New Mexico

New Mexican musician faces uphill battle after tragic accident in Rome

Published

5 months ago

June 8, 2024

New Mexican musician faces uphill battle after tragic accident in Rome

If you’re from northern New Mexico, the band “Cascabel” rings a bell. Leo Maes has been singing and playing the drums with the band for years.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – If you’re from northern New Mexico, the band “Cascabel” rings a bell. Leo Maes has been singing and playing the drums with the band for years.

“Leo has always been a musician, since I think the day he could hold a drum stick, that was his first love is playing the drums. He’s a jokester, he is crazy (laughs) he loves his family, he loves his daughter and his whole family,” said Barbara Maes, Leo’s wife.

It was that love for his daughters that drove him to book a family trip to Rome this summer. His daughter, Alex Maes, says she went to the Vatican last year and wanted to share the experience with her dad.

“My husband I planned a tour of the Vatican. My dad really, really wanted to go see the Vatican and his main goal is to bring back a souvenir for one of his cousins, like a rosary or something like that,” said Alex.

On their second day of vacation, things took a turn — Leo collapsed during the tour.

“He essentially snapped his neck, which resulted in a severe spinal cord injury,” Alex said.

Leo had to be rushed into emergency surgery. The family found out he tested positive for COVID-19, but doesn’t know if that had anything to do with the collapse.

“From a window, I can just look. And then like Alex said the language barrier to get information from doctors it has been very difficult,” said Barbara.

As they remain stuck thousands of miles away, they’re leaning on the New Mexico community to help bring Leo back home.

“He is well-loved by the musician community. It has been overwhelming the support we are getting,” said Barbara.

They’ve already raised more than $20,000 through a GoFundMe page. Their goal is to get him to UNM hospital for the rest of his care.

There’s still a question about whether he’ll ever be able to move his arms or legs again.

“The urgency really is securing an air ambulance that is equipped to transfer an intubated patient. These ambulances are extremely expensive. We’ve looked into several, and our main goal is to get him home. I want him home,” Alex said.

While the road ahead is long, they are thankful for the community support.

“I can’t even put into words how thankful I am for all of the support, all of the love and prayers that we have been sent. I just want to tell my dad if he can hear me that I love him so much,” said Alex.

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New Mexico

Sandoval County Sheriff's Office receives more than $1M to tackle backlog of felony warrants

Published

4 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Sandoval County Sheriff's Office receives more than M to tackle backlog of felony warrants

The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office is getting more than a million dollars to chip away at a backlog of felony warrants.

SANDOVAL COUNTY, N.M. – The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office is getting more than a million dollars to chip away at a backlog of felony warrants.

“According to dispatch it is just under 500, 470 or so, and those are warrants that we are trying to target at this point,” said Sandoval County Undersheriff Joe Gonzales.

Gonzales says this is their second round of money this year. They got together with Bernalillo County, Rio Rancho police, and Corrales police to put together a taskforce to make the process easier.

“So some of these people are reoffenders and if they do not appear in court they never face the consequences of their crime. When we do these, that is what we are trying to get at, reoffenders and the most violent of the warrants that we have at this point,” said Gonzales.

The grant will give the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office the money they need to pay deputies overtime, allowing them to knock on doors and clear warrants.

“As you know, Albuquerque had a huge problem with gun violence. Rio Rancho and Sandoval County, we don’t have that big of a problem, but what we do have is property crimes,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales says as the population grows, it’s even more important to make sure everyone is safe. That means getting this backlog under control.

“These people have been charged with a crime they either failed to appear in court, or they appeared and absconded. At this point, those are the people that we want to bring back to the court and have their cases adjudicated,” said Gonzales.

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New Mexico

New Mexico (NMAA) high school football playoffs: 2024 brackets, semifinal matchups, game times

Published

12 hours ago

November 19, 2024

Press Room

New Mexico (NMAA) high school football playoffs: 2024 brackets, semifinal matchups, game times

Playoff season continues in New Mexico high school football.

The postseason dwindles down this week as classes 2A-7A start the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 22, along with the 8-man championship game on Saturday, Nov. 23.

>>New Mexico high school football playoff brackets

Stick with High School on SI for all of the matchups, game times and scores throughout the 2024 New Mexico (NMAA) high school football playoffs.

7 p.m. Friday

2024 New Mexico Class 2A bracket

Championship game matchup

(1) Melrose vs. (4) Mesilla Valley Christian School

1 p.m. Saturday

2024 New Mexico Class 8-Man bracket

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