sprang open, the nervous colt was a cool, classic winner. - PAGE B1

Goddard High School Class of 2011 co-valedictorian Claudea Nicole Hernandez helps a classmate prepare to march onto the Wool Bowl football field Saturday evening for commencement ceremonies. Hernandez says she will be attending Rice University in Houston, in the fall to major in biology. “I’m excited to start something new,” she said. Of the 219 students who graduated, 38 were high honor graduates, with a 4.0 and above cumulative GPA; and 37 were honor graduates, with a 3.5 to 3.99 cumulative GPA.

17 graduate Gateway Christian

TODAY’S OBITUARIES

• H.W. “Bill” Molyneux • Janet E. Cantwell • Anthony Rodriguez • Raul Martin Anchondo • Jose P. Moreno III - PAGE B6

HIGH ...96˚ LOW ....60˚

TODAY’S FORECAST

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IN MONEY SAVING OFFERS IN TODAY’S PAPER

CLASSIFIEDS..........D1 COMICS.................C4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B7 FEATURE ...............C5 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........B8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8

INDEX

Mark Wilson Photo

Seventeen happy seniors graduated from Gateway Christian School Saturday afternoon in the sanctuary of Gateway Church Inter national. Of those, six were chosen to be valedictorians. Hannah Bradshaw, Lindzey Gill, Mycah Moody, Emily Nobles, Leah Wagner and Kathryn Worrall each had above a 4.0 GPA,

From left, Daniel Ramirez, Hannah Parker and Austin Wulf make last-minute wardrobe adjustments prior to graduation ceremonies, See GATEWAY, Page A3 Saturday.

Game&Fish: To keep bears away, put your food away JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER

New Mexico Game and Fish supervisor Leon Redman has advice for citizens about dealing with bears. Bears in this area are unusual. He attributed their appearance in Roswell to the dry conditions. “We haven’t seen a bear in Roswell in 20 years,” said Redman. With continued dry weather, other bears may be driven from their normal forest habitat to the prairie in their search for food. He said their arrival was probably caused by a combination of factors, including fires that drive away prey and deprive them of vegetation that forms the

bulk of the black bear’s normal diet. Game and Fish advise people to keep trash in closed, sturdy cans. Store cans inside in a garage or shed if possible until the day of pick-up. Fill bird feeders with only enough food to last a day. Take down bird feeders, including hummingbird feeders, during the night and bring them inside. Feed pets inside. Store pet food inside the garage and close the garage doors during the night. Never put sweet-smelling foods, such as melon rinds, into compost heaps. Clean grills after use and store them inside. See BEARS, Page A3

them to Lopez — to get an appointment by Richardson to the local district court. Lopez has not been charged with a crime and Richardson has denied that campaign contributions influenced his judicial appointments, saying the allegations are “outrageous and defamatory.” Lopez hasn’t returned phone calls from The Associated Press over several days. Lopez is among a cast of characters near to Richardson who have been linked

Police arrest murder suspect

See BRIBERY, Page A3

Police arrested a Roswell teenager Saturday afternoon who they say shot killed Victoria and Velasquez-Arrias, 22, Friday. Roswell Police Department spokeswoman Erica O’Bryon said Jose Arias, 19, of Roswell, was arrested at 12:46 p.m., Saturday, at an apartment complex on West Fourth Street, where the shooting took place. Police records show Arias was charged with one count of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. The victim was the granddaughter of Ward V City Councilor Elena Velasquez. O’Bryon said Arias is being held at the Chaves County Detention Center on a $1 million surety bond.

12 graduate Valley Christian

Mark Wilson Photo

Valley Christian Academy graduates let off some steam before commencement ceremonies, Saturday.

Students of Valley Christian Academy’s 2011 graduating class bid farewell to one another Saturday as the 12-member class prepared for the next chapter of their lives in the coming fall. The students were preparing to leave their tight-knit group, many of whom have been together since the school opened eight See VALLEY, Page A3

Yemeni leader says he’ll step down SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Under pressure from protesters and regional allies, Yemen’s president said Saturday he will sign a deal to step down after 32 years in power. Still, he condemned the proposal as “a coup” and war ned the U.S. and Europe that his departure will open the door for alQaida to seize control of the fragile nation on the edge of Arabia. The mixed signals from Yemen’s embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, followed two earlier promises by him to sign the proposal. Both times he backed away at the last minute, adding to the opposition’s deep mistrust of a leader known for the adept political

maneuvering that has kept him in power for decades. In a sign that he may be ready to sign this time, the coalition of opposition political parties involved in the talks with Gulf Arab mediators was persuaded to sign the deal on Saturday, a day ahead of Saleh, based on what it said were guarantees that the president would follow through. The proposal, mediated by a six-nation regional bloc called the Gulf Cooperation Council, grants him immunity from prosecution if he leaves office within 30 days. It is far from certain, however, whether it would satisfy all of the many different groups protesting his rule

in the streets. Saleh has managed to cling to power in the face of near daily protests by hundreds of thousands of Yemenis fed up with corruption and poverty. Like other anti-gover nment movements sweeping the Arab world, they took inspiration from the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The president has swung between offering concessions, taking them back and executing a violent crackdown that has killed more than 150 people, according to the opposition, which says it compiled the tally from lists of the dead at hospitals around the nation.

See YEMEN, Page A3


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05-22-2011 by Roswell Daily Record - Issuu