Latest news with #DWIUnit
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Yahoo
8th officer pleads guilty for role in DWI Unit scandal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Another former Albuquerque Police Department officer has admitted to his role in the DWI corruption scandal. Former APD Officer Louis Henckel pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in federal court on Monday. Henckel admitted to conspiring with former defense attorney Thomas Clear's office in 2020 to intentionally fail to appear in court for one of Clear's clients. Court documents state the DWI defendant in that case was in a relationship with another conspiring APD officer. Related Coverage: Former APD officer tied to DWI scandal now working in Durango 'DWI King' cashing in while his cases crumble 8th officer pleads guilty for role in DWI Unit scandal Former officer in DWI scheme relinquishes certification Will DWI corruption criminals have to pay victims? Henckel said he was paid the equivalent of the overtime he would have made in court to not show up, and the case was dismissed. He joined APD in 2008 and worked in the DWI Unit from 2017 to 2019. He was fired in 2021, unrelated to the DWI scheme. Henckel and former APD Officer Daniel Carr were added to the district attorney's list of officers deemed no longer credible witnesses in court. Carr has not been charged. Henckel is now the eighth officer to plead guilty to his role in the scheme. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
KRQE Newsfeed: DWI scandal, Body cam released, Cloudier and warm, Housing shortage, Lodging concerns
Lobo basketball coach Richard Pitino leaves UNM for Big East job WATCH: DWI cases Albuquerque officers and paralegal made disappear Rio Rancho to review plans to redevelop old country club golf course Woman accused of damaging 21 government vehicles in Albuquerque New Mexico researcher helps discover new dinosaur species UNM researchers release study on hantavirus in New Mexico Gunman who killed 23 in racist attack at Texas Walmart is offered plea deal [1] Albuquerque police fire two officers who worked in DWI Unit – The Albuquerque Police Department announced on Tuesday that two officers who were part of the DWI Unit have been fired. Gustvo Gomez, a deputy commander, and Matthew Chavez, a lieutenant in the Valley Area Command, were both fired. Thirteen APD officers have left the department as part of the federal investigation. Four of them have pled guilty to federal charges. [2] Body camera footage shows moments after deputies discover Gene Hackman's body – Footage shows Santa Fe Sheriff's Deputies trying to figure out what led to the death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa. The medical investigation would later reveal that Arakawa died first of hantavirus. Authorities said Hackman died more than a week later of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer's. It was determined that one of their dogs died of starvation and dehydration. [3] Clouds moving in, weather still warm & dry – Isolated showers and thunderstorms will move into southern New Mexico and the northern mountains Wednesday and Thursday. Most of the rain though will evaporate before reaching the ground. This could cause locally gusty winds. Drier weather returns Friday, but so does the wind. Westerly winds could gust as high as 45 to 50 mph Friday. [4] Housing New Mexico launches program aiming to increase affordable housing – Housing New Mexico and the state department of finance are working together to increase affordable housing. The departments are launching the Rehab to Rental program. The program will offer forgivable loans up to $25,000 per unit to landlords who currently lease or agree to lease their properties to renters who use housing vouchers. The loans will allow landlords to make improvements that will make necessary improvements to the rental units. Housing partners are currently being invited to submit applications to become service providers. [5] Organizers address lodging concerns for National Championship Air Races in Roswell – The city of Roswell is addressing some lodging concerns as the city prepares to host the National Championship Air Races. A quick search for a room shows how scarce hotels and motels are going to be for the event. Organizers say they are confident in their decision to name Roswell as the host city. They are currently working on providing shuttles to the event from Carlsbad and Artesia. The air races will take place September 10 – 14. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
WATCH: DWI cases Albuquerque officers and paralegal made disappear
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – How many drunk drivers never faced charges over the last two decades as part of the so-called 'DWI Enterprise' in New Mexico? That's an answer we may never know because key players in the scheme admitted they got drivers to pay them off in exchange for not filing charges against them. Related Coverage 'Unconscionable:' Mayor talks DWI scheme, expresses trust in Albuquerque police 'We held people accountable': Chief takes credit for ending DWI scheme within APD Former APD officer named in scheme now trains DWI officers for state of New Mexico Former U.S. Attorney speaks out on DWI Unit scandal 2 Albuquerque police officers who resigned amid DWI Unit scandal now working for CYFD Governor, state's top cop respond to DWI corruption scheme In their confessions, now-former Albuquerque Police officers Joshua Montaño and Honorio Alba, Jr., and the paralegal they were working with, Ricardo 'Rick'' Mendez, told federal investigators about two of those unfiled drunk driving cases. KRQE Investigates obtained video of those arrests, pinpointing the two cases that matched based on time frames, arresting officers, initials of the drivers mentioned, plus a check of court records. Both cases were so serious that the drivers ended up in the hospital, which, as it turns out, made it even easier for them to fall off the radar. KRQE Investigates is not naming the drivers because neither faced charges after Montaño and Alba admitted they got the drivers to pay them off. 'This person could have killed us. He could have killed someone else,' Pam Roy told KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret. She vividly remembered the night she witnessed a suspected drunk driver smash his car onto northbound I-25 at the Paseo del Norte off-ramp. 'Oh, my goodness, like it was yesterday,' she added. Roy is the one who called 911 that February night in 2022. In lapel video from that night, which was obtained by KRQE Investigates, Roy is heard telling a responding officer what happened. Roy: 'I mean, I didn't see it until he actually came up off that guardrail and flipped over onto the highway on the side. Um, and you can see he came nose down, and then the car flipped over.'Officer: 'Okay.'Roy: 'I am surprised he got up.'Officer: 'Pretty lucky.'Roy: 'Oh my God, yeah.' When Roy left the scene, she said she assumed the case was in good hands. 'Thinking that when you drive away, that all those responders who showed up, all those people who were there, who chose a path of caring for other people, were going to take care of this person, get them to the hospital, and then see that due diligence down that path,' she explained. But now, three years later, KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret let her know that due diligence didn't happen. The reason why? Federal court documents show the driver played a role in a much larger scheme focused on officers and an Albuquerque law firm profiting off making DWI cases disappear— what the feds have dubbed the 'DWI enterprise.' Because responding officers suspected the driver was intoxicated, at the time, they called in Officer Montaño from APD's DWI Unit. His lapel footage obtained by KRQE Investigates showed him interacting with the driver at the hospital. The man was in a neck brace, and his whole body was roughed up. He could barely speak to the officer. Officer Montaño: 'I could smell some alcohol, man. How much did you drink tonight?'Driver: '(Inaudible) I'm sorry I (inaudible) had a little bit.'Officer Montaño: 'A little bit?'Driver: 'Yes.' Montaño conducted a few field sobriety tests, which he said helped him determine the man was driving drunk. 'I have to place you under arrest for DWI,' Montaño told the driver. But because the driver was in the hospital, it's APD protocol that Montaño would send a criminal summons in the mail rather than take him to jail that night. So, Montaño got the man's information, and then he explained to the driver, 'You're no longer in custody; you may get some paperwork in the mail in a couple weeks.' Instead, Montaño admitted he gave the driver's contact information to Albuquerque paralegal Mendez. Mendez confessed he had contacted the driver and got him to pay in exchange for Montaño not filing charges. To make that happen, Montaño said he got a portion of the driver's payment. No summons was sent. If it had been, the police report showed that the driver would have been facing a third-offense DWI. Albuquerque police sergeant allegedly connected to DWI scheme resigns Repeat offenders aren't the only ones who caught a break with an offer to participate in the DWI scheme. In April 2022, APD DWI Unit member Officer Alba was called to conduct field sobriety tests on a driver who crashed his vehicle into a pole on Lomas Boulevard. Court records show the driver had zero criminal record, and it would remain that way. In lapel video from that incident, which was obtained by KRQE Investigates, Alba is heard questioning the driver. Officer Alba: 'Okay, how much did you have to drink tonight?'Driver: 'Two drinks.' Alba asked the man for his driver's license. In another responding officer's lapel video, we see Alba place the ID in his belt and never see him return it to the driver. In his admission of guilt to the feds, Alba told investigators he often handed off licenses to Mendez. So it's believed that may have been how Mendez got in touch with this driver to offer the scheme. Alba did arrest the driver after observing 'signs of impairment' during the field sobriety tests. He drove the man to the Prisoner Transport Center and wrote in his police report that the man blew a 0.22 on the breathalyzer test twice. But this driver also spent the night in the hospital instead of a jail cell. 'I got to take you to the hospital based on your vehicle having airbag deployments. It's the jail's rules, okay?' Alba explained. But rather than issuing a criminal summons for drunk driving, Alba confessed that he received money from the driver, funneled through Mendez, in exchange for never filing charges. In a prior one-on-one interview with Raul Bujanda, special agent in charge of New Mexico's FBI, Pierret asked whether investigators would ever be able to determine how many drivers avoided charges. Bujanda acknowledged that it's possible even the key players don't know, as they were focused on collecting as many payments as possible rather than keeping track of how many people they let off the hook. He added that now knowing some drivers never faced charges makes it difficult to measure the scheme's impact on the Albuquerque community. 'These were individuals that should never have been on the road to begin with, and we let them get off the hook. So, what does that mean? They were never held accountable. The likelihood that they decided the following day, once this all was behind them, to go ahead and do the same thing all over again? It's highly likely, and who knows what might have happened at that point? The things that we don't know, the things that we haven't been able to connect together—someone that was released and got off the hook, so to speak, because of the scheme and ended up harming someone else, whether it was in a car accident or even taking someone's life. I mean, I don't even want to go there, but I mean, it's a very high possibility,' Bujanda said. The Albuquerque Police Department confirmed that it is reviewing documented cases—like these two—that did not result in charges. Federal investigators want to hear from you if you were offered or participated in the scheme. To reach the FBI Albuquerque Office directly, call 505-889-1300. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Driver of Santa Fe city vehicle hits and kills person sitting on bench
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The driver of a City of Santa Fe vehicle hit and killed a person sitting on a bench outside the Santa Fe Place Mall Monday, police announced Tuesday. The driver of the Honda Civic told police that they put the vehicle in drive, instead of reverse, and pressed the gas pedal, causing the vehicle to drive over the curb, according to the Santa Fe Police Department. Albuquerque police sergeant placed on leave in connection to DWI Unit scandal The vehicle hit the bench, and the male individual who was sitting on it died at the scene, police said. The crash happened in the Transit Transportation Area of the Santa Fe Place Mall parking lot around 4:35 p.m. Transit bus schedules are not being affected at this time. Anyone who witnessed the crash or has a video of the incident is asked to contact Crash Investigator Julian Martinez at 505 955-5402. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kirtland Air Fiesta returning to Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After a six-year hiatus, the Kirtland Air Fiesta is returning to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque. Both modern and classic aircraft will be on display, including performandes by the F-16 Viper Demonstration Team from Shaw Air Force Base and the F-35 Lightning II, flown by pilots from Luke Air Force Base. Albuquerque police sergeant placed on leave in connection to DWI Unit scandal Guests will also see the process of air refueling a KC-135 Stratotanker and a C-17 Globemaster III from Altus Air Force Base, along with maneuvers by the U.S. Air Force Academy Glider Demo Team and the U.S. Army Golden Knights, the Army's premier parachute team. The 58th Special Operations Wing at the base will also bring a display of specialized aircraft, including the MC-130, AC-130, HC-130, HH-60, Huey, and CV-22. This year's air show will take place on May 31 and June 1 at the base. Kirtland AFB has also streamlined parking arrangements this year to include a park and ride. The base said it would release more event information at a later date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
