Local

Tia Duerrmeyer May 2, 2023

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….

Tia Duerrmeyer April 19, 2023

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…

Tia Duerrmeyer April 16, 2023

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…

Tia Duerrmeyer April 15, 2023

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…

Tia Duerrmeyer April 13, 2023

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”….

Tia Duerrmeyer April 11, 2023

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…

Tia Duerrmeyer April 11, 2023

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…

Tia Duerrmeyer April 4, 2023

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…

Tia Duerrmeyer March 30, 2023

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…

Tia Duerrmeyer March 28, 2023

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…