Freedom New Mexico A Clovis couple accused of defrauding the Air Force of $6.4 million have pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to their attorney, Terree Bowers of Los Angeles. Bowers said Donald Dean Brewer, 62, and his wife, Sherri Lynn Brewer, 62, were released on their own recognizance following a hearing Monday in […]
Clovis’ Wiggins found not guilty in murder trial
November 4, 2011
Freedom New Mexico: Tony Bullocks Lonzell Wiggins Jr. looks back at a family member Friday after a jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2009 shooting death of Gary Gill. The jury deliberated three hours before returning the verdict in the five-day trial. By Robin Fornoff: FNM content editor Minutes after a […]
Clovis man pleads guilty in deadly shooting
June 3, 2011
Freedom New Mexico A 63-year-old man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a Clovis woman. James Fitzpatrick faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Sandra Bousquet, 36, died March 3, 2010, one month after she was shot in the neck at her Clovis residence in the […]
Press release: 63-year-old Clovis man pleads guilty to second-degree murder
June 3, 2011
Clovis, NM ~ Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matthew Chandler announced today that James Fitzpatrick, age 63, pled guilty this morning to the charge of Second Degree Murder for the shooting death of Sandra Bousquet, age 36. The charges stem from February 3, 2010, when Clovis Police officers responded to a shooting in the 900 block […]
Woman sentenced to 24 years for child abuse
June 2, 2011
CNJ staff A 21-year-old Clovis woman has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for abusing her 6-month-old son. Amanda Fain pleaded guilty to four counts of felony child abuse and was sentenced Thursday, court records show. Fain was arrested in September after police officers were dispatched to her Clovis home for a report of […]
Teen found guilty of murder
April 15, 2011
Freedom New Mexico: Alisa Boswell DeAngelo Montoya, 13, is escorted from Roosevelt County Courthouse Friday night after jurors found him guilty on all charges. District Court Judge Drew Tatum ordered a diagnostic examination before setting sentencing for Montoya. Argen Duncan A Roosevelt County jury late Friday found 13-year-old DeAngelo Montoya guilty of fatally shooting 21-year-old […]
Hollywood career still possibility
February 19, 2011
Ned Cantwell It is a mystery to me how a New Mexico state legislator sleeps at night. That is not a reference to guilty consciences over lobbyist favors — although certainly there may be some of that — but rather the sheer weight of seemingly impossible decisions. Should we continue investing millions in the Spaceport […]
Robert Macias found guilty of first-degree murder
January 7, 2011
CNJ staff photo: Sharna Johnson District Attorney Matt Chandler listens with the jury to a 911 call reporting Wilfred Salas Jr.’s car crashed at Seventh and Merriwether Streets. Police later discovered Salas crashed after being shot in the back of the head as he drove north on Merriwether Street. Sharna Johnson For a second time, […]
Roosevelt farmer pleads guilty on drug charges
November 22, 2010
Argen Duncan In a plea agreement, Roosevelt County farmer William “Billy Joe” Watson has pleaded guilty to transporting anhydrous ammonia for methamphetamine manufacture across state lines. Under federal charges, Watson was accused of buying anhydrous ammonia in Texas and in New Mexico and giving it to federal agents he believed were members of the Aryan […]
Tucumcari man found guilty of kidnapping, attempted murder
September 15, 2010
Thomas Garcia A jury on Wednesday found a Tucumcari man guilty of five felonies including attempted murder and kidnapping. Sentencing has been set for 1 p.m. Tuesday. Earl Moses Ingram, 31, was silent in the 10th Judicial District Court as Justice Albert J. Mitchell read the jury’s verdicts to close the four-day trial. The victim, […]
Press release: Casillas found guilty in 2008 shooting
August 9, 2010
Ninth Judicial District Attorney Matthew Chandler announced that Anthony Casillas, age 23, was found guilty today by a jury for two-counts of First Degree Murder, one-count of Tampering with Evidence, and one-count of Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. The trial, which started last Monday, concluded today with closing arguments and jury deliberations. The […]
Casillas found guilty
August 9, 2010
Casillas Jared Tucker A Roosevelt County jury on Monday convicted Anthony Casillas of two counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 25, 2008, shooting deaths of two people on Clovis’ west side. Casillas, 23, shot and killed 52-year-old Gary Payne of Melrose and 36-year-old Melissa Ward of Lubbock while riding in a van on Martin […]
Virtual farm guilty pleasure
July 23, 2010
Sharna Johnson “Thank you for feeding my chickens.” The words formed in my brain, but I managed to engage the filter right before they made it off the tip of my tongue. Instead I smiled as I passed a professional female acquaintance in the courthouse hallway and kept walking, mentally kicking myself. You see, I […]
Melrose man pleads guilty to child abuse
May 6, 2010
CNJ staff A 26-year-old Melrose was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to abusing his 3-month-old daughter. Phillip Holmes is required to serve an additional two years of parole upon completion of his sentence and participate in mandatory counseling, according to a press release from the District Attorney Matt Chandler. Holmes […]
Portales jury: Watson not guilty in Chunn slaying
February 23, 2010
File photo A Roosevelt County jury has found farmer William “Billy Joe” Watson not guilty of hiring an Aryan Brotherhood member to murder Causey rancher Jimmie Bo Chunn. By Argen Duncan: Freedom New Mexico A Roosevelt County jury has found farmer William “Billy Joe” Watson not guilty of hiring an Aryan Brotherhood member to murder […]
Jury finds Barela guilty
December 17, 2009
CNJ staff photo: Sharna Johnson Brandon Barela reads a PowerPoint slide of comments an eyewitness said he made while he was beating Ron Hittson to death in April. Barela faces life plus 33 years for the murder. By Sharna Johnson Brandon Barela’s facial expression didn’t change as the guilty verdict was read Thursday afternoon. After […]
Roosevelt County men fined for poaching
November 13, 2009
Freedom New Mexico Two men were fined and one sentenced to jail after pleading guilty Oct. 21 to poaching charges. Jacob Gaines, 21, of Roosevelt County was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $2,255 for poaching a deer and antelope. Wade Richardson, 23, of Portales pleaded guilty to unlawful killing of an antelope […]
Taylor pleads guilty to 2005 slaying
October 14, 2009
File photo Donald Scott Taylor By Argen Duncan: Freedom New Mexico The man charged with shooting a Causey rancher in 2005 as part of a murder-for-hire drug deal has pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence, avoiding the death penalty. Rogers native Donald Scott Taylor, 29, entered the plea to federal charges in Albuquerque […]
Salisbury homicide suspects enter plea to lesser charges
August 20, 2009
Courtesy photo Joshua Martinez By Sharna Johnson: CNJ staff writer Three men charged with first-degree murder in the shooting and killing of Clovis second-hand store owner Emmett Salisbury were allowed to pleaded to lesser charges. The decision was part of a July 31 plea agreement with District Attorney Matt Chandler. Larry McClendon, 21, pleaded guilty […]
