A Monument man was charged with stealing from an oil and gas company in Hobbs as well as a gas company based out of Artesia. Tracey Westby, 30, was arrested Sunday and charged with larceny over $20,000, a second-degree felony, and receiving stolen property over $20,000, a second-degree felony, according to a Lea County Sheriff Department report. On Aug. 8, …

Woman accused of embezzling from employer An employee at a storage unit company in Hobbs allegedly embezzled more than $4,400 from the company. Shannon M. Cates, 43, of Hobbs, allegedly stole $4 to $700 from 21 different bank deposits she made for her employer over a period of four months. According to a Hobbs police arrest report, Cates reported an …

Gunfight caused by social media post LOVINGTON — An attempted home invasion and a shootout Tuesday involving nine young Lovington people was reportedly the result of the posting of a video on social media of a 14-year-old girl being beaten up. The 14-year-old girl claimed she was drugged, set up and beaten the week of Oct. 1 and that the …

A Los Lunas man transporting three immigrants was charged with human trafficking Sunday after an officer pulled him over for a non-functioning brake light. Missael Flores-Meraz, 21, was arrested while transporting a 28-year-old man, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman who crossed the border. “You’re talking about a potential network of people working together to move people,” said Hobbs …

Be wary of warrant for arrest scam This summer, an elderly woman from Lovington showed up to the Lea County Courthouse to turn herself in. After much confusion, it was determined the woman was scammed out of more than $2,000 by a caller pretending to be a Lovington police officer. The imposter convinced her to send money almost 10 different …

Hobbs Police Department on Sunday arrested a man on his eighth DWI, after he allegedly struck a vehicle in a parking lot. Raymond Castillo Jr., 39, of Billings, Mont., was charged with aggravated DWI, a second-degree felony, after allegedly causing a crash in the parking lot of a restaurant at the 5100 block of North Loving-ton Highway. Castillo reportedly struck …

Booze thief steals 15 bottles of brandy A Hobbs man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing $300 worth of brandy from a local bar. Tony G. Vasquez III, 23, was charged with commercial burglary, a fourth-degree felony, for allegedly stealing 15 bottles of top shelf brandy July 31 at a bar in the 200 block of North Marland Boulevard. Vasquez …

Phony cash spreads in Lea County Counterfeit cash marked “for motion picture use only” is circulating, not only in customers’ pockets but maybe in the cash drawers of unknowing local businesses in Lea County. In a law incident report Wednesday, the Hobbs Police Department issued counterfeit charges at the100 block of East Marland Boulevard and the 400 block of North …

Three alleged burglars picked the wrong residence to burglarize early Monday, when Lea County Commissioner Dean Jackson pointed a .22 caliber rifle at a suspect he allegedly caught robbing his garage. Jackson said he called authorities while pointing his gun at a suspect from about 150 feet away, as two more suspects sprinted away from his property on Western Trail …

Juvenile cited after crashing car into apartment There was a different kind of traffic crash early Saturday morning on Bender Boulevard. Hobbs police and EMS personnel responded to the area of Charlcia Boulevard and East Bender for an accident with injuries shortly after 6:30 a.m. Saturday. A sedan had crashed into an apartment complex in the 1300 block of East …