New Mexico

New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez announces anti-hazing, anti-cyberbullying legislation

Published

10 months ago

January 22, 2025

New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez announces anti-hazing, anti-cyberbullying legislation

New Mexico is currently one of six states that does not have anti-hazing legislation on the books — a fact that could change during the upcoming 60-day legislative session in Santa Fe.

On Jan. 16, 2025, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced new anti-hazing and anti-cyberbullying bills will be presented to the legislature and primarily sponsored by State Sen. Antonio Maestas (D-Albuquerque).

The legislation introduces penalties for hazing, cyberbullying and failure to report such incidents. If passed, post-secondary institutions would be required to implement a code of conduct, establish hazing prevention committees, and provide accessible hazing prevention education.

Proposed penalties for hazing-related offenses include:

A misdemeanor for participating in “harmful conduct” connected to a student’s recruitment, initiation, or affiliation with student organizations, such as athletic teams.
A misdemeanor for failing to report known or suspected hazing by an administrator, faculty member, coach, employee, independent contractor, or volunteer.
A fourth-degree felony for hazing resulting in physical or significant psychological harm.
A third-degree felony for hazing causing great physical harm.
A second-degree felony for hazing resulting in death.

The legislation also includes proposed penalties for cyber-bullying offenses, which include:

A misdemeanor for cyber-bullying without physical or psychological harm.
A fourth-degree felony for cyberbullying that does cause physical or significant psychological harm.
A third-degree felony for cyberbullying resulting in great physical harm.

The 60-day session begins Jan. 21 and ends March 22. Legislators can pre-file bills until Jan. 17 and the deadline to introduce legislation is Feb. 20.

The hazing and sexual assault allegations during New Mexico State University’s 2022-23 men’s basketball team were mentioned as part of the reasoning behind the legislation by Torrez, who produced a 68-page report entitled ‘Title IX and hazing on campus: Lessons learned from New Mexico State University,’ that called for anti-hazing legislation to be passed in New Mexico. The report led to the firing of former NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia on Jan. 2.

“In light of the recent report that we issued with respect to the specific and egregious allegations of hazing that occurred inside the New Mexico State’s basketball team, we promised to work with legislative leaders, stakeholders and others to develop a comprehensive approach to addressing those issues,” Torrez said in a Thursday press conference in Santa Fe.

Hazing allegations have been front and center in the past three years for the two Division I men’s basketball programs in the state.

New Mexico State settled one lawsuit in June 2023 for $8 million alleging three former Aggies men’s basketball players sexually assaulted two of their teammates. There are two additional lawsuits pending. Newly hired NMSU President Valerio Ferme said the AG report was a significant factor in his decision to fire longtime Director of Athletics Mario Moccia in January.

In December 2024, a University of New Mexico walk-on guard sued the University and men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino for creating an unsafe environment that led to another player allegedly punching him.

There were two bills regarding hazing, one in the House and one in the Senate, that were introduced during the 30-day session last year, that did not make it to the finish line. House Bill 225 would have created criminal penalties for both individuals who commit hazing acts and for anyone — coaches, teachers, staff — who reasonably should have known and did not report. Senate Bill 55 was modeled after similar legislation passed in Washington in 2022 and would have made hazing a misdemeanor.

Maestas will lead the efforts to try again this year and called hazing an “outdated and dangerous practice.”

“It’s our duty as leaders, parents and community members, to ensure that every child in New Mexico grows up in an environment where they feel safe and supported,” Maestas said. “And that’s why this year, during our upcoming session, I’m proud to be the prime sponsor of these two critical pieces of legislation that address pressing issues impacting our youth, cyberbullying and hazing.”

Eighth Judicial District Attorney Marcus Montoya and vice president for Legislation and Advocacy of the New Mexico Parent Teacher Association Board Renata Witte joined Torrez and Maestas during Thursday’s conference. Montoya regards the legislation as important and says it will give him and fellow prosecutors more ways to combat hazing and cyberbullying in New Mexico.

“I have seen in my community how cyberbullying and hazing have terrible, lasting physical, emotional, psychological, and sometimes fatal consequences,” Montoya said. “As a prosecutor, we do not currently have any tools in our toolkit to address these particular issues and behavior and misconduct. I do stand here with Senator Maestas, the Department of Justice and other stakeholders to support this very critical legislation.”

Witte says the legislation should be passed so kids in schools across New Mexico, including elementary, middle, high schools and colleges can feel safe.

“Every child deserves to feel safe in the extracurricular activities and in the organizations that they participate in,” Witte said. “Hazing is a dangerous practice, and it can have devastating consequences. It should not be considered a right of passage. Hazing sends the wrong message to our youth about the values of respect, belonging and leadership. Our children should feel secure and that they are growing up in a world where the adults around them, schools, education leaders, families and community members make a commitment to protect them.

“We need to send a clear message to the youth of New Mexico. New Mexico prioritizes your safety and your well-being.”

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New Mexico

Man charged in double homicide told New Mexico deputies a cockroach told him to kill

Published

36 minutes ago

November 9, 2025

Press Room

Man charged in double homicide told New Mexico deputies a cockroach told him to kill

A man is facing murder charges after allegedly admitting to deputies that he fatally shot two people inside a New Mexico home after receiving “an encrypted message in a cockroach” that he “needed to kill,” authorities say.

Alexis Hernandez, 25, was arrested and charged with two open counts of murder in connection with a Friday incident inside a southwest Albuquerque home, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office.

Hernandez was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Saturday morning, and it is not immediately clear if he has retained a lawyer.

Authorities have not identified the men killed in the incident or the two young children who were also found inside the house at the time.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit filed at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, deputies responded to reports of gunfire in southwest Albuquerque just before 10:30 p.m. When deputies arrived, they were met at the front door by Hernandez, who “had a firearm on his waistband and a Marine Corps Sabre on his hip,” the arrest warrant said.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 27-year-old Alexis Najera Hernandez after deputies say he confessed to shooting and killing two men inside a home in Albuquerque, N.M.Crime Stoppers of New Mexico

Hernandez, who was immediately detained, told deputies he was in the Marines and “had to do what he had to do,” the warrant states. He then allegedly stated there were two dead bodies inside the residence.

Once inside the house, the warrant states, deputies found one dead man “with possible gunshot wounds” in the front of the house and a second man with apparent stab wounds in an attached apartment.

The two children who were found inside were safely removed from the residence, the arrest warrant states.

In an interview with deputies after he was taken into custody, Hernandez said that he knew the two slain men, one of whom was the owner of the property, according to the warrant. He then allegedly said he had believed the property owner was a friend who had been stalking him during the days leading up to the incident.

The warrant states Hernandez alleged the friend had placed cameras in the lights. Hernandez also told deputies that he was allegedly “hearing creepy voices coming from the vents” and “had been getting signs” that he had to end the property owner before he ended him.

Hernandez later allegedly told deputies that he also had received “an encrypted message in a cockroach” that he “needed to kill” the property owner, the warrant says. He added that the property owner allegedly did not like cockroaches.

The warrant states that Hernandez had previously purchased a Glock handgun, which he said he had for “protection.” Hernandez told deputies that on Friday the two men allegedly took him to the back room of the home and that he “was afraid for his life at this point.”

He said he shot the property owner in the head and the other in the kitchen, the warrant says. At one point, Hernandez allegedly told deputies, he had gone to his Honda Pilot to reload his gun before going back to each victim and shooting him again.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the details of the second man’s cause of death.

The warrant states Hernandez admitted that he did not know what to do after the attack, so he “stayed on scene and walked around.” He allegedly added that he knew about the two children at the house and that they saw him shoot the two men.

He added that “he was not going to take the kids or do anything to them,” the warrant says.

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