New Mexico law enforcement leaders demand stricter juvenile crime laws
Story continues below
News: Forest road rule in New Mexico faces potential change
Trending: Former Hope Christian School teacher to remain behind bars through trial
Weather: Stormier day with drop in temperatures
KRQE Investigates: Drones in Blue: Albuquerque police deploying autonomous tech to 911 calls
'If you know there are no consequences for your actions, and you are put into a rehabilitation program, but you reoffend. Juveniles tell us in the back of my deputies' patrol units, 'we're not worried about it, we will be released, and we will get around the system,'' said Sheriff John Allen, Bernalillo County.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman gathered police chiefs from Farmington to Española to Las Cruces to make a point about minors committing crimes. 'It isn't, unfortunately, until they are charged with murder that they finally face any real consequences, and then it's too late,' said Bregman.
While lawmakers walked away from a juvenile crime reform bill in the last 60-day legislative session, police said they're still seeing a trend of kids committing violent crimes. In Las Cruces, teens took part in a mass shooting, killing three people and wounding 15 others. In Española, two 15-year-olds are charged with shooting at people near a homeless shelter.
Las Cruces police chief Jeremy Story shared a video of a teen, who has a record, firing an automatic pistol. 'I hope that we can all agree that once we get to this point, once we get to the point where a juvenile has been arrested 16 or 17 times or charged with 40 separate offenses, we failed as a society. We failed that child,' said Chief Story.
Leaders held Monday's news conference in part because they want to give lawmakers plenty of time to review their legislative proposals ahead of the next session. They're advocating to extend the time someone sentenced as a juvenile can be held in jail, from 21 to 25 years old, and they want to see a new crime making it illegal to sell or give a gun to a minor. Bregman said that in the past few weeks, they've charged six juveniles with first-degree murder.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Beloved member of local deaf community drowns at Conchas Lake
The state's deaf community is mourning the loss of a 36-year-old man who drowned Saturday at Conchas Lake, a sprawling reservoir just northwest of Tucumcari in San Miguel County. A spokesperson for New Mexico State Police wrote in an email Wednesday the drowning victim was Martin Gutierrez of Santa Fe who was deaf and had worked at the New Mexico School for the Deaf. The matter is still being investigated, state police Officer Wilson Silver wrote. Gutierrez, who worked in the maintenance department at the New Mexico School for the Deaf, also was a graduate of the school. Priscilla Shannon Gutierrez — Martin Gutierrez's mother — said in an interview with The New Mexican on Thursday many people in the region are in shock and devastated by the death of her son, particularly within the deaf communities in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, where he was especially active. "My son was a beam of light, and everyone he touched was impacted by him," Priscilla Shannon Gutierrez said. "He left an impression on literally everybody that met him — very kindhearted, sweet-natured, funny." State police have provided little information about the drowning. The New Mexican has submitted a request for records on the incident to the state Department of Public Safety. Priscilla Shannon Gutierrez said she obtained much of the information about her son's death from a Conchas Lake Facebook group and by talking to people who were at the scene and tried to help him. "It's Thursday, and I have yet to hear from state police," Gutierrez said. "I learned of my son's death Saturday night when … one of the state medical investigators called." She added,"I don't want anybody to ever have to go through what I have gone through." She wrote in a text message later Thursday saying a state police commander finally had called her and said the investigating officer didn't reach out to her because he knew she had already spoken with the medical investigator, and he felt he could go on with his investigation and did not need to contact her. State police also wrote in an email to The New Mexican the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator had been first to notify Martin Gutierrez's next of kin after his death. Martin Gutierrez had been camping alone at Lake Conchas last weekend — about 150 miles from Santa Fe — after camping there the previous weekend and enjoying himself, his mother said, noting her son loved to camp and swim. She was told by someone at the lake that day how her son had been swimming in shallow water before venturing farther from shore. Her son, a good swimmer, appears to have been caught in a strong undercurrent and drowned, she said. He was picked up by someone who had a Jet Ski at the lake. But attempts at lifesaving measures were unsuccessful. The New Mexico School of the Deaf released on statement on Martin Gutierrez's death, saying, 'We are heartbroken to share that our dear colleague and 2008 alumnus, Martin Gutierrez, passed away on July 26 at Lake Conchas. Martin was a kind and dedicated member of our NMSD family, first as a student, then as a long-serving staff member. He will be deeply missed.' People who worked with him also were among those sharing their condolences on social media. "Martin was one of the kindest, most diligent, and popular staff I had the pleasure of working with," one person wrote on Facebook. Another wrote, "As soon as I heard the news, I broke down crying. The maintenance shop will not be the same without him. What sucks is his office is right across from mine. My heart breaks for him and your family. He will carry a legacy at the school and we will never forget him." Solve the daily Crossword
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Judge dismisses Alec Baldwin lawsuit against prosecutors in ‘Rust' case
A judge dismissed the defamation lawsuit Alec Baldwin filed against New Mexico public officials for allegedly mishandling the 'Rust' shooting investigation, as the actor's attorneys pursue a settlement. Court records show the New Mexico suit was dropped Tuesday because of inactivity, but Baldwin's attorneys can seek reinstatement of the lawsuit within 30 days.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Baldwin's 'malicious' prosecution lawsuit dismissed
A New Mexico judge has tossed out a misconduct lawsuit filed by actor Alec Baldwin against local prosecutors and sheriff's officials over their pursuit of criminal charges against him for the fatal 2021 shooting on the set of the Western movie Rust. Judge Casey Fitch dismissed Baldwin's complaint on Tuesday for lack of "significant action" in the case over the past 180 days. The one-page order, made public on Wednesday, allows any party in the lawsuit to seek reinstatement within 30 days. Baldwin sued special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, Santa Fe County law enforcement investigators and other public officials in January, accusing them of malicious abuse of process, defamation and mishandling of evidence. The lawsuit said the prosecutors and others had conspired to manufacture a criminal case against Baldwin for political and personal gain when they charged him with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin's lawyer did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the dismissal of the suit. The civil suit followed the abrupt dismissal of Baldwin's criminal case in July 2024 during his trial in the New Mexico capital. The trial judge ruled then that the special prosecutor and sheriff's office had deliberately withheld evidence from Baldwin on the source of a live round that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. Hutchins' death, Hollywood's first on-set fatal shooting in nearly 30 years, shocked the movie industry and sparked calls for an overhaul of firearms safety on movie productions. Morrissey has said prosecutors had long known the actor would file a retaliatory civil lawsuit. The Ukrainian-born cinematographer died when Baldwin pointed a pistol at her while rehearsing, cocked the weapon and possibly pulled the trigger as they set up a camera shot on a movie set near Santa Fe, his lawyers said. The gun, a reproduction 1873 single-action army revolver, fired a live round inadvertently loaded by Hannah Gutierrez, the movie's weapons handler. Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and sentenced to 18 months in jail. Baldwin, also a producer on Rust, has always said live rounds should not have been allowed on set and he was not responsible for weapons safety.
