• New Mexico teen accused of family slaughter loved 'violent' video games, police say

    Dan Houston, Bernalillo County sheriff, revealed Tuesday that a 15-year-old teen accused of killing five family members was "involved heavily" in violent video games.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

     

    A 15-year-old video-game fanatic accused of killing his parents and three younger siblings because he was mad at his mom will be tried as an adult, a New Mexico prosecutor announced Tuesday.

    Nehemiah Griego was being held without bail in a juvenile facility as authorities revealed that he was “unemotional” when talking about the massacre but perked up when he talked about his love of violent games, including “Modern Warfare” and “Grand Theft Auto.”

    "It was kind of what he was into and was quite excited as he got the opportunity to discuss that with investigators," Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston said a news conference.

    Bernalillo County

    Nehemiah Griego, 15, is accused of killing his parents and three siblings in New Mexico.

    The teen began planning the murders at least a week ago because he was upset with his mother, but his blood lust went beyond the family, police said.

    He contemplated shooting up a local Walmart and killing his 12-year-old girlfriend's parents, Houston said.

    The suspect sent the girl a photo of his dead mother after he shot her around 1 a.m and spent most of Saturday – between ambushing his father at 6 a.m. and going to his church at 8 p.m. -- with her, officials said.

    The unidentified girl has not been charged, but might be at some point, Houston said.

    Griego was held without bail at a juvenile detention facility but will be tried as an adult on charges of first-degree murder and child abuse leading to death, Bernalillo District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said.

    The case will be presented to a grand jury within 10 days.

    Griego gave investigators the vaguest of explanations for his actions, officials said.

    "The motive as articulated was purely that he was frustrated with his mother," Houston said, explaining that the suspect refused to elaborate. "He was just frustrated with how things were."

    Watch the sheriff's full news conference here

    He said the teen was "very stern" as he walked investigators through the cold-blooded executions.

    He had four guns -- a .22 rifle with a 10-round ammunition holder, an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and two 12-gauge shotguns -- some of which had been purchased by his father's friends and sold to the dad privately, police said.

    At 1 a.m., he allegedly killed his mother, Sarah, 40, while she slept. His 9-year-old brother, Zephania, was "awake and distraught" when he was slain soon after. A 2-year-old, Angelina, was sleeping when she was shot. A 5-year-old girl, Jael, was awake when she was killed.


    Then Griego lay in wait for his father, Greg, 51, a former jailhouse chaplain who was working the graveyard shift at a rescue mission. When he came home, his son killed him, too, the sheriff said.

    The father, a reformed gang member who used to run a halfway house for ex-cons on his property, had taught his son how to shoot, police said.

    Court documents say that the teen envisioned dying in a firefight with law enforcement after the killings.

    Instead, he spent the rest of the day with his girlfriend before he went to Calvary Church, where his father had once been pastor, and told people his family was dead, Houston said.

    A church security guard was driving the teen back to his house when he apparently had misgivings and called police, who went to the house and found the horrific scene.

    Police said they do not believe Griego had drugs or alcohol in his system, and there is no indication he was ever treated for mental illness.

    "This is beyond any human reasoning or understanding at this time," Houston said.

     

    Related:

    New Mexico teen accused of killing family wanted to kill more, police say

     

  • New Mexico teen accused of killing family wanted to kill more, police say

    By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A 15-year-old New Mexico boy accused of fatally shooting his parents and three of his siblings told his girlfriend they had died in a car crash, according to a probable cause document released Monday to KOB News 4.

    Police said the boy, Nehemiah Griego, later admitted during questioning that he shot his mother, brother and two sisters – who were 9 and younger – then waited to shoot his father, a popular Albuquerque chaplain who was not home at the time, according to the court document.

    Nehemiah agreed to speak with police without an adult or lawyer present, according to the court document. Police have not confirmed whether the teen, who was booked in juvenile jail, has been assigned a public defender.

    Nehemiah was charged Sunday morning with five counts of murder and three counts of child abuse leading to death. Under New Mexico state law, 15-year-olds charged with first-degree murder are tried in adult criminal court. 

    What Nehemiah allegedly told police is laid out in the probable cause statement for his arrest that was filed in Bernalillo County Children’s Court Division on Sunday. 


    Police were called to the Griego residence in a rural Albuquerque neighborhood on Saturday after receiving a call from a parishioner at Cavalry Church, a local Christian parish where Nehemiah’s father, Greg Griego, had once served as a pastor.

    Nehemiah had been at the church and had told his girlfriend that his family had been killed in a car accident. He said that girlfriend's grandmother started asking questions and that he was later called to his pastor's office. 

    Church officials, suspicious of the story, called police. Nehemiah initially told police that he had returned home from a friend’s house at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday to find the door to his house locked, according to the document. He told police that he found his father’s "carcass" on the ground floor. 

    After finding his mother and brother’s body on his parent’s bed, he then took a set of car keys from his mother’s purse and drove the family van to the church, the document said. 

    Arriving at the home, police found five bodies – later identified as those of Greg Griego, 51, Sarah Griego, 40, and three of their 10 children Zephania, 9, Jael, 5, and Angelina, 2. The other children were not home, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

    'Horrific' scene after teen allegedly shoots parents, siblings

    Griego then changed his story, according to the document, after police asked him why he had driven to the church with two rifles in the van, and why he had not called 911. He said that he did not call 911 because he panicked.

    Nehemiah told them that he had been having suicidal and homicidal thoughts. He said he shot his mother with a .22 rifle around midnight as she slept. He said his 9-year-old brother woke up after the gunfire and that he told him he had just shot their mother.

    "Nehemiah stated his brother did not believe him so Nehemiah picked up his mother's head to show his brother her bloody face," the statement said. "Nehemiah stated his brother became upset so he shot his brother in the head with the same rifle he used to shoot his mother." 

    He then went into the bedroom his two younger sisters share and found them crying. He told police that he shot both of them in the head. Then he said that he went downstairs and waited for his father to return. His father returned at 5 a.m. that morning.

    Nehemiah told police he shot his father multiple times with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with a scope, according to the document, then said he reloaded the weapons with the intention of driving to an area where he could shoot more people.

    He told police that he wanted to die exchanging fire with law enforcement.

    Nehemiah told police that he had taken both of the guns from his parents’ closet, and that he had taken a photo of his dead mother and sent it to his girlfriend.

    Whether Nehemiah's statement to police can be presented at trial is unclear. Although police say that he was read his Miranda rights, state law demands that prosecutors must prove that the confession was offered only after a "knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver of the child's constitutional rights was obtained."

    The court takes into account the time of day and treatment of the child at the time of questioning, the child's mental and physical condition and whether the child had an attorney, friends or relatives present.

    Police and neighbors in Albuquerque were still trying to make sense of what had happened on Monday.

    “I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston said at a news conference on Sunday, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

    Greg and Sarah Griego were remembered by friends and neighbors as a caring pastor and housewife.

    “Chaplain Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community,” said a statement released by the Albuquerque Fire Department. “His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Greg’s extended family.”

    Neighbor Peter Gomez told the Albuquerque Journal that he did not know Nehemiah Griego well but that the accused teen “wore nothing but camouflage stuff.”

    Few other details about the alleged shooter were clear two days after the killing of his family members. On Monday, a spokesman for the Children, Youth, and Families Department in New Mexico said that Griego has “no history with the juvenile justice system,” according to the AP.

    “Our family is grieving this terrible tragedy,” relatives of the Griego family said in a statement. “We appreciate the prayers and support we have received and request that the media honor our family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

    Griego is expected to make his first appearance in court on Tuesday, according to the AP.

    NBC staff writer Isolde Raftery contributed to this report.

  • 'Horrific' scene after teen allegedly shoots parents, siblings

    A 15-year-old New Mexico teenager has been charged with the murder of his parents and three siblings. KOB's Maria Guerrero reports.

    By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Police described a “horrific” scene after they arrived at the New Mexico home where a teenage boy allegedly killed his two parents and three siblings late Saturday night.


    The five family members were found in their rural home outside Albuquerque. Police identified the victims as Greg Griego, 51; Sarah Griego, 40; and their children Zephania Griego, 9; Jael Griego, 5; and Angelina Griego, 2.

    Their alleged attacker was identified by police as another family member, 15-year-old Nehemiah Griego, the Associated Press reported.

    The boy was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department.  He has been placed in a juvenile detention center, according to police.

    Police found multiple weapons, including an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle, near the scene of the shooting, according to the AP.

    “The victims all had multiple gunshot wounds, and there appeared to be multiple weapons, including an assault-type weapon,” Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department deputy Aaron Williamson told Reuters.

    “There’s no other way to say it, except that we have a horrific crime scene down there that we are working on it,” Sheriff Dan Houston said on Sunday.

    While little was known about the alleged shooter, a picture began to emerge Monday of his father. Greg Griego, identified as a  pastor at Calvary, a local church, was remembered as a caring family man.

    “Greg loved his family, he loved his church, he loved God, and was very involved with and had love for people in prison,” Calvary executive director Brian Nixon told NBC affiliate KOB-TV. “He headed up our jail ministry, he had a passion for people and to help them.”

    Police: New Mexico teen charged in deaths of two adults, three children

    Griego was active in the local community, working with prison inmates at the county jail as well as with area firefighters. He was the brother of former state Senator Eric Griego, KOB-TV reported.

    “Chaplain Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community,” Fire Chief James Breen said in a statement, according to the AP. “His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed.”

    “Our family is grieving this terrible tragedy,” family members of the victims said in a statement, according to KOB-TV. “We appreciate the prayers and support we have received and request that the media honor our family’s privacy during this difficult time.”

     Down the road from the Griego residence, neighbors were shocked to hear the news.

    “It’s a horrible thing,” neighbor Peter Gomez, 54, told the AP. “You see all this stuff that happens all over the country, the shootings in the schools and theaters, and then it happens right here. It’s sad.”

    Gomez told the Albuquerque Journal that he did not know the Griego family well, but that he used to see the accused teen walking through the neighborhood wearing "camouflage stuff."

    The Associated Press, Reuters, and KOB-TV contributed to this report.

  • Police: New Mexico teen charged in deaths of two adults, three children

    Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

    Bernalillo County authorities stationed outside a home where two adults and three children were found shot to death south of Albuquerque.

    By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Updated at 12:15 a.m. ET: A 15-year-old boy has been charged in the shooting deaths of two adults and three children in southwest Albuquerque, N.M., local police said.


    The suspect, identified by Bernalillo County police as Nehemiah Griego, has been arrested and placed in a juvenile detention center. He is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of "child abuse resulting in death," according to a police statement.

    A police statement identified the victims as Greg Griego, 51, his wife, Sarah Griego, 40, and three of their children -- Zephania Griego, 9, Jael Griego, 5, and Angelina Griego, 2. 

    Greg Griego was a chaplain at the county jail in Albuquerque and spiritual counselor to the Albuquerque Fire Department, according to a statement by Fire Chief James Breen. 

    Breen described Griego as dedicated and passionate chaplain with a "calming spirit and gentle nature."  

    Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies responded to a private residence in the city's South Valley area around 9:15 p.m. Saturday. They found the bodies inside the residence.

    They also found several weapons at the scene of the crime, including a semi-automatic military-style rifle, according to Bernalillo County sheriff's spokesman Aaron Williamson.

    "There's no other way to say it, but we have a horrific crime scene we're working, and it'll be intensive, and we'll work hard to do everything that needs to be done," Sheriff Dan Houston told KRQE-TV.

    The investigation is ongoing. 

    NBC's Isolde Raftery contributed reporting.

    This story was originally published on Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:14 PM EST

  • US nuke lab removes Chinese-made switches over security fears

    By Steve Stecklow, Reuters

    A leading U.S. nuclear weapons laboratory recently discovered its computer systems contained some Chinese-made network switches and replaced at least two components because of national security concerns, a document shows.

    A letter from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, dated November 5, 2012, states that the research facility had installed devices made by H3C Technologies Co, based in Hangzhou, China, according to a copy seen by Reuters. H3C began as a joint venture between China's Huawei Technologies Co and 3Com Corp, a U.S. tech firm, and was once called Huawei-3Com. Hewlett Packard Co acquired the firm in 2010.


    The discovery raises questions about procurement practices by U.S. departments responsible for national security. The U.S. government and Congress have raised concerns about Huawei and its alleged ties to the Chinese military and government. The company, the world's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker, denies its products pose any security risk or that the Chinese military influences its business.

    Switches are used to manage data traffic on computer networks. The exact number of Chinese-made switches installed at Los Alamos, how or when they were acquired, and whether they were placed in sensitive systems or pose any security risks, remains unclear. The laboratory - where the first atomic bomb was designed - is responsible for maintaining America's arsenal of nuclear weapons.

    A spokesman for the Los Alamos lab referred enquiries to the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, which declined to comment.

    The November 5 letter seen by Reuters was written by the acting chief information officer at the Los Alamos lab and addressed to the NNSA's assistant manager for safeguards and security. It states that in October a network engineer at the lab - who the letter does not identify - alerted officials that H3C devices "were beginning to be installed in" its networks.

    The letter says a working group of specialists, some from the lab's counter intelligence unit, began investigating, "focusing on sensitive networks." The lab "determined that a small number of the devices installed in one network were H3C devices. Two devices used in isolated cases were promptly replaced," the letter states.

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    The letter suggests other H3C devices may still be installed. It states that the lab was investigating "replacing any remaining H3C network switch devices as quickly as possible," including "older switches" in "both sensitive and unclassified networks as part of the normal life-cycle maintenance effort." The letter adds that the lab was conducting a formal assessment to determine "any potential risk associated with any H3C devices that may remain in service until replacements can be obtained."

    "We would like to emphasize that (Los Alamos) has taken this issue seriously, and implemented expeditious and proactive steps to address it," the letter states.

    Corporate filings show Huawei sold its stake in H3C to 3Com in 2007. Nevertheless, H3C's website still describes Huawei as one of its "global strategic partners" and states it is working with it "to deliver advanced, cost-efficient and environmental-friendly products."

    The Los Alamos letter appears to have been written in response to a request last year by the House Armed Services Committee for the Department of Energy (DoE) to report on any "supply chain risks."

    In its request, the committee said it was concerned by a Government Accountability Office report last year that found a number of national security-related departments had not taken appropriate measures to guard against risks posed by their computer-equipment suppliers. The report said federal agencies are not required to track whether any of their telecoms networks contain foreign-developed products.

    The Armed Services committee specifically asked the DoE to evaluate whether it, or any of its major contractors, were using technology produced by Huawei or ZTE Corp, another Chinese telecoms equipment maker. ZTE Corp denies its products pose any security risk.

    In 2008, Huawei and private equity firm Bain Capital were forced to give up their bid for 3Com after a U.S. panel rejected the deal because of national security concerns. Three years later, Huawei abandoned its acquisition of some assets from U.S. server technology firm 3Leaf, bowing to pressure from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The committee evaluates whether foreign control of a U.S. business poses national security risks.

    In October, the House Intelligence Committee issued an investigative report that recommended U.S. government systems should not include Huawei or ZTE components. The report said that based on classified and unclassified information, Huawei and ZTE "cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence" and pose "a security threat to the United States and to our systems."

    William Plummer, Huawei's vice president of external affairs in Washington, said in an email to Reuters: "There has never been a shred of substantive proof that Huawei gear is any less secure than that of our competitors, all of which rely on common global standards, supply chains, coding and manufacturing.

    "Blackballing legitimate multinationals based on country of origin is reckless, both in terms of fostering a dangerously false sense of cyber-security and in threatening the free and fair global trading system that the U.S. has championed for the last 60-plus years."

    He referred questions about H3C products to Hewlett Packard. An HP spokesman said Huawei no longer designs any H3C hardware and that the company "became independent operationally ... from Huawei" several years prior to HP's acquisition of it. He added that HP's networking division "has considerable resources dedicated to compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements involving system security, global trade and customer privacy."

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  • Mystery in the meat: Supermarket employee finds handgun in frozen food

    While unpacking a case of frozen meat, a New Mexico grocery store employee found a loaded gun packed with seven rounds of ammo. KOB's Erica Zucco reports.

    By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

    A supermarket employee in Roswell, N.M., found an unexpected item in a case of frozen meat this week: a loaded handgun.

    The Albertsons worker was unwrapping the meat, which had been shipped from a packing plant in Colorado, when he discovered the firearm, along with seven rounds of ammunition, on Wednesday.


    "The big cases of meat come in a box," Sabrina Morales, Roswell Police Department public relations liaison, said. "When he opened it, he saw the firearm. It wasn't packaged inside with the meat, but it was in the same box."  

    The man brought the Rock Island Armory .38 super semi auto handgun, along with the ammo, into the Roswell Police Department at about 2 p.m. that afternoon, she said.

    Where the gun came from is a mystery to police. It was entered into the National Crime Information Center database, but no reports of its being stolen came up.

    The supermarket employee wiped it clean before turning it in, making it difficult for police to find any identifying fingerprints.

    Adding to officers' challenge: The meat, which was sent to Albertsons from Swift Packing Plant in Greeley, Colo., was packaged more than a year ago.

    "The other part that's disturbing is the date on the package was 6.8.2011. I don't know how long meat stays well-frozen, but that was the date of the package he was opening," Morales said.

    A call to Swift Packing Plant's corporate office from NBC News was not returned Friday. Roswell police, who did not identify the Albertsons employee, said they have collected all the information they can and have turned the investigation over to Greeley police.

    In the meantime, Roswell police are hoping their NCIC database query through the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms may provide some clues, but Roswell Sgt. Jim Preston told New Mexico's KOB.com that the search could take months.

    "If it was stolen, we would have thought that by now it would have been entered into the actual database, NCIC, as a stolen firearm," he said. "But we don't have any of that information, and it is something we're looking into."

    The gun has made for one of the more memorable cases for the Roswell department.

    "You hear of people finding frogs in their salad or weird stuff like that, but never heard of this one," Morales said.

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  • US Justice Department launching investigation into Albuquerque police

    By NBC News staff and wire services

    The U.S. Justice Department is launching a formal investigation into the Albuquerque Police Department, which has recently been under fire from civil rights advocates.

    After a preliminary review started last year, "we have concluded that a full civil rights investigation is warranted to determine whether APD engages in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution or federal law," Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said in a statement at a police department press conference in Albuquerque on Tuesday. "In particular the investigation will focus on use of force by APD, including but not limited to use of deadly force."


    The Police Department in New Mexico's largest city has experienced a number of fatal shootings since 2010, and has been criticized over a number of cases alleging abuse by officers, The Associated Press reported.

    Thomas Perez, the Assistant Attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced in August 2011 that officials were "gathering information" on the department, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

    "Our goal is to search for the truth," Perez told the Journal in an interview this week. "We’re looking to see if there are systemic problems embedded in the culture of the department."

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    The Police Department has also been plagued in recent months by a number of high-profile cases in which officers are accused of using excessive force, including some cases caught on video, the AP reported.

    "Our investigation into APD’s use of force practices will be thorough, fair and independent," Perez.said Tuesday. "We will peel the onion to its core, and leave no stone unturned. We will follow the facts wherever they lead us."

    He said that the probe would take into account police policies, practices and records, officers in the field and others in the department with the assistance of law enforcement experts. 

    "We will also actively engage with the community — a critical part of the process of determining whether systemic violations exist and how a police department can be improved."

    Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and the city's Police Chief Ray Schultz also spoke at the press conference, saying they would cooperate fully with the federal investigation. They noted that the city had already made an array of policy changes in the past 18 months, many of them addressing the way officers use force, adding that they looked forward to any "additional recommendations," the Albuquerque Journal reported. 

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  • Lawsuit: Cop stuns 10-year-old with Taser for refusing to clean his patrol car

    By NBC News

    SANTA FE, N.M. -- A New Mexico state police officer used his Taser to stun a 10-year-old schoolboy who refused to clean his patrol car, according to a lawsuit filed in Santa Fe County Court by the boy's family.


    During a career day program at Tularosa Intermediate School in May, Officer Christopher Webb of the state Department of Public Safety pointed the stun gun at the boy and said, "Let me show you what happens to people who do not listen to the police," according to the lawsuit filed last week.

    Webb said his stun gun went off by accident, sending two barbs carrying 50,000 volts of electricity for five seconds through the boy’s clothing and piercing his chest, the Albuquerque Journal reported, quoting court documents. The jolt caused the boy to black out, the suit said.

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    Rachel Higgins, attorney for the boy who weighs less than 100 pounds and is referred to in the lawsuit by only his initials, told the court he has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, waking in the middle of the night clutching his chest in fear since the incident. He has scars the size of cigarette burns, she said in court papers.

    The boy was only joking about not wanting to clean the patrol car when Webb asked a group of boys if they would, according to court documents.

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    Webb, named in the suit along with the Department of Public Safety, received a three-day, unpaid suspension after the incident, the Journal reported.

    Webb said in court documents he took the boy to the school nurse’s office and waited with him there until the student’s mother arrived.

    The boy's family is seeking compensation and punitive damages, the Journal reported.

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  • Paraplegic says he survived 3 days stranded in N.M. desert

    Augusta Liddic / The Daily Times via AP

    Ricky Gilmore shows a reporter the pair of jeans he was wearing when he dragged himself down a road near Tocito, N.M., last week.

    By NBC News and wire reports

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A paraplegic man, who says he was stranded in the New Mexico desert without his wheelchair, dragged himself about four miles down a dirt road over three days before a motorist stopped to help him.

    Tattered and dirty, Ricky Gilmore's blue jeans tell part of the story. His body tells the rest -- the skin on his left leg and buttocks is shredded, his wrist is sprained and his kidneys are in bad shape from going without food and water.

    "Ah man, I'm just a big mess. I ache and I'm just in the first stages of healing," he told The Associated Press on Tuesday from his hospital bed at the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, N.M.

    Gilmore, 49, is being treated for acute kidney failure from dehydration, a sprained wrist and a blood infection. He spent two days in intensive care and it could be at least another week before he can go home.

    The Farmington Daily Times first reported Gilmore's story. The newspaper reported that Gilmore filed a report with the Shiprock Police Department. No officials at the department were immediately available to confirm details of the report.

    Found on side of the road
    Gilmore was found along a seldom traveled road on the Navajo Nation about 10 miles from his home in Newcomb, which is on the eastern side of the reservation.


    Gilmore said he was dropped in the desert by a couple in a white truck who he met while he was hitchhiking on Oct. 16. He had invited them to his home for steaks and they later went for what Gilmore thought was going to be a joyride.

    When he declined to share his alcohol with them, Gilmore said the man grabbed him by his feet and threw him out of the truck while parked along the desolate road.

    “I did not want to fight back,” he told the Daily Times. “If I did fight back all hell would come loose. ... I know gangsters like that, they just that start clubbing away."

    It was early evening and Gilmore had nothing -- no wheelchair, no food, no water, no coat -- to help him endure the flat desert scrubland.

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    He said he spent the first night under a bush. But with the sunrise, survival mode kicked in.

    Gilmore said he attempted to flag down at least two passing cars as he dragged himself along the road, but they only honked and kept going.

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    Body temperature plummets
    After spending a second night at the side of the road, Gilmore said he woke up sore and thirsty and did not want to move, but continued onward anyway.

    On the third afternoon, a man in a blue pickup truck stopped and called for help. Gilmore said doctors told him his body temperature was 94 when he was found. Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees.

    He told the AP that his plan for when he gets released from the hospital was simple: "Go home and pray, take inventory and just get a good night sleep in my own bed and heal."

    Read more on this story on NBC's Albuquerque affiliate KOBTV.com

    Gilmore told the Daily Times that he had been hitchhiking for 19 years, ever since he lost the use of his legs in a motorcycle accident on his 30th birthday.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • With officers forbidden from carrying guns, New Mexico town's police force goes to the dog

    KRQE

    Nikka, a police dog in Vaughn, N.M., is now the town's only official member of the police force.

    By NBC News staff and wire services

    VAUGHN, N.M.-- A drug-sniffing dog now is the only certified member of the police force in the small eastern New Mexico town of Vaughn.


    Police Chief Ernest "Chris" Armijo decided to step down Wednesday after news stories reported that he wasn't allowed to carry a gun because of his criminal background. 

    "He decided the attention was distracting," said Dave Romero, an attorney for the town. 

    State officials said Armijo couldn't carry a gun since acknowledging that he owed tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent child support payments in Texas. Armijo also faces new felony charges after being accused of selling a town-owned rifle and pocketing the cash. 

    Romero said Armijo is working to clear up the latest case. He said Armijo has not ruled out seeking the police chief's position again if his case is resolved and the position is open. 

    According to NBC affiliate KOB.com in New Mexico, Armijo's annual salary is less than $30,000. Because he can't own a gun or any ammunition, he sold an assault rifle he owned to Guadalupe Sheriff's Deputy Juan Sanchez in January for $250, KOB.com reported.

    A second police officer in Vaughn, Brian Bernal, was hired in the spring, but he had his own legal problems: In January of 2011, Bernal pleaded guilty to assault and battery against a household member, which prohibits him from owning a firearm by federal law, KOB.com said.

    Now, according to records, the only qualified member of the Vaughn Police Department is Nikka, a drug-sniffing dog. Non-certified officers can't make arrests and can't carry firearms. 

    Russell Contreras / AP

    The K-9 police truck of the Vaughn, N.M. Police Department sits in the driveway of former Vaughn Police Chief Ernest "Chris" Armijo on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

    But Romero said not having an officer qualified to carry a gun didn't put Vaughn at risk. "England doesn't allow police officers to carry guns," he said. "Sometime the strongest weapon in law enforcement is communication." 

    Vaughn, a town of about 450 located 104 miles east of Albuquerque, is a quiet place that is an overnight stop for railroad workers.

    While residents maintain there is no crime problem, the town is set deep in what U.S. officials say is an area popular with drug traffickers. The desolate roads in Guadalupe County make it hard for authorities to catch smugglers moving drugs from Mexico. 

    Guadalupe County Sheriff Michael Lucero said since news about the police chief's record became public his department has helped patrol Vaughn. But he said those efforts have put a slight strain on his already short-staffed department. 

    "I visit the town at least once a month," said Lucero. "The important thing is to keep a presence so residents know we're there to help if we're needed." 

    Romero said town officials are considering whether to hire another police chief or keep the department staffed with just one officer. He said it's unclear whether the town will keep the police dog, which had been in Armijo's care. 

    When approached by a reporter from The Associated Press at his Vaughn home, Armijo said he had no comment, and he declined to grant access to the canine for photographs or video. 

    The dog's kennel could be seen in Armijo's backyard, and a police truck marked "K-9" was parked in his driveway. 

    At Penny's Diner, residents said they were embarrassed by the attention the episode has put on the small town. 

    "There's just a whole lot of nothing going on here," said cook Joyce Tabor. "We have very little crime. It's quiet. So this really doesn't matter."

    Armijo told KOB.com in June that he didn't feel he needed a gun to do his job. 

    “We have tasers, batons, mace … stuff like that,” Armijo said. "This isn't a TV show. This is life. We don't run in every day with a gun drawn. Life isn't in a pistol grip. It's how you talk to people. I wasn't the type of person to go, 'I'm a cop, now give me my badge and my chip on my shoulder.' That's not me."

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • After 53 rounds, Spanish spelling bee is estancamiento (that's a stalemate)

    David Briseño / Rio Rancho Public Schools

    Co-champions Joana Fernandez and Judith Villa with their winners' plaques.

    By Monica Olivera Hazelton and M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

    Two star students battled it out for an hour and a half in Albuquerque, N.M., correctly spelling word after word, before judges threw up their hands and declared a tie in the National Spanish Spelling Bee last week.

    Judith Villa, a fifth-grader from Sunland Park Elementary School in Anthony, N.M., and Joana Fernandez, an eighth-grader at Rio Rancho Middle School in the Rio Rancho, N.M., were the finalists after 17 other pupils from six other states fell by the wayside Saturday.

    Judith and Joana kept going, and going, and going — for 53 more rounds. They polished off words like unguiculado (meaning "unguiculate"), cabizcaído ("downhearted") and vehementemente ("vehemently").

    More on this story from NBCLatino.com

    Monica Olivera Hazelton is a contributor for NBC Latino. M. Alex Johnson is a reporter for NBC News. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

    Eventually, the judges ran out of approved words and declared it a draw. Jose Daniel Lara Arévalo of Legacy Middle School in San Antonio, Texas, finished third.

    The contest, which is in its second year, tests children whose native language is Spanish or who are learning the language.


    Spanish words are relatively easier to spell than English words, because groups of letters consistently produce the same sounds and the vowels typically are pronounced the same way. But students must also note Spanish diacritical marks, which makes the competition more challenging.

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  • Man who died after standoff with NM cops had assault rifle, 'homemade bombs'

    New Mexico State Police

    Rex Michael Sherwood

    By Mike Brunker, NBC News

    A fugitive who spent five days on the run in New Mexico before dying in a weekend shootout with police left behind a vehicle containing explosives and questions about his possible links to anti-government groups, according to local authorities and published reports.

    Rex Michael Sherwood, 48, was found dead Sunday in a gas station in Dulce, N.M., on the Jicarilla Apache reservation, after a gunfight with police.

    It was Sherwood’s second violent confrontation with local law enforcement in a week, said Jake Arnold, a spokesman for the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office. On July 10, he exchanged gunfire with tribal police who pulled him over for failing to use his turn signal. After leading the officers on a 10-mile chase, he abandoned his Ford delivery truck and fled into the woods, Arnold said.

    Sherwood resurfaced early Sunday, according to local news reports, when tribal police responding to a reported break-in at a Dulce gas station and convenience store came under fire from inside. After a lengthy standoff, during which the tribal officers were joined by state police, FBI agents and officers from other local agencies, a remote-controlled robot entered the building and detected the body of a single gunman lying on the floor.

     

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    The state medical examiner identified Sherwood through fingerprints. A statement Tuesday by the Jicarilla Apache Nation on Tuesday said that he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound from the AK-47 assault rifle he was carrying.

    KRQE-TV of Albuquerque quoted unidentified sources as saying that Sherwood was a computer expert with extreme anti-government opinions.

    It also quoted the sources as saying that “homemade bombs” were found in the back of the truck he abandoned.

    Arnold, the sheriff’s department spokesman, confirmed that explosives were found in the vehicle and said that Sherwood was wearing a T-shirt bearing the name of a right-wing militia group when he died.

    Frank Fisher, a spokesman with the Albuquerque FBI office, declined to discuss any details of the case. In a statement, the bureau asked anyone with information on the case to phone 505 889-1300. 

    Jicarilla tribal police and a New Mexico state police spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment. 

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