Latest news with #TheNewMexican
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Yahoo
State withheld records in Rio Arriba sheriff death investigation
The New Mexico Department of Public Safety took 42 days — far beyond the 15 days allowed by state statute — to release information this week about the mysterious April death of Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield. Forensic pathologists reported May 15 that Merrifield's Easter morning death was due to the toxic effects of fentanyl and alcohol. Other questions remained unanswered, including whether the sheriff knowingly consumed fentanyl and where he may have obtained it. In the days after Merrifield was found dead in his patrol car April 20, The New Mexican filed a public records request for related police reports and other information. At first, the Department of Public Safety refused to release additional records. Next, it described the request as burdensome, buying the agency more time. After additional complaints from The New Mexican, it released a batch of investigative reports Thursday evening — 42 days after receiving the request. Those records — 105 pages of reports, photos and other documents — show the agency's investigators have not yet determined how Merrifield ingested the fatal dose of fentanyl that caused his death, along with alcohol. The recent secrecy over Merrifield's death reflects a pattern of slow-walked disclosure of public records like state police reports and lapel camera footage, shielding public information on homicides, crashes, police shootings around the state and other public safety-related incidents. The department's initial decision to withhold police reports from the investigation — as well as documents in another unrelated case — appears to have potentially run afoul of state public records laws and a Supreme Court ruling in recent years. Department of Public Safety spokesperson Herman Lovato declined to respond to some questions about the matter in an email Friday, but he wrote each request through the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act 'is addressed individually' by department staff. 'If it involves an active or ongoing investigation, records that are complete will be produced if not subject to an exception, even on an active or ongoing investigation,' Lovato wrote. 'If the records have not been completed because of an active or ongoing investigation, they may be temporarily withheld until completed.' He wrote the department's process 'aligns with New Mexico Supreme Court precedent and the requirements of IPRA.' However, the department's written reason for denying a recent request for state police reports tied to Merrifield's death did not appear consistent with the process Lovato described. In response to a request from The New Mexican seeking reports on Merrifield's death, a staff member at the department's records division wrote in early May, 'this is still a active/on going investigation and I was not given the approval to release the documents as they are still being [processed].' About two weeks later, the department's reasoning changed, with a different staffer writing the request for reports was 'overburdensome.' The records were finally released Thursday after The New Mexican submitted a complaint concerning an alleged violation of the Inspection of Public Records Act to the Department of Justice — and after sending emailed questions about the records request to officials that day. Advocate: Court ruling 'clear' Christine Barber, the executive director of New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, said in an interview the department's initial denial of the request appeared to potentially violate a state Supreme Court ruling a few years ago on the specific topic of records in active law enforcement investigations. The ruling came as a result of a lawsuit brought by Andrew Jones against the Department of Public Safety, which had denied his request for records related to a state police investigation into the fatal shooting of his brother by Albuquerque police officers. Barber said the 2020 ruling was clear, holding that 'the status of a criminal investigation as 'ongoing' does not serve to exempt public records related to the investigation from inspection under [the Inspection of Public Records Act].' 'Sometimes government agencies need to be reminded of the law,' Barber said, noting past litigation between the Foundation for Open Government and the Department of Public Safety. In a 2007 settlement between the department, the foundation and several news publications — including The New Mexican — department officials agreed to provide records like incident reports within the 15-day timeline required by state law. An attorney for the government transparency group said at least one other journalist reported receiving a similar response recently when requesting the reports on Merrifield's death, but she added she did not recall other recent instances of state law enforcement agencies explicitly citing an open investigation as the reason for denying or delaying the production of records. The Department of Public Safety cited the Supreme Court's decision in a letter denying a different request from The New Mexican earlier this year for an incident report in a different death investigation. In the letter, staff acknowledged the court ruling stated exemptions to public records law 'cannot be interpreted so broadly as to withhold records simply due to the existence of an ongoing investigation.' The letter described exemptions that allow for redactions of parts of records, like names of potential subjects and informants, and ultimately stated the agency would withhold the entire report. 'Once the investigation is closed and no longer subject to these legal restrictions, certain records may become available for inspection,' the letter states. Weeks to fulfill requests While records are not usually withheld outright by the Department of Public Safety, it often takes several months to disclose reports from an investigation. In the past two years, The New Mexican has submitted at least 24 requests to the Department of Public Safety seeking reports or other documents such as the agency's written policies, lists of employees or financial data — not including requests for records like police lapel camera footage. The department provided the requested records in an average timeframe of more than two months per request. A little more than half of the requests for police reports or other documents were deemed 'broad' or 'burdensome' by the department's record staff, which allows for delays longer than 15 days. As of Friday, records have not been provided in response to two of the requests. Department of Justice spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez said attorneys from the division that investigate public records complaints had contacted the Department of Public Safety earlier this week regarding the complaint from The New Mexican. The investigators — after being assigned a complaint — usually contact the government agency in question to obtain more information, she said. They are trying to determine if there is actually noncompliance as well as whether the agency's staff knew their actions were out of compliance and whether they acted purposely in denying or delaying a records request. Apart from the complaint submitted against the Department of Public Safety by The New Mexican, the department has been the subject of one other records-related complaint so far this year to the Department of Justice, Rodriguez said. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office did not respond to an email seeking comment on the Department of Public Safety's practices concerning the release of public records. Lujan Grisham stood behind the department when asked about the issue last year, with a spokesperson writing the governor 'defers to law enforcement authorities to determine when the release of information is appropriate based on the status of ongoing investigations, notification of next of kin, etc.'
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Horse racing fans remember The Downs at Santa Fe as it's demolished
At his home just 5 miles from the recently razed grandstand of the former horse racing track southwest of Santa Fe, Tony Martinez's mind wandered into the past. He recalled the names of horses and jockeys from the 1970s — the brigade of swift thoroughbreds raising dust as the finish line approached. Much like the jubilant shouts sweeping through the crowds, they are just memories now, as is The Downs at Santa Fe. The faded grandstand has been demolished, toppled in the last few weeks to make way for redevelopment plans by Pojoaque Pueblo, which purchased the struggling track in the 1990s and hoped to put it on the map with big races and, later, a 'racino' with slot machines that could compete with tribal casinos — including its own operations. Those plans never came to fruition. The pueblo secured $4 million in state legislative capital outlay this year and $8 million last year to help move forward with new plans for the 320-acre site at 27475 W. Frontage Road just off Interstate 25. Pueblo officials did not respond to inquiries last week about the project, though a preliminary development plan obtained by The New Mexican indicates a hotel and various types of housing could be in the works, as well as commercial space. Martinez, a former horse trainer, now 83, is among many longtime patrons who lament The Downs at Santa Fe's demise and now its disappearance. 'We had some really, really good times at The Downs,' Martinez said. 'We really, really miss it. It just gets into your blood.' 060525 jw horse trainer Santa Fe horse trainer and racing enthusiast Tony Martinez talks about his days working at The Downs at in the 1970s with his wife, Lou Martinez. A former horse trainer, the 83-year-old Tony Martinez has almost perfect recall for races run at The Downs. 'A sentimental deal' The towering and long-lonely grandstand at The Downs was a landmark that loomed off I-25 since the early 1970s. Suddenly, almost overnight, it is gone, stirring memories for locals, some of whom stopped in recent weeks to take photographs of the stadium buckling under the pressure of excavators. It served for a couple of decades as a fixture of entertainment and gambling during its heyday in Northern New Mexico until it closed in the late 1990s, then lay mostly dormant for more than 25 years. As a music venue, The Downs drew top-dollar musicians, including the Grateful Dead — with fans recalling legendary performances there in 1982 and '83 — and country star Roger Miller, known for his 1965 hit 'King of the Road.' Plans to revive horse racing at The Downs in the 2000s never took hold, though Pojoaque Pueblo made preparations, smoothing out a massive pile of manure that had angered neighbors and restricted use of the property. Workmen began screening trash out of the pile in 2008 and spreading manure 4 to 5 inches thick across a 40-acre parcel on the property. The manure was tilled into the soil and native grasses were planted over it. The site has since hosted soccer matches, flea markets, movie nights, music shows — one festival that epically fizzled — and a fall fest with pumpkin carving and a costume parade. Some 800 people gathered for the Ultimate Gladiator Dash, an extreme sports challenge, in 2014, the same year an equestrian event was staged there — but not for racing. Horses and riders tested their skills in dressage, show jumping and cross-country jumping competitions. Mostly, The Downs has been empty. SKM_450i18092610340 The Downs at Santa Fe circa 1976. Racetrack anticipation burned hot in Santa Fe when the track opened in 1971: So popular was The Downs, a $5.5 million, 1-mile oval track, that on its opening day in June a crowd of 11,000 people lured to the events created traffic jams. Members of the horse racing industry in New Mexico cite a suite of reasons why operating venues like The Downs has proved challenging amid increasingly high competition for the 'gambling dollar' in the Land of Enchantment. The racing industry has struggled nationally in recent decades amid what is generally perceived as a dip in interest; slot machines and gambling are keeping many racetracks — which double as 'racinos' — afloat. These days, Martinez and his wife travel to The Downs Racetrack & Casino at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque to play the horses there, but the experience isn't the same as what they remember decades ago at their hometown track: Times have changed, and they no longer see people they know. J.J. Gonzales, another Northern New Mexican involved in the industry who fondly recalls The Downs at Santa Fe, enjoyed a storied career in the sport, winning the All American Futurity — considered to be quarter horse racing's biggest event — at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack & Casino in 2003. Once a boy with a talent, he became a licensed jockey at age 16, and he credits Santa Fe with launching his career in the 1990s. 'I won my first race there, and that's always a sentimental deal right there,' said Gonzales, a native of the community of Sena in San Miguel County. 'That sticks to you pretty hard.' Don Cook, now president of racing at The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, worked at the local Downs from 1988 until it closed in the 1990s. While in Santa Fe, he did about everything there is to do at a track: He was a clocker, a placing judge, a stall superintendent, a director of security. 060625 jw albq downs Don Cook, now president of racing at The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, did about everything there is to do at The Downs at Santa Fe during his tenure there, working as a clocker, placing judge, stall superintendent and director of security. It's a shame the track closed because it had ample potential and upside, he said. 'It was nicknamed the Saratoga of the West,' Cook said, referring to the famed racetrack in New York state. 'It had a nice, beautiful grass infield, a great view of the mountains. It was a shame it got closed down, but things happen.' Out of the gates hot Racetrack anticipation burned hot in Santa Fe in 1971. On opening day in June, a crowd of 11,000 people turned out at the $5.5 million, 1-mile oval track, creating traffic jams. Stabling facilities were unable to accommodate the volume of horses streaming into Santa Fe, so ran the reports in late May that year. Ismael 'Izzy' Trejo, executive director of the New Mexico Racing Commission, grew up around the track; his father was a horse trainer. He recalled the feeling of euphoria as a child when jockeys gave him their goggles following races. But the racetrack, run by a company called Santa Fe Racing, began to experience financial difficulties even in its early years — the 1976 racing season was in doubt for a time when debts exceeded $3.5 million, according to reports in The Santa Fe New Mexican. The Pueblo of Pojoaque acquired the property in the mid-1990s and had big plans to continue horse racing. With events such as the Indian Nations Futurity Cup under the pueblo's ownership, there was every indication the struggling racetrack could still become a significant place for the sport in the Southwest, Trejo said. Racing at The Downs in September 1982. The racetrack, run by a company called Santa Fe Racing, began to experience financial difficulties even in its early years — doubt was cast on the 1976 racing season, with debts exceeding $3.5 million, according to reports in The Santa Fe New Mexican. In 1997, track officials hoped the Indian Nations Futurity Cup would shower national prestige on Santa Fe, The New Mexican reported. A Pojoaque Pueblo official told a reporter at the time the goal was for the race to put The Downs at Santa Fe back on the map, with an estimated purse of up to $600,000. 'But I think they realized it's hard to run a racetrack,' Trejo said. 'It's costly. You have to have a lot of employees — assistant starters, jockey valets, racing office staff, stewards, concessionaires, track maintenance people, mutual tellers. You have a whole army.' The pueblo closed the track in the late '90s after a few years of ownership, citing millions of dollars in losses. Cook said, in his opinion, the closure of The Downs at Santa Fe had more to do with a dispute over the number of race days than anything else — with the racers wanting more. 'It was actually closed down over the amount of races the horsemen wanted to run and the racetrack wanted to recall. From what I can recall, it was over one day,' Cook said. 'In my opinion, that track would still be there if there wasn't a fight over a race day.' Making name in Santa Fe While the racetrack had its ups and downs in its two decades of operation, it allowed trainers and jockeys in the area to get a strong start on their careers. Two prominent photographs of J.J. Gonzales appeared side by side in The New Mexican in 1993. Then 16, the young jockey was already turning heads in the sport. One image shows him riding a quarter horse named Sapello Kid at The Downs at Santa Fe. In the other, he is shown stroking another fleet-footed equine in the barns where his father, James Gonzales Sr., was a trainer. Ten years later, he would win the All American Futurity in Ruidoso. 060525 jw horse trainer Santa Fe horse trainer and racing enthusiast Tony Martinez goes through his scrapbook of winners at The Downs last week. 'We had some really, really good times at The Downs,' Martinez said. 'We really, really miss it. It just gets into your blood.' About a year after he retired as a jockey in 2008, he began training horses. Now Gonzales and his sons operate a successful stable based in El Paso, known as the Gonzales Racing Stable, and compete in races around the Southwest, including in Oklahoma City and Dallas. The Downs in the City Different was where many horsemen, especially those from the region, made their name. 'It started right there in Santa Fe,' Gonzales said. 'For me, that was a big part of my life growing up.' Gambling rise takes toll Meanwhile, the rise of tribal gambling operations in the state in the 1990s created difficulties for New Mexico's horse racing industry. In 1995, then-Gov. Gary Johnson began signing compacts with various pueblos and tribes, allowing them to open casinos. When Johnson signed those compacts, 'he signed a death knell for racing in this state,' Ken Newton, the former Downs at Santa Fe owner, once told The New Mexican. 'Racing can't compete, even with video slots, against full-bore casino gaming,' he said at the time. Newton, who died in 2015, sold his interest in Santa Fe Racing to the six other stockholders in 1996; later that year, they sold it to Pojoaque Pueblo. The casinos would continue to pose challenges for the horse racing industry, which fought for two years for a 1997 law allowing slot machines at up to six racetracks in the state. Steven Hollahan at The Downs in 1982. Casino operations at five tracks — now known as racinos — help subsidize the racing, Trejo noted. 'The competition for the gambling dollar has gotten fierce,' he said. There were attempts to get a racino license for the track in Santa Fe. Pojoaque Pueblo sought in 2008 to convince the Racing Commission The Downs at Santa Fe would be the best place to locate what was expected to be the state's sixth and final racino for at least the next 33 years. It was one of three in the running. However, an operator in Raton won the license based on a little-known statute designed to regulate competition between neighboring racetracks — The Downs at Santa Fe was too close, within 80 miles, of the Albuquerque track. The Racing Commission later revoked the Raton license after the project collapsed following repeated construction delays and persistent questions about its financing, The New Mexican reported in 2018, when the Racing Commission was again considering issuing a sixth racino license. The process faced delays, and a new license was never issued. A former Pojoaque Pueblo governor had told The New Mexican in 2008 The Downs at Santa Fe was not profitable without slot machine revenue to subsidize the horse racing operation. Supporting this statement, a 2008 economic impact study of southeastern New Mexico's Zia Park Racetrack, which opened in 2005 in Hobbs, found casino revenues were the primary source of income for racetracks in the state. Gamblers' slot machine losses enrich purses in horse races, according to the study, conducted by the New Mexico Racing Commission. Competing with casinos The horse racing industry relies heavily on a pari-mutuel system, which combines bets from racetracks and casinos. It has been in place in New Mexico for more than a quarter-century and has become a significant source of revenue. New Mexico commercial casinos, or racinos, face considerable competition from the state's 21 tribal casinos, according to the American Gaming Association, with tribal casinos in the state generating $835 million in casino gaming revenue in fiscal year 2023, an increase of 4.6% from 2022. 'Unlike the state's racinos, tribal casinos are permitted to offer table games and sports betting in addition to electronic gaming devices,' states a 2024 report from the association about New Mexico. 060625 jw albq downs Maintenance workers grade the track as trainers start to arrive at The Downs Racetrack & Casino last week. The Albuquerque track is one of five 'racinos' in the state — Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino, Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack in Hobbs, Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino and Sunray Park & Casino in Farmington. Cook, who noted there are few horse tracks in the nation operating without slot machines, highlighted some of the competition in the Albuquerque metropolitan area when it comes to gambling. He said The Downs there competes with an array of casinos on tribal land within a half-hour drive, including Sandia Casino and Isleta Casino. 'There are so many other forms of gambling now that were not around in the '70s and '80s,' Cook said. He thinks only a couple of racetracks in the state would be able to survive without casinos attached — the Ruidoso Downs and The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque. The state has three other racinos aside from those in Ruidoso and Albuquerque: Zia Park Casino Hotel & Racetrack in Hobbs, Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino and Sunray Park & Casino in Farmington. Trejo said costs associated with the sport have jumped. 'They used to call it the sport of kings, and the amount of cost that the racetracks and the horsemen have to endure just to enjoy the entertainment of horse racing, it's very expensive now,' Trejo said. 'It's going full circle to where the common man is having difficulty sustaining in this industry,' he added, 'and it's becoming the sport of kings again — only the wealthy can prevail.'
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
No details on how Rio Arriba sheriff ingested fentanyl in New Mexico State Police reports
A month and a half after Rio Arriba County Sheriff Billy Merrifield died from a fatal combination of alcohol and fentanyl, those investigating his death still don't know how he consumed the drug. An initial batch of reports released by New Mexico State Police this week indicate the agency's investigators have not yet determined how Merrifield ingested the fatal dose of fentanyl that caused his death, along with alcohol, according to toxicology reports. Following the sheriff's death, investigators collected evidence from the scene, including several cellphones, and interviewed the last people who had seen him alive and some of his close friends, the reports show. But the reports indicate investigators did not recover any drugs or drug paraphernalia from the scene of the sheriff's death. Although witnesses noted Merrifield was drinking alcohol the night before he died, several who were close to the sheriff have noted — to the police and to The New Mexican — they had never known him to use drugs. Merrifield was found dead in his sheriff's office vehicle on Easter Sunday, April 20, after being involved in what police described as a "minor crash" early that morning down the street from his home near Abiquiú Lake. A close friend told officers and dispatchers he had come to Merrifield's aid sometime before 4 a.m., just after the crash, in which Merrifield, apparently driving his sheriff's office vehicle while intoxicated, had run over a street sign. The sheriff had been with a woman he had met a week before, his friend told police. The two had been drinking together at Merrifield's home, and Merrifield crashed into the sign just after leaving his home to take the woman back to a house she where was living in Española. The woman — who told police she was from Chihuahua, Mexico, and had been staying in Española for about eight months with family friends while acting as a caregiver for an older relative — had met Merrifield at the bar at the Ohkay Hotel Casino the previous Saturday night, April 12. Merrifield was there with friends, including the man who came to the couple's aid the morning Merrifield died, she said. The woman and Merrifield remained in contact throughout that week, developing a romantic relationship, according to the report. She told police Merrifield had been drinking liquor mixed into a Sprite bottle through the night of April 19 and into the following morning, but he was not "displaying obvious signs of impairment," such as stumbling, and he told her he was "good" to drive her home. After he swerved off the road and struck a road sign on N.M. 96, about 50 yards from the entrance of his driveway, the woman became "scared," she said, and she took the wheel and steered the vehicle back onto the road, according to the report. She looked over and saw that Merrifield was "snoring," she said. Police asked the woman if she or Merrifield had used any drugs, and she said "she didn't, but she didn't know if Billy used," police wrote in a report. Investigators interviewed the woman twice, once just hours after Merrifield was found dead and again May 2. Officers indicated the woman asked if she could return home to Mexico sometime after the second interview. After Merrifield's friend arrived at the scene of the crash early the morning of April 20, he drove back to Merrifield's home and the woman followed him, driving Merrifield's vehicle, sitting on the sheriff's lap because he was in and out of consciousness and could not be moved from the seat, she told police. The friend then took the woman back to Española, leaving Merrifield sitting in the driver's seat of his vehicle, parked in his driveway. Merrifield's friend told police he was going to help Merrifield into his home, but he feared the sheriff's dogs — which were inside the home — might bite him if he did so, investigators wrote. He said Merrifield told him he was "okay," and the friend believed Merrifield was going to get out of the car and walk into his house shortly. The woman told officers Merrifield was asleep and snoring in his vehicle when she left with his friend. After trying to call Merrifield 26 times later that day, his friend returned to his home to find him sitting in the vehicle where he had left him that morning, and he was dead, police wrote. Investigators downloaded the contents of the two witnesses' phones and found texts and phone calls that appeared to corroborate the timeline of their testimony about Merrifield's final hours. Reports indicate investigators had not gained access to two phones that apparently belong to the sheriff. As of Friday, state police had not determined whether Merrifield ingested fentanyl knowingly or where he might have obtained it, the agency's spokesperson, Lt. Ricardo Breceda, confirmed in an email, writing, "investigators are hopeful this information will be learned as the investigation continues." There was no evidence to suggest any other staff of the Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Office were implicated, or that the sheriff obtained any drugs in his official capacity, Breceda wrote. No criminal charges have been filed in connection with Merrifield's death, but investigators are "working to determine if any charges need to be filed," he added.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Public records watch: City reports from private security contractors
Editor's note: The Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) 'enables access to public records of governmental entities in New Mexico,' according to the New Mexico Department of Justice. Public Records Watch is an occasional series from The Santa Fe New Mexican that documents how public agencies respond to IPRA requests. The city of Santa Fe has provided some, but not all, of the records requested by The New Mexican more than six months ago related to the city's contracted security services. The newspaper requested receipts, incident logs and reports, certificates of insurance, training manuals, policies and procedures and copies of the licenses of security guards authorized to patrol the streets, many of them armed. The Santa Fe City Council approved a measure in August to allocate $750,000 for a contract with Condor Security of America for the company's services in downtown Santa Fe. So far, the city has provided receipts and invoices for payments through November, the company's contract, post orders and some incident logs filed by security guards who patrolled the Railyard area last year. Incident reports, training materials, guard licenses and policies and procedures have not been provided. City records staff closed the request in January without providing any incident logs or reports from the first six months of the downtown security program, but the request was reopened after an inquiry into whether any such logs or reports have been filed, as is laid out in the contract.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shanahan's death, major mall addition and Guadalupe Street update top busy week in business news
It was a busy week on the business front in Santa Fe in recent days, with several noteworthy developments taking place. To begin with, there was the death of green-building and affordable-housing advocate Kim Shanahan, who also wrote a popular weekly column for The New Mexican. Shanahan managed to remain one of the more important figures in the Santa Fe homebuilding community even after moving to Costa Rica a few years ago, and to hear his friends and admirers tell it, his death is likely to leave a significant leadership void in that arena. Everyone I spoke with about Shanahan for the story I wrote about his passing expressed respect and admiration for him, making me regret the fact I never got to meet him. The task of resolving Santa Fe's burgeoning affordable-housing crisis likely has become more difficult now with his passing, and the loss of his experience and perspective. On the positive side, there was the news of a large national retailer, Dunham's Sports, taking up residence at Santa Fe Place. The Michigan-based company will open a store occupying nearly 60,000 square feet at the mall later this year and already has been holding hiring events to staff the enterprise. The addition of such a large company helps the city offset the loss of a handful of other national retailers earlier this year. It also comes at a time when there are increasing fears of a national economic slowdown because of the effects of the Trump administration's tariffs, so that makes the entry of Dunham's into the local market doubly important. Finally, there is news that city officials hope to have work on the Guadalupe Street corridor done this summer. That comes as welcome news to anyone who has tried to drive through the area since work on the $11 million project began a year and a half ago and especially to the merchants who are trying to survive the disruptions caused by the undertaking, which city officials have promised will result in a major improvement to the streetscape. With the start of tourist season just weeks away, it seems like every day counts in terms of how soon the work wraps up.
