During day three of the State vs. Alexis Avila trial, Avila herself took the stand. Before telling her story, the prosecution continued presenting its case to the jury. The prosecution’s first witness of the day was Dr. Sarah Drennan. Drennan admitted the newborn to Lubbocks’ Covenant Children’s Hospital. Dr. Drennan referred to the child as…

The State vs. Alexis Avila trial is in full swing. Avila is the teen mom accused of throwing her live newborn into a dumpster behind Rig Outfitters in Hobbs on January 7, 2022. Avila is charged with “Abuse of a Child Resulting in Great Bodily Harm Intentional or Recklessly” or alternatively “Attempt to Commit Murder”….

The placement of the lesser prairie chicken by the U. S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on its “endangered species” list concerns some Lea County officials, ranchers, oil and gas companies and members of the public. After nearly 30 years of debate and litigation, the federal agency’s decision became effective on…

The trial of Alexis Avila, the 18-year-old Hobbs mom accused of throwing her alive newborn into a trash dumpster on January 7, 2022, is scheduled to begin today, Tuesday, April 11. The trial will take place at the historic Lea County Courthouse in Lovington. It is scheduled to run four days, although an extension is…

The ordinances to restrict abortion access enacted by Hobbs, Eunice and Lea County, as well as by Clovis and Roosevelt County, have been temporarily – if not forever – blocked by the New Mexico Supreme Court. The high court’s unanimous decision was rendered on Friday, March 31. The Supreme Court order states that the ordinances…

Auto burglaries in Hobbs – mainly in the city’s south and east areas – are frequent. Most entries into vehicles, states a Hobbs Police Department (HPD) press release (PDF) of Tuesday, March 28, “…have involved broken windows on the vehicles as a point of entry….” After an ongoing investigation about these burglaries, HPD officers determined…

Christopher Rojas, age 17, of Hobbs is currently being held at the Lea County Detention Center after an “officer-involved shooting”. The incident occurred on Saturday, near the intersection of East Alameda Street and North Marland Boulevard in Hobbs, and involved several people. According to a New Mexico Department of Public Safety (NMDPS) press release, the…

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is driving another wedge in Holtec International’s hope to build a nuclear waste facility in a remote area of Lea County, close to Eddy County. Referred to as the Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF) and supported by Lea County Commissioners and the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), as well as…

Communities and counties in southeastern New Mexico, like Hobbs and Lea County, that have adopted ordinances limiting access to reproductive healthcare are learning that the restrictions they have placed on providing such services are null and void. On Thursday, March 16, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law HB7 – the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health…

Alexis Avila, the teenage mother accused of throwing her alive newborn in a trash bin in Hobbs on January 7, 2022, will be tried in Lea County on the criminal charge of “Child Abuse Causing Great Bodily Harm” – a first degree felony. On Monday, March 13, judge William G. W. Shoobridge, of the Fifth…