Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun Stephen Rodriguez, 38, of Hobbs, who has a history of allegedly taking things that don’t belong to him, was arrested for the eighth time after he allegedly stole a car, lead police on a high speed chase, and held a woman hostage. Rodriguez was arrested Feb. 16 and charged with burglary of a dwelling, receiving or transferring stolen …

Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun Stephen Rodriguez, 38, of Hobbs, who has a history of allegedly taking things that don’t belong to him, was arrested for the eighth time after he allegedly stole a car, lead police on a high speed chase, and held a woman hostage. Rodriguez was arrested Feb. 16 and charged with burglary of a dwelling, receiving or transferring stolen …

Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun LOVINGTON — The sister of Rick Ford reached for her relative’s hand as jurors came back with a verdict of guilty on all counts. On Thursday, a jury found Prieto guilty of committing first-degree murder, a first-degree felony; armed robbery, a second-degree felony; and tampering with evidence, a fourth-degree felony. Prieto, 44, of Hobbs, shot and killed Ford, …

Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun Many businesses, churches, and other buildings found themselves “tagged”last weekend. Hobbs Police and the Lea County Sheriff’s Office are working towards finding the vandals who are responsible for thousands of dollars worth of damages the weekend of Feb. 17-19. Around 6:48 a.m., Feb. 19, at St. Helena Catholic Church, at 100 East Bender Boulevard, a call came in …

CURTIS C. WYNNE/NEWS-SUN EUNICE — Eunice Police Chief Casey Arcidez resigned his position last week, but that doesn’t mean Eunice is without a chief. A law enforcement officer for almost two decades, Arcidez sent a one-line text message to the News-Sun for explanation. “I plan on starting a new career in the oilfield,” Arcidez said. City Manager Shannon Cummins, declining …

HPD reports increase in crime for 2022 Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun The City of Hobbs has seen an exponential increase in shootings from 2021, Hobbs Police Chief August Fons said during Monday night’s city commission meeting. Fons provided commissioners with the annual fiscal year 2022-2023 report for HPD containing annual crime statistics from 2021 and 2022. According to Fons, statistically in 2022, …

Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun The Hobbs man accused of murdering his 29-year-old ex-girlfriend and who fled to Mexico, is back in Lea County. Tony Guadalupe Navarrete, 36, of Hobbs, was charged in Nov. with the first-degree murder of  Vanessa Najera, of Hobbs. He was extradited from Cuidad Juarez, Mexico back to Lea County on Jan. 10.  Navarrete was scheduled for a preliminary …

Gabrielle Arsiaga News-Sun A Hobbs man will serve probation for stealing from two local businesses.  Keith Wayne Sanders, 27, of Hobbs pleaded guilty to fraud, a fourth-degree felony, on Dec. 8, for taking $3,600 from local businesses Lobo Nut and Bolt and Cavitt Land and Cattle, belonging to Wade Cavitt. He was sentenced to 18 months supervised probation and ordered …

Gabrielle Arsiaga News-Sun A Hobbs man will serve probation for stealing from two local businesses.  Keith Wayne Sanders, 27, of Hobbs pleaded guilty to fraud, a fourth-degree felony, on Dec. 8, for taking $3,600 from local businesses Lobo Nut and Bolt and Cavitt Land and Cattle, belonging to Wade Cavitt. He was sentenced to 18 months supervised probation and ordered …

Gabrielle Arsiaga/News-Sun Lea County Sheriff Corey Helton is facing removal from the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission after he appeared in a TV ad with Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti.  In the ad, Ronchetti is standing alongside four New Mexico sheriffs, one of those being Helton, and criticized Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s handling of crime related issues, including Grisham’s administration’s …