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Latest New Mexico news, sports, business and entertainment at 5:20 p.m. MDT

  • VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court is temporarily suspending consumer debt collection — such as garnishing wages or seizing assets — in response to the coronavirus pandemic and related economic downturn. The court ordered the temporary suspension Friday in a new effort to alleviate economic hardship amid a surge in unemployment and uncertainties. The decision took place as a COVID-19 outbreak continued to race Friday through privately run prison facilities for state and federal inmates in Otero County. There have been 583 positive tests among inmates there. 

  • ELECTION 2020-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Republican election observers are expressing frustration as Santa Fe County officials spent a fourth day tallying absentee ballots from Tuesday's primary election. Presiding ballot judge Paul D'Arcy said that seven more people joined the vote-count effort, with several thousand uncounted ballots remaining on Friday. The majority of New Mexico primary voters shifted to voting by absentee ballot amid concerns about the coronavirus. State Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said Friday that the party's poll challengers have been unable to view preliminary reports of vote tallies and were unable to verify procedures that ensure the exclusion of late-arriving ballots.

  • PURSUIT-CRASH

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — Authorities in southeastern New Mexico say a person pulled over for a traffic stop stole a police car, prompting a pursuit into the next county in southeastern New Mexico and resulting in two crashes that left two people injured. The Roswell Daily Record reports that the person who stole the Roswell Police Department car in Chaves County on Thursday later fled from the scene of a head-on crash that ended the vehicle pursuit in Eddy County but was arrested nearby. The name and age of the person who stole the police car weren't immediately released.  The incident is being investigated by New Mexico State Police. 

  • ALBUQUERQUE POLICE REFORMS-HIRE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The head of Albuquerque police's Real-Time Crime Center, whose hiring in 2018 generated anger because of his role in an excessive force lawsuit in New Jersey decades ago, has been promoted. City records show that Leonard Nerbetski was recently promoted from his civilian status to police commander while he oversees a unit that includes dispatchers and crime analysts. Albuquerque police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos says the department changed Nerbetski's job to a sworn position because of the combination of managing crime data and field investigation functions. In 1999, an Associated Press report named Nerbetski as one of two officers accused of roughing up two law students, both women of color.

  • WIND PROJECT-NEW MEXICO

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has signed a series of leases with the developer of a proposed wind farm that is expected to generate at least $16 million in revenue for public schools and other trust land beneficiaries. The State Land Office announced the approval of the five leases with Pattern Renewables on Thursday. The company was the winning bidder in a February public auction for the right to develop nearly 26 square miles in Torrance County and Lincoln counties. The wind farm will be able to generate enough to power for more than 15,000 homes annually. The project will connect to the planned Western Spirit transmission line.

  • HEAT WAVE-NEW MEXICO

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico health officials are warning residents and visitors of the potential for heat-related illnesses as forecasters predict more near record temperatures. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque reports that Friday will be another hot day with a few communities likely to hit triple digits. Toasty temperatures are anticipated to last through the weekend. Data analysis from the state's public health tracking program has found that even though temperatures in the upper 80s may not seem high, that's the level historically at which half of the cases of people requiring treatment for heat-related illness in New Mexico have sought medical help.

  • BAR BURGLARIZED TWICE

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — A northwestern New Mexico man is facing charges after police say he burglarized the same bar twice within three days and stole alcohol both times. And police say he fell asleep on a couch in one of the cases. The Farmington Daily Times reports Tyrone John was arrested last week following two reported burglaries at the B Lounge inside the Brentwood Inn and Garden Motel in Farmington. John was first arrested May 26 after police arrived and found the bar's window broken. Police say officers found John sleeping on a bar's couch. He is facing charges of non-residential burglary and criminal damage to property.

  • AMERICA PROTESTS-NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR

SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is looking for policy fixes to prevent police violence in the wake of anti-racism and police reform protests that have swept across the nation and dotted her state. She's naming a racial justice czar and a panel to research solutions ahead of the 2021 legislative session, which could range from deescalation training for State Police to a ban on chokeholds and shooting moving vehicles. An emergency session starting in mid-June will focus squarely on the state's budget fallout from the COVID-19 crisis.