This appeal is brought by Mr. Gabriel Mirabal. He is a convicted
felon, which prevented him from lawfully possessing a gun. 18 U.S.C.
2
§ 922(g)(1). But authorities thought that they had seen Mr. Mirabal put an
assault rifle in the trunk of a car. This sighting led authorities to arrange
for a local officer to stop Mr. Mirabal for a traffic violation and to search
the trunk... More...    $0 (11-30-2017 - NM)

{1} This case concerns the inventory search exception to the warrant requirement.
4 The Court of Appeals concluded that the inventory search that occurred in this case
5 was invalid because Defendant Wesley Davis did not possess the backpack searched
6 at the time of arrest as the backpack was not “on his person or in his physical
7 possession . . . .” State v. Davis, 2016-NMCA-073... More...    $0 (11-09-2017 - NM)

Following a preliminary hearing in the magistrate court in Carlsbad, New
13 Mexico, the district attorney filed a criminal information in the district court charging
14 Defendant with eighteen counts of sexual exploitation of children (possession) in
15 violation of Section 30-6A-3(A). Pursuant to State v. Olsson, 2014-NMSC-012, 324
16 P.3d 1230, an amended criminal complaint was ... More...    $0 (11-08-2017 - NM)

The facts are taken from the testimony at the suppression hearing held on June
18 11, 2015, unless otherwise noted. New Mexico State Police Sergeant James R.
19 Foreman responded to a call from dispatch on February 2, 2015 around 3:30 p.m.
2
1 concerning a man “slumped over the steering wheel” of his vehicle in the parking lot
2 of Dino’s Mini-Mart in Farmington, New Mexico. Th... More...    $0 (11-08-2017 - NM)

The New Mexico Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act (MFRA), NMSA
4 1978, §§ 66-5-201 to -239 (1978, as amended through 2015), prohibits operation of
5 a motor vehicle without liability insurance or other proof of financial responsibility
6 and requires that proof of compliance be reported to the Motor Vehicle Division
7 (MVD) of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department (th... More...    $0 (06-30-2016 - NM)

In this case, we hold that when law enforcement officers seized, impounded,
4 and sealed a vehicle, under NMSA 1978, Section 31-27-5(A) (2002, amended 2015),
5 they “ma[de] a seizure” of the currency that the vehicle contained. On June 23, 2011,
6 Gallup police officers seized a vehicle. On June 29, they executed a warrant to search
7 the vehicle and discovered $1295 in currency. ... More...    $0 (02-26-2016 - NM)

Mocek has a practice of refusing to show his photo identification at airport
security checkpoints. Prior to 2008, he was able to clear checkpoints by
complying with alternative TSA identification procedures. In 2008, the TSA
established a policy that those who “simply refuse[d] to provide any identification
or assist transportation security officers in ascertaining their identity... More...    $0 (01-24-2016 - NM)

Following a drunk-driving crash on the Isleta Pueblo in New Mexico, in which three people were killed and another severely injured, Lente pled guilty to three counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the pre-sentence investigation report (“PSR”), her advisory Guidelines range was 46 to 57 months' imprisonment. However, the distric... More...    $0 (01-02-2016 - NM)

Surveillance cameras at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Albuquerque caught Defendant Ernest Paananen placing two flashlights under his jacket and then leaving the store without paying. Moments later, the store’s loss prevention team apprehended Defendant and returned him to the store. The loss prevention team placed Defendant in a back room, frisked him, and called the police. During the frisk, a loss pr... More...    $0 (12-29-2015 - NM)

Albuquerque, NM - Convicted Felon from Albuquerque Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of Firearm

Case Prosecuted as Part of “Worst of the Worst” Anti-Violence Initiative

Charles Hodge, 42, of Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hodge entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement.

Hodge was arrested in Nov. 2... More...    $0 (12-21-2015 - NM)

The Court takes its facts from the Revised Presentence Investigation Report, disclosed December 3, 2014, revised January 15, 2015 ("PSR"), that the United States Probation Office ("USPO") prepared. On March 11, 2014, Michael Tafoya pulled out a driveway onto the road, while a green jeep was traveling down the same road. See PSR ¶ 7, at 5. Rodella, Jr., who was driving the jeep, began flashing the ... More...    $0 (12-13-2015 - NM)

The Court takes its facts from the Revised Presentence Investigation Report, disclosed December 3, 2014, revised January 15, 2015 ("PSR"), that the United States Probation Office ("USPO") prepared. On March 11, 2014, Michael Tafoya pulled out a driveway onto the road, while a green jeep was traveling down the same road. See PSR ¶ 7, at 5. Rodella, Jr., who was driving the jeep, began flashing the... More...    $0 (12-02-2015 - NM)

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Motion to Suppress, filed August 7, 2014 (Doc. 675)("Motion"). The Court held evidentiary hearings on the Motion on January 22, 2015, January 28, 2015, and January 30, 2015. The primary issues are: (i) whether the United States Drug Enforcement Agency's investigation of the Homero Varela Drug-Trafficking Organization ("Varela DTO") gave Luis Almonte and Ma... More...    $0 (12-02-2015 - NM)

Surveillance cameras at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Albuquerque caught Defendant Ernest Paananen placing two flashlights under his jacket and then leaving the store without paying. Moments later, the store’s loss prevention team apprehended Defendant and returned him to the store. The loss prevention team placed Defendant in a back room, frisked him, and called the police. During the frisk, a loss p... More...    $0 (11-19-2015 - NM)

Surveillance cameras at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Albuquerque caught Defendant Ernest Paananen placing two flashlights under his jacket and then leaving the store without paying. Moments later, the store’s loss prevention team apprehended Defendant and returned him to the store. The loss prevention team placed Defendant in a back room, frisked him, and called the police. During the frisk, a loss pr... More...    $0 (10-21-2015 - NM)

Mr. Padilla-Esparza is a Mexican citizen and United States lawful permanent
resident. On February 25, 2013, he was traveling from Mexico to the United States
through the Paso del Norte (“PDN”) port of entry in El Paso, Texas. CBP officers

-3-
stopped Mr. Padilla-Esparza after a drug-detection dog alerted to his truck. Officers
searched his truck and found an empt... More...    $0 (08-14-2015 - NM)

ALBUQUERQUE – Manuel Chavez, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced in federal court to 180 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking and firearms conviction.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Kari E. Brandenburg, Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix... More...    $0 (06-11-2015 - NM)

Defendant Raul Cruz was convicted by a jury of knowingly and intentionally
possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§
841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), and 18 U.S.C. § 2, and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 63
months. Cruz’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. United States v.
Cruz, 680 F.3d 1261, 1262 (10th Cir. 2012) (Cr... More...    $0 (12-22-2014 - NM)

After a suspicious death in a New Mexico prison cell, police eventually identified Paul Smalls, the victim’s cellmate, and two other men as the perpetrators of murder. Their scheme was to smother the victim, and then claim he died of an asthma attack. At trial, the government pointed to “signature qualityâ€� evidence that Smalls had threatened his asthmatic ex-wife in a similar fashion five mo... More...    $0 (04-28-2014 - NM)

{1} The State appeals a pretrial ruling by the district court excluding certain photographic evidence as hearsay. The State proposed to use the evidence to establish that Defendant was in possession and control of the northwest bedroom of his father’s home where methamphetamine was seized during a lawful search. Because the photographs of two telephone correspondence documents are relevant for a... More...    $0 (01-27-2014 - NM)

What started as a routine inspection of Norman Washington Berry’s commercial tractor-trailer at a New Mexico port of entry eventually revealed boxes of marijuana nestled in with his load of cantaloupe. A jury convicted Berry of possession with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. He complains about a “permissive inferenceâ€� instruction given to the jury and claims the evid... More...    $0 (06-26-2013 - NM)

Eric Michael Madrid appeals his conviction on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Mr. Madrid pled guilty to the charge but preserved his right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM.

I.

At 7:53 p.m. on November 4, 2007, an operator with the Sandoval Coun... More...    $0 (04-18-2013 - NM)

Defendant-Appellant Raul Cruz was convicted, after a jury trial, of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) & 841(b)(1)(C); 18 U.S.C. § 2, and sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment and three years’ supervised release. On appeal, he argues that the district court erred (1) in not requiring the government to disclose a confidential informa... More...    $0 (06-11-2012 - NM)

No one likes being pulled over for a traffic violation. Still, for most drivers the experience usually proves no more than an unwelcome (if often self-induced) detour from the daily routine. But not every traffic stop is so innocuous.

Sometimes what begins innocently enough turns violent, often rapidly and unexpectedly. Every year, thousands of law enforcement officers are assaulted — and... More...    $0 (12-13-2011 - NM)