VALENCIA COUNTY Vol. 104, No. 52 News-Bulletin SERVING VALENCIA COUNTY SINCE 1910 WEEK OF DECEMBER 25, 2014 Copyright © 2014, Valencia County News-Bulletin 50¢ LL woman found guilty of murder Feliz Navidad By Julia M. Dendinger Clara Garcia-News-Bulletin photos NEWS-BULLETIN STAFF WRITER [email protected] JAZLYN SANCHEZ, 8 weeks old, and her brother, Marcus, 4, of Belen, visit with Santa Claus at the Belen Toys for Tots from Cops event held at the Belen Police Department last Friday. More than 130 families participated in the annual event, which served a total of 366 children. The families who went to pick up their toys were also able to hear Santa sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” while eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate. Los Lunas SOME OF THE CHILDREN at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Belen performed “Away in the Manger” during its Christmas program Sunday evening. Pictured, from left, are Joshua Servantes, Rachelle Gutierrez, Jaynee Jimenez, Anthony Tenorio, Michelle Servantes, Jonah Jimenez, Lillyana Tenorio, Noah Jimenez and Chalito and Ismael Cano-Jimenez. A Los Lunas woman was found guilty of second-degree murder and dueling, a fourth-degree felony, last week for fatally stabbing her estranged boyfriend in the neck in the summer of 2013. After just more than four hours of deliberation, a 12-person jury found Tammy Lynn Sanchez Tafoya, 49, guilty of the two charges. On Aug. 8, 2013, Sanchez Tafoya stabbed and killed her on-and-off boyfriend Keith Miller, 45, of El Cerro, in the neck. The two had agreed to meet earlier that day, but when they met on the street, on the 500 block of Camino del Ray in Los Lunas, words were exchanged, knives were drawn and Miller ended up lying in the street in a pool of his own blood. Sanchez Tafoya had been indicted on first-degree murder and dueling. Sanchez Tafoya’s attorney, Greg Gaudette, argued that this was a case of self defense, her actions that of a woman scared for her safety and that of her family’s. She told police during the investigation that Miller had beaten her numerous times during their relationship. “This was self defense. She cooperated from the beginning. They want to believe part of her story but not all of it,” Gaudette told the jury in his closing arguments. “On the dueling charge, there was no challenge and acceptance. It was ‘Let’s do this,’ and then a knife (drawn by Miller.) ‘This’ could have been another argument, another beat down.” Gaudette told the jurors that after he finished his closing remarks, the prosecution would address them for a second time. “I suppose that is fair because the state has such a heavy burden to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, every element of the crime. And they haven’t,” See Guilty, Page 8A VRECC director hoping to get funding to build new dispatch center By Deborah Fox NEWS-BULLETIN STAFF WRITER [email protected] Los Lunas Valencia County might see a new 911 dispatch center as early as 2016. That’s the goal of Shirley Valdez, director of the Valencia Regional Emergency Communication Center. Valdez aims to have a new facility built now that the Los Lunas Village Council approved a resolution to sublease land for the VRECC. Last week, village councilors unanimously approved subleasing 17.144 acres next to the administrative building for the new 911 center. Valdez is geared up to lobby for funding at the upcoming legislature session, she said. “They (legislators) know that Valencia County, county wide, has approved building a new dispatch center,” she said. The stakeholders of the project include the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, the villages of Los Lunas and Bosque Farms, the city of Belen and Valencia County. The municipalities and the county list the new VRECC facility on their infrastructure capital improvement plans, she said. The VRECC was created in 2007 and is located in the Los Lunas Police Department but it has outgrown the space. Currently, there are nine work stations equipped with monitors and mapping, but Valdez needs to expand to 13 because of the volume of inbound landline and wireless 911 calls. Last year, there were 184,000 total calls, and this year, the call volume is already at 248,000 into the dispatch center. Valdez said there isn’t any space for a training room or a conference room for board meetings. “If I had 13 positions, this room cannot carry that,” Valdez told the councilors of the current facility. “Because I’m looking at another rack of equipment to be installed, so for sure I couldn’t put anything more into where we are currently.” See Center, Page 8A Commission approves $7.4 million in bonds for roads, equipment, etc. By Julia M. Dendinger NEWS-BULLETIN STAFF WRITER [email protected] With a unanimous vote, Valencia County commissioners approved the sale of bonds that will put nearly $7.4 million into the general fund before the end of next month. Those funds will be used to purchase IT equipment, heavy equipment for the public works department, vehicles and other equipment and make much-needed road repairs. Commissioner Mary Andersen, in the last meeting of her term, WEATHER 5125 said the bonds and consequent use of revenue from a newly implemented gross receipts tax to repay the bonds were “the financial solution for Valencia County. Not only will it give the county money to purchase equipment and fix roads, but it will put dollars in the general fund to increase employee salaries as soon as possible.” This action was the culmination of months of work and debate by the commissioners. It all started in February during budget planning for next fiscal year and the dire warning from staff that the county was looking at the very real possibility of ending this fiscal year in the red. Commissioner Alicia Aguilar said she was still concerned Call us: 864-4472 www.news-bulletin.com INDEX Classified ...... 4B Editorial .........4A Databank .......2A News Digest ...2A Deaths............6A La Vida .......... 1B about ending in a deficit, despite the new revenues. “Come the end of the fiscal year, are we going to be OK?” Aguilar asked at the Dec. 17 meeting. County Manager Jeff Condrey said this fiscal year was still going to be tough, even with the projected GRT revenues. “Those funds should be received around the fourth quarter (of the fiscal year) and that money is already built into the budget accepted by this commission and the (New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration),” Condrey said. Condrey predicted there would be “significant” budget adjustSee Bonds, Page 2A Noticias ......... 3B Record ............6A Sports.............7A
© Copyright 2024