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Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment at 1:20 a.m. MDT

 

  • COUNTRY SINGER-DEADLY CRASH

TAOS, N.M. (AP) — Authorities say country singer Kylie Rae Harris caused a three-vehicle crash in northern New Mexico that left her and a 16-year-old girl dead.Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe told the Taos News that investigators believe Harris caused Wednesday's crash and that speed appeared to be a contributing factor when she clipped the back of another vehicle, sending her into oncoming traffic. She then crashed head-on into an SUV driven by Maria Elena Cruz.
The Taos High School student died at the scene. The responding emergency crew included her father, Pedro Cruz, the deputy chief of the San Cristobal Volunteer Fire Department.
The community is holding a fundraising dinner to help the Cruz family.
Harris , a 30-year-old single mom, was in Taos to perform at an annual music festival.

  • TRINITY SITE-OPEN HOUSE

WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (AP) — White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico has scheduled an Oct. 5 open house at Trinity Site, the second of two such events planned this year.Trinity Site is where the world's first atomic bomb was detonated July 16, 1945.
Range officials said the open house is free and that no reservations are required. Entry will be allowed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Visitors can walk to ground zero where a small obelisk marks the spot where the bomb was detonated. Historical photos are mounted on the fence surrounding the area.
Visitors can also ride a shuttle bus to travel the 2 miles (3 kilometers) from ground zero to ranch houses where scientists assembled the bomb's plutonium core.

  • AX KILLING-SENTENCING

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (AP) — A man who killed a Ruidoso-area ranch worker with an ax two years ago will spend the next 45 years in prison.Prosecutors in Otero County said Friday that 28-year-old Andrew Poteet Magill has been sentenced for the slaying and the shooting of a former Lincoln County sheriff's deputy.
The judge initially issued a 51-year sentence but suspended six years, citing Magill's mental health.
Magill pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2017 killing of MaryAnn Moorhouse.
Authorities say Magill struck Moorhouse at least four times and then nearly decapitated her.
When officers later tried to arrest him, he grabbed a deputy's gun and fired. The deputy was not critically wounded.
Magill originally pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
A psychiatrist for the prosecution testified he was sane.

  • TRUMP-NEW MEXICO

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — President Donald Trump will be holding a rally in New Mexico as his re-election campaign hopes to flip the traditionally Democratic state.The campaign announced Friday that the rally will take place Sept. 16 in Rio Rancho, a suburb of Albuquerque.
Trump's visits to Albuquerque during his first campaign drew large crowds and protests that devolved into violence, prompting police to turn out in riot gear.
While campaign officials say New Mexico could be in play in 2020, Democrats have long outnumbered Republicans when it comes to voter registration. Democrats also enjoyed a sweep during the last election cycle, solidifying their hold over the Legislature and other top offices.
Trump is likely to tout economic gains in the state, namely record revenues that have resulted from an oil and gas boom.

  • OFFICER SHOOTING-LAS CRUCES

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Law enforcement officers involved in the fatal shooting of a suspect outside a Las Cruces Home Depot will not be charged.The Third Judicial District Attorney's Office said in a statement Friday that the June shooting of Francisco Tarin was justified.
Prosecutors say Tarin shot at a Las Cruces patrol officer and a round went through the officer's windshield and hit him in the neck.
Las Cruces police and officers from other agencies responded and found Tarin near a Home Depot store.
Authorities say they used less lethal devices to try and subdue Tarin and demanded he put down his firearm.
They ended up exchanging gun fire with Tarin.
A review done by police and a multi-agency task force says officers faced reasonable fear for their lives.

  • MEDICAL MARIJUANA-NEW MEXICO-THE LATEST

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has begun issuing medical marijuana registry cards to people who live outside the state.Two people in Texas and an Arizona resident have received cards to purchase medical marijuana in New Mexico after successfully suing to enroll.
Marissa Novel of medical cannabis producer and dispenser Ultra Health said that a card was delivered Friday to her company's Arizona-based CEO.
Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez served as co-plaintiff in the legal challenge of residency requirements and qualified for enrollment based on his post-traumatic stress disorder.
Reforms to New Mexico marijuana laws this year dropped the in-state residency requirement. The administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says that change was inadvertent and it intends to appeal.
Novel says it will be difficult to appeal the court order.
New Mexico prohibits recreational marijuana sales and use.

  • PRISON RELEASE-LGBT DEATH

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — Colorado state officials say a New Mexico man who murdered a LGBT teenager has moved to the state after being released from prison.The Durango Herald reports that then 18-year-old Shaun Murphy was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2002 after he plead guilty to killing 16-year-old Navajo student Fred Martinez Jr. in an apparent hate crime.
State officials say Murphy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in New Mexico after facing the possibility of life in prison.
Officials say the plea deal held a potential sentence of four to 48 years.
Officials say the now 36-year-old man was released in May 2018 and currently resides in Greeley where he has been restricted from consuming alcohol and intoxicating drugs.
LGBT advocates say his release could perpetuate fear in LGBT communities.
 

  • HANTAVIRUS DEATH-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Hantavirus has claimed the life of a teenager in northwestern New Mexico.The state Department of Health said Friday the death of a 15-year-old McKinley County boy is the third case of hantavirus in New Mexico this year and the second death.
Hantavirus is a deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings or saliva. People can contract the disease when they breathe in the virus that is suspended in the air.
Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel says people need to avoid contact with mice and other rodents and be careful when cleaning up and avoid disturbing rodent droppings and nests, particularly in closed spaces such as sheds.
The department says the deer mouse is the main source for the hantavirus strain most commonly found in New Mexico.