Earlier in his career with the Hobbs Police Department Chris McCall was in charge of the department’s Criminal Investigation Division. He had the unfortunate responsibility of working a tough case, but had the good fortune of doing so with Hobbs Fire Chief Manny Gomez. The experience is something Gomez always remembers when he thinks of McCall. “I remember just how …

Two Hobbs women who allegedly stole more than $38,000 of goods from porches, trailers and storage units in recent weeks have been charged after they were identified by home surveillance video. Johnetta E. Oates, 52, and Lagina Williston, 40, were both arrested Tuesday on a charge of receiving stolen property (over $20,000), a second-degree felony. Williston was also charged with …

A Jal man allegedly fleeing the scene of a vehicle fire Thursday in Hobbs, stole a car with a passenger inside and was charged with kidnapping. According to a Hobbs Police Department criminal complaint, Octavio C. Gutierrez, 33, reportedly fled the scene Dec. 13 when a vehicle he recently bought was engulfed in flames at the intersection of Mobile Street …

Five Hobbs Police Department officers who ran toward gunfire, rendered life-saving emergency first aid to victims and nabbed a shooting suspect during at active-shooter scene were presented Police Meritorious Awards at Monday’s City Commission meeting. One of the officers, Nicholas Pereyra, who applied a seal to a 39-year-old man who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, was also awarded …

Hobbs has 3rd shooting this week A man and a 13-year-old were shot in a Hobbs neighborhood around 11:30 p.m. Halloween night, in the third shooting in the city this week. The 20-year-old man and the boy, both of Hobbs, sustained gunshot wounds in the 300 block of East Albertson Drive. Hobbs Police Chief Chris McCall said neither victim sustained …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Employee suspected of stealing guns from packages A Hobbs man faces an embezzlement charge after he allegedly stole six guns and nine cellphones from mail packages through the course of his job with a delivery company. Cameron Aldrete, 21, was arrested Tuesday and charged with embezzlement (more than $2,500, less than $20,000), a third-degree felony. He was booked at the …