New Mexico
Homicide victim was 78-year-old woman
Virginia Montoya, 78, and her husband, Adan Lucero, 84, were sitting in their home Wednesday night in the 1300 block of Traver Street. They were watching television. The doorbell rang. Montoya got up to answer it.
“JR, is that you?” she can be heard telling a man dressed in a light gray hoody with a dark mask over his face. “Leave!”
Moments later, Lucero tells police, he heard a loud pop. “Virginia sat down on the love seat by the door and told (her husband) she had been shot,” court records show.
JR, police believe, was Dan Lucero, the grandson of Adan Lucero. His mother told police “JR has mental health issues.” She also said her son is using meth. And he “does not care for Virginia.”
It wasn’t immediately clear why Dan Lucero allegedly did not care for Montoya, but authorities arrested him early Thursday morning and charged him with first-degree murder after Montoya died from the single gunshot to the right side of her chest.
Lucero, 36, was being held in the Curry County Detention Center this weekend without bond.
Police responded to the scene just before 7 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a 911 call reporting the shooting.
There they found Montoya lying on a love seat. She ceased breathing while being treated by first responders and was pronounced dead at the Clovis hospital.
Home security video from the victim’s residence and others in the neighborhood captured the shooting and gave police evidence a white truck like the one Dan Lucero drives was seen leaving the neighborhood at a high rate of speed.
Adan Lucero told police Dan Lucero was supposed to come to the house earlier in the day, but Adan Lucero had not seen him.
Police located Dan Lucero and his mother at a home in the 4100 block of Cottonwood Drive on Wednesday night. Both were taken to police headquarters, where Lucero declined to answer questions, court records show.
Dan Lucero’s mother said her son had come home about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and started a load of laundry. He told her something was wrong with his truck, so he had parked it at a shop in the 700 block of Pioneer, where police located it, along with evidence they believe ties Dan Lucero to the shooting.
The suspect was initially held on an undisclosed probation violation and jailed early Thursday morning. Probation officers had been to his home on Wednesday afternoon where he was “distracted, somewhat upset and told them his grandfather (Abe Sena) had just died,” court records show.
Online court records show criminal allegations – for violent crimes and multiple drug charges — against Dan Lucero began in 2010. Prior to Wednesday’s shooting, he was most recently charged with battery against a household member about a year ago. He pleaded no contest to that charge, was sentenced to 364 days in jail, and was released in July.
Montoya’s slaying marked Clovis’ fourth homicide this year. Two women were killed in Ned Houk Park in May and a teenager was shot to death outside the Clovis Apartments early last month.
The Ned Houk suspect is in custody in Albuquerque where he faces multiple federal charges. The suspect in the September slaying, Giovanni Brown-Johnson, 18, remained at large this week, police said.
DONA ANA COUNTY, N.M. – (KFOX14/CBS4) — Some El Paso Electric customers in New Mexico are speaking out against a proposed rate increase that could raise the average monthly household bill by more than $40 by late next year.
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, which will decide whether to approve the proposal, held a public comment hearing earlier this week in Las Cruces.
During the meeting, customers and community members questioned the size of the request and whether the utility is doing enough to serve customers in southern New Mexico.
“This is a border town. It is a college town. It is a retiree town. It’s a military town. We’re not rich like Santa Fe, and the rates just keep going up and up and up,” said Kathy Lucero, a Las Cruces resident.
“We ratepayers and energy consumers should not be asked to subsidize these excessive profits,” said Lynn Moore, a Dona Ana County resident.
El Paso Electric is asking for a $70.4 million increase to its base rates for customers in New Mexico.
El Paso Electric seeks $70.4M hike; average NM bills could rise nearly $42 a month
The utility says the request is needed to recover costs from more than $400 million in New Mexico system investments, including upgrades, reliability improvements and rising costs.
After the hearing, Israel Chavez, a local civil rights attorney, said accessibility is also a concern as the utility asks customers to pay more.
“El Paso Electric closed its office on Water Street. There is no physical office to go to if you live with a disability, if you don’t have the technology to access your utility bill or to talk to somebody, there is no place to go unless you go to El Paso. And I think it’s wrong for El Paso Electric to cut services and then increase rates,” Chavez said.
In a statement addressing concerns about access, El Paso Electric said, “El Paso Electric continues to provide reliable service, along with a range of customer support resources to meet diverse needs, including assistance with account access, bill understanding, and payments.”
The utility added, “We recognize that changes like this can have its challenges, particularly for customers who may face barriers to technology or prefer in-person support. However, we remain committed to ensuring our customers feel supported and have access to the help they need when they need it.”
El Paso Electric said customers can still manage their accounts online, call customer care, or use authorized payment kiosks throughout its service area.
The New Mexico PRC has not made a final decision on the rate request.
If approved, the increase would start taking effect next year in two phases.
FULL PUBLIC COMMENT HEARING
Final community meeting on proposed EPE rate hike in New Mexico draws mixed reactions
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CHIMAYO, N.M. (KRQE) – A suspect is dead following a shooting involving the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office in Chimayo on Highway 76. Deputies are said to be okay. New Mexico State Police is investigating the shooting.
KRQE News 13 will provide updates as they become available.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — A leader in the New Mexico Republican Party was arrested Wednesday, accused of a deadly hit-and-run in Las Cruces.
Former Treasurer of the Republican Party in New Mexico, Kimberly Ann Skaggs, 54, was arrested Wednesday and charged with leaving the scene and tampering with evidence, jail records show.
Police documents show the charges stem from a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened Monday afternoon, which killed 40-year-old bicyclist, Andrew Brown.
Investigators believed Skaggs was involved after an investigation revealed that Skaggs allegedly was driving fast in the area, fled the scene after the crash and then tried to hide the vehicle from authorities.
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The investigation
According to police documents, a witness at the scene of the crash– 850 N. Fairacres Rd.– described seeing a dark blonde-haired woman flee in a black Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Afterwards, investigators said they saw on Flock cameras– A.I. powered license plate readers– a black Cadillac Escalade traveling near the site of the crash minutes before the incident.
READ MORE: Dona Ana County expands Flock license plate cameras as officials cite crime-solving gains
The license plates showed that the vehicle belonged to Skaggs and that, in September 2025, the Las Cruces Police Department had given her a citation for “racing on streets-exhibition driving.”
Investigators stated that a business on Picacho Ave. captured what they alleged was the same black Cadillac Escalade driving fast.
Then, the documents described how investigators tracked down the Escalade using OnStar’s live GPS tracking, discovering the SUV was at a property on the 5000 block of Northwind Road, which investigators said the Dona Ana County Assessors Office confirmed is a property owned by Skaggs.
On Tuesday, at around 6:41 p.m.– over 24 hours after the deadly hit-and-run– investigators executed a search warrant on the property and described finding the black Cadillac Escalade behind a home, under a red metal carport.
Investigators noted damage on the SUV consistent with the crash, highlighting that there was blood splatter near one of the front tires, markings on the front bumper consistent with hitting a bicycle and parts missing, which investigators said were the same parts found at the scene.
Dona Ana County jail records show Skaggs was booked on Wednesday afternoon and remains jailed without a bond.
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About Skaggs
On the official website of the Republican Party of New Mexico, Skaggs was listed as the treasurer before she was removed.
KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to the Republican Party to learn more and are waiting for a comment regarding the arrest.
Also, according to election statistics, Skaggs ran for State Representative in District 36 in 2022 and 2024, losing both times to Democrat Nathan P. Small.
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