Environmental groups are demanding that the U. S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cancel its upcoming lease sale to the oil and gas industry of almost 10,000 acres of public land in New Mexico and Oklahoma. The BLM’s auction is scheduled for May 25. Ten-year leases will be granted, or leases will be for “as…

The Lea County Drug Task Force (LCDTF) arrested Jerry Wayne Chadwell, age 42, of Hobbs, on Wednesday, May 17. Chadwell is accused of drug trafficking, child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The LCDTF “has confiscated thousands of controlled substances and taken the suspect into custody after a 13-year-old juvenile was found…

The suspects involved in the Hobbs Walmart parking lot shooting that took place during the early morning hours of Thursday, May 18, have been apprehended, arrested and jailed. The shooting took the life of 24-year-old Jordan Ruiz, of Hobbs. Ruiz was a Walmart employee. The Hobbs Walmart remained closed on Thursday and Friday, May 18…

Captain Chad Wright, commander of the Hobbs Police Department’s (HPD) Criminal Investigation Division, is asking the public for assistance in bringing justice to the victim of the homicide that took place in the Hobbs Walmart parking lot, around 2:00 a.m., on Thursday, May 18. Walmart is located at 3800 North Lovington Hwy. At an HPD…

After several years on the drawing board, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), on Tuesday, May 9, announced its approval of a 40-year license for Holtec International to build and operate a Consolidated Interim Nuclear Storage Facility (HI-STORE CISF) in Lea County.  Holtec’s CIFS, if it becomes a reality, will be located on a 1000-acre…

Isaiah Xavier Lopez, age 18, of Hobbs, has been apprehended “without incident” for his involvement in the May 8 shoplifting of firearm ammunition from Big 5 Sporting Goods. With the assistance of the Lea County Sheriff’s Office, Hobbs Police Department (HPD) officers arrested Lopez hours after the shoplifting took place. Big 5 Sporting Goods is…

Hobbs Fire Station #1, located at 301 East White Street, is now a “safe haven” site. At a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, May 9, the City of Hobbs unveiled the installation of its first “baby box”. The little box is located on the east side of the station and allows mothers and/or parents in crises…

Alexis Avila, the teenage mom convicted of throwing her alive newborn into a dumpster behind a shopping mall in Hobbs on January 6, 2022, was sentenced on Monday, May 1, to a mandatory 16 years behind bars followed by two years of parole. Standing in front of New Mexico’s Fifth District Court Judge William T….

The City of Eunice, a municipality of 3,000, is not acquiescing to New Mexico Atty. Gen. Raúl Torrez and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s efforts to block it from enforcing an anti-abortion ordinance. The ordinance was passed by the town’s city council earlier this year.  On Monday, April 17, the City of Eunice filed a lawsuit…

Hobbs teenager Alexis Avila has been found guilty of “Abuse of a Child Resulting in Great Bodily Harm” and of “Attempt to Commit Murder”. Avila is the teen mom who was accused of tossing her alive newborn, umbilical cord attached, into a trash dumpster on January 6, 2022. Avila was 18 at the time. A…