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.
New Mexico
Miyagishima drops out of governor’s race, endorses Hull
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, who ran for governor as a Democrat and then as an independent, is endorsing Republican Gregg Hull.
Miyagishima ended his bid for New Mexico governor after weighing a Supreme Court appeal to stay on the ballot.
Miyagishima said on Friday he decided not to pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court over his ballot status.
“I have known Mayor Hull for almost 12 years. He is intelligent, hardworking, and a man of integrity. His record reflects his dedication to the people of both Rio Rancho and New Mexico,” Miyagishima said. “My goal is to help transform Mayor Hull into Governor Hull, deliver for the southwestern part of our state, and close the gap in our Native American communities. I am eager to mobilize support in southern New Mexico and our native lands for our future governor, Gregg Hull!”
Hull called the endorsement a sign of shared priorities as the governor’s race moves forward.
“Ken’s support demonstrates our shared commitment to the people of New Mexico,” Hull said. “Together, we will tackle the challenges in our communities, stimulate our economy, and ensure that every New Mexican has a voice in government.”
Hull is running against Democrat Deb Haaland, the former Secretary of the Interior.
New Mexico
Crews battling tank battery fire in Lea County
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Emergency crews are responding to a tank battery fire in the area of Frying Pan Road and Anthony Road in southern Lea County.
Officials are asking people to avoid the area and follow directions from emergency personnel and law enforcement. Multiple agencies are responding to the fire. No other information has been release, this is a developing story.
New Mexico
Expectations Have Changed: UNM enters 2026 as a Mountain West title contender
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