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New Mexico

16-year-old kills entire family and then calls 911 to drunkenly confess to quadruple homicide: police

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16-year-old kills entire family and then calls 911 to drunkenly confess to quadruple homicide: police


A 16-year-old New Mexico boy was arrested Saturday morning after he allegedly gunned down his parents and teenage siblings and then drunkenly called 911 to confess to the quadruple homicide, police said.

Diego Leyva is facing first-degree murder charges in the horrific slaughter that happened around 3:30 a.m. before the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office received a phone call from the murder suspect, New Mexico State Police said in a news release.

The teen allegedly said he killed his family over the phone to a dispatcher and then walked out with his hands in the air when deputies reached his home in the city of Belen, authorities said.

A New Mexico teen boy was arrested Saturday morning after he allegedly gunned down his parents and teenage siblings and then drunkenly called 911 to confess to the quadruple homicide, police said. KOAT-TV

State police said Leyva was “extremely intoxicated” while he was taken into custody without incident.

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A handgun was found on the kitchen table, according to police.

The suspect’s 42-year-old father Leonardo Leyva, 35-year-old mother Adriana Bencomo, 16-year-old sister Adrian Leyva, and 14-year-old brother Alexander Leyva were all found dead with gunshot wounds inside the home, according to law enforcement and KRQE.

The alleged killer was taken to a nearby hospital for detox and then booked into a juvenile justice center in Albuquerque early Sunday morning, officials said.

Victims Adriana Bencomo and Leonardo Leyva. Facebook
The teen allegedly said he killed his family over the phone to a dispatcher and then walked out with his hands in the air when deputies reached his home in the city of Belen. KOAT-TV

A former teacher was in disbelief that the teen boy could be responsible for the ruthless slaying.

“I would never have thought that something like this would happen and that Diego would be capable of doing something like this” educator Vanessa LaGrange told the Guardian. “Everyone’s in shock.”

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The state police investigative bureau is still trying to determine what sparked the murderous rampage.



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New Mexico

Grants cancels Christmas parade due to shootings

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Grants cancels Christmas parade due to shootings


GRANTS, N.M. – The City of Grants is canceling this year’s annual Christmas light parade, citing the safety of the public and their own officers.

Dozens of floats were supposed to roll down Santa Fe Avenue on Saturday night, but Grants police are holding off until next year after three incidents where someone shot at law enforcement officers.

“It was definitely a difficult decision, but due to the incident that took place on December 8, where law enforcement was shot at in the area of Santa Fe Avenue, we made that decision to protect the citizens of Grants,” says Grants Police Chief Maxine Monte.

She says a New Mexico State Police officer was shot at while making a traffic stop. The officer walked away uninjured, but this was too much for the chief.

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“We’ve had three different incidents where law enforcement was shot at. One was May of 2025, the other one was August of 2025, and then the recent event of December 8 of 2025,” says Monte.

It’s not a risk the chief wants to take, and points out people would be standing exactly where the last shooting happened.

“We have a lot of citizens that attend our parade, and our main concern was that they were out in the open in the middle of the night, and in the same area that our latest shooting took place.”

Grant residents will be able to see the floats during the day on Saturday. But even some daylight isn’t convincing some residents.

“I’ll be staying home,” said Amy Brigdon. “There’s too many people in the world that want to see bad things happen to other people. I’m not one of them.”

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Police still don’t have a suspect for this week’s attempted shooting. Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with the Grants Police Department.



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Colorado wolf rereleased in Grand County after crossing into New Mexico

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Colorado wolf rereleased in Grand County after crossing into New Mexico


Colorado Parks and Wildlife rereleased a wolf into Grand County this week after it had traveled into New Mexico, according to a news release.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish captured gray wolf 2403 and returned the animal to Colorado.

Colorado wildlife officials decided to release the wolf in Grand County yesterday because of the proximity to “an unpaired female gray wolf,” nearby prey populations and distance from livestock, according to the release.

“Gray wolf 2403 has been returned to Colorado and released in a location where it can best contribute to CPW’s efforts to establish a self-sustaining wolf population while concurrently attempting to minimize potential wolf-related livestock conflicts,” said acting director of CPW Laura Clellan, according to the release.

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The wolf was once a member of the Copper Creek pack but departed from it this fall.

A memorandum of understanding between Colorado and Arizona, New Mexico and Utah requires that any gray wolves that leave Colorado and enter those states be returned. That was created in part to maintain the integrity of a Mexican wolf recovery program.



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New Mexico man sentenced to nearly 20 years for distributing meth

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New Mexico man sentenced to nearly 20 years for distributing meth


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A judge sentenced a New Mexico man to nearly 20 years in prison for distributing meth and having guns in his possession to use while doing so.

Court records indicate 43-year-old David Amaya sold meth from a trailer on his parents’ property in Anthony throughout July and August 2024. Agents executed a search warrant Aug. 22 and found 1.18 kilograms of meth, two firearms and ammunition in the trailer and a makeshift bathroom.

Amaya pleaded guilty to possession of meth with intent to distribute it. A judge sentenced him to 235 months in prison.

Once he is out, Amaya will face five years of supervised release.

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The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office and the Las Cruces Metro Narcotics Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Williams prosecuted it.



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