New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered bars, movie theaters and malls to close to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. In Santa Fe, Mayor Alan Webber prohibited evictions for people whose ability to pay rent has been affected by the crisis. 

Santa Fe Crime and Punishment

NM governor orders closures amid coronavirus pandemic

New Mexico has 17 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Sunday evening, prompting closures across the state. Also, the Santa Fe City Council unanimously passed an ordinance aimed at dog welfare. Read all of the Albuquerque Journal's coronavirus coverage at abqjournal.com/coronavirus.

Coronavirus hits New Mexico

Albuquerque Journal reporters Mundo Carrillo and Dan McKay discuss how Santa Fe is discouraging panhandling. Dan, fresh off the state's legislative session, also breaks down what bills Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign before the deadline and gives Mundo a lesson in line-item vetoes. 

Santa Fe city government discourages panhandling

The Santa Fe Police Department is set to ask the City Council for approval of a $200,000 purchase of four additional mobile video trailers. SFPD already has four trailers that are used in areas that have just experienced a serious crime and at major events like Zozobra, Fiestas and the summer art markets. SFPD says the extra cameras will help further deter crime, but the department hasn't provided proof that the current trailers have led to decreased lawbreaking. 

Santa Fe Police want more mobile surveillance units

An independent auditing firm found that the Santa Fe Police Department evidence room was disorganized and overcrowded. The audit also found that the department wasn't adhering to its own policies. This issue came to a head last year when the department lost several pieces of evidence in a 2017 murder case. The accused murderer, Christopher Garcia, was then able to get a favorable plea deal. 

Santa Fe Police Department evidence room needs fixing

Tonita Gurule-Giron stepped down as mayor of Las Vegas, New Mexico, this week after being charged with six felonies relating to her allegedly pressuring city employees into giving city contracts to her boyfriend's company, Gemini Construction. 

Las Vegas, NM, mayor resigns amid criminal charges

Laura Seeds, 52, was found guilty of tampering in the election that got her husband, Robert Seeds, elected to the Espanola city council in 2016. Also, Albuquerque rapper Wake Self dies in a suspected drunk driving crash in Santa Fe. 

Guilty verdict in Espanola election tampering case; ABQ rapper Wake Self dies in Santa Fe crash

Malcolm Torres, 26, is charged with second-degree murder of 5-year-old Renezmae Calzada, but none of the details are public. Torres was in a relationship with Renezmae's mother and had custody of Renezmae. 

Stepfather charged with murder of 5-year-old Renezmae Calzada

Nicholas Ortiz was given a total of 25 for killing Lloyd, Dixie and Steven Ortiz -- no relation -- with a large pickax in El Rancho in 2011. The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office asked for a total of 75 years, but Judge Francis Mathew decided to run all three sentences for the murder counts concurrently for a total of 25 years. It's possible Nicholas Ortiz, now 24, can get out of prison in his early 40s. 

Convicted triple pickax murderer Nicholas Ortiz gets 25 years

Get crime stories and updates from Santa Fe and northern New Mexico, hosted by Albuquerque Journal reporter Edmundo Carrillo. Follow Mundo on Twitter @mundocarrillo

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Santa Fe Crime and Punishment

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