Abe Romero passes away, Jarrott lawsuit may go to trial and more
Abraham Romero passes away after weeks-long battle in ICU
Organ Mountain High School senior football player Abraham Romero passed away Saturday evening.
A website post by the Organ Mountain booster club said that Romero passed peacefully with his mother by his side after spending three weeks in a medically induced coma. He was 17 years old.
“Seventeen years is not nearly long enough, but it’s all he was given. It is very easy to focus on what we lost, but the measure of a life is in the impact it makes on our world, not on the time he was with us,” the post stated. “…Abe is still the embodiment of ‘Protect the Family’ (the team motto), and he’s doing the same off the field.”
Romero, a team captain, linebacker and running back, spent the previous three weeks in a medically induced coma after unexpectedly collapsing between plays during the Knights’ Aug. 26 game against Deming. He was then rushed to Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming before being airlifted to El Paso Children’s Hospital, where he remained in the intensive care unit after suffering a brain bruise.
He was named homecoming king during the Knights' Thursday night win against Gadsden. Sun-News sports reporter Stephen Wagner has been following the developments. He said:
Organ Mountain High School senior football player Abraham Romero was downgraded from stable to critical condition Sept. 10. El Paso Children’s Hospital allowed friends and teammates under 18 years old to visit Romero in the intensive care unit while he remains in a medically induced coma. He passed away Saturday evening.
Organ Mountain held a candlelight vigil for Romero Sept 10., and his mother, Elizabeth Alonzo, was present at the Knights’ Thursday-night homecoming game against Gadsden to hear Romero crowned homecoming king. She accepted the honor on his behalf.
The school also encouraged fans to wear teal colors for their homecoming game against Gadsden to support Romero. The team wore throwback teal uniforms from its days as “Oñate” High School. Organ Mountain defeated Gadsden 49-21.
The scoreboard, once again, left 22 seconds on the clock in honor of Romero, who wore No. 22.
Darian Jarrott wrongful death lawsuit may proceed to trial
A trial to determine if state police should pay out for Darian Jarrott's death could be coming as early as next year.
Over the last year, lawyers in the case filed and completed dozens of depositions and motions. Meanwhile, critical deadlines have come and gone, and the parties are scheduled to meet in December to discuss a trial date in 2023.
The collection of courtroom maneuvers marks the latest developments nearly two years after Omar Cueva shot and killed Darian Jarrott during a traffic stop on Feb. 4, 2021. After the fatal shooting, Darian Jarrott's widow, Gabriela Jarrott, filed a wrongful death tort claim on June 10, 2021.
The story of Jarrott's shooting was enormous news across the state when it happened last year — and it still is. In fact, a story we wrote about the wrongful death lawsuit in February of this year is often one of our most-read articles, seven months later.
Justin Garcia, who covers public safety for the Las Cruces Sun-News, has been following the latest developments and recently wrote about what's new as the case appears to head to court. Justin said:
Every month for the past year, my last story about Darian Jarrott and the wrongful death lawsuit filed by his widow is one of the most read. This story is meant to augment and update the previous piece for those readers.
Civil cases are more complicated than criminal ones. That fact makes reporting and, thus, writing such stories more challenging. If y'all have any feedback or any questions about the case, email me. I'd love to know what you think about the case. I can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com.
Lordsburg mayor sentenced for driving without required ignition interlock device
Lordsburg Mayor Glenda Greene received a deferred probation sentence Wednesday after pleading no contest to driving a car without a required ignition interlock device.
Greene pleaded guilty last December to driving under the influence of alcohol following a traffic stop in August 2021 near her Lordsburg home. As part of her deferred sentence, she was required to drive a vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device for a full year.
Less than three months later — on Nov. 2, 2021 — Greene, a former city council member, was elected mayor.
On June 11, Silver City police stopped Greene for speeding on U.S. 180 East and discovered the car she was driving had no interlock device. An officer cited her for the violations, both petty misdemeanors.
On Wednesday, Greene appeared before Magistrate Judge Maurine Laney in a brief telephonic hearing and pleaded no contest to both counts. She was sentenced to 90 days of unsupervised probation on each, to be served concurrently, and the sentences were deferred, meaning the charges will be dismissed in December if she completes the probation without violations. She is also required to pay court costs totaling $142.
Our reporter, Algernon D'Ammassa, has had his eye on this case and drove to Silver City early Wednesday morning to attend the hearing.
A day in this kind of life: It wasn't clear whether the hearing would be in person or virtual, but the nearly empty parking at Grant County Magistrate Court in Silver City was an indicator. Inside, a clerk provided me with the call-in code, and I then called in to the hearing from the driver's seat of my car, with a notebook in my lap and my pencil ready. I needed a restroom.
I then discovered that the judge had started the hearing early and I was barely in time to hear what I was there to hear: What sentence would Lordsburg mayor Glenda Greene face?
Greene had pleaded guilty to a DUI shortly before being elected mayor in 2021. This summer, she was stopped for speeding in Silver City and police discovered she was driving a vehicle without an ignition interlock device, violating a condition of her deferred sentence.
Since the Silver City Sun-News no longer has a newsroom, I wrote and filed my story from the public library. Then I wrote and filed another one. And then I got a call from the Lt. Governor's office, inviting us to tag along on an inspection of severe flood damage 70 miles away in Virden: An opportunity to get on the ground and capture images as well as words to portray a disaster in a remote part of the state where reporters rarely tread.
Sure thing. Close the laptop, stop at a gas station, and drive into the Gila Valley with a bottle of water and some dry-roasted peanuts for my lunch. I wasn't dressed for the day I ended up having, hopping around shattered canals, crossing through mud, and holding onto an ATV navigating river embankments, but this is what we do.
Las Cruces municipal judge alleges city, mayor planted judge to skirt bail reform
Presiding Municipal Judge Joy Goldbaum has alleged the city’s mayor planted a judge on the bench as a means to keep poor and unhoused people behind bars when accused of nonviolent property crimes. She also alleges the judge is unqualified to serve.
A Sun-News investigation found the mayor had asked about the presiding judge’s authority to hold nonviolent offenders in jail in certain circumstances and soon after began to seek the appointment of a second judge, whose qualifications are now at the center of a legal battle between Goldbaum and the city.
The Las Cruces Municipal Court handles violations of the city's municipal code, which are considered petty misdemeanors and include traffic citations. After a vacancy approaching three years, the Las Cruces City Council approved the appointment of Kieran Ryan to the bench as the second full-time municipal judge last month.
During his short time on the bench in August, Ryan signed at least one warrant which set a high bond on a person charged with a nonviolent offense.
Reporter Michael McDevitt, who covers city and county government for the Sun-News, has been following this story since we first learned of it. Micheal said:
This is a story in which we attempted to do some digging on inflammatory allegations made by Judge Goldbaum and see how much we could substantiate. While the emails received by me throughout the process lent some credence to her allegations, her allegations remain uncertain. My hope would be that readers can make up their own minds based on the amount of information from all sides presented.
I’m not the type of reporter who likes to solely report on what someone said someone did. Public records, like email trails, can provide invaluable insight into how an event played out. Emails are often unfiltered, more candid than an interview, and can lead a reporter to become aware of other people who may have insight into a situation. This useful tool isn’t just limited to reporters! (We’re not that special). Anyone can request communications about public business from public officials through the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act. Try it sometime!
The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 34: Police shootings
In this week’s podcast, we’re speaking to Justin Garcia, who covers public safety for the Sun-News. We’re returning to a familiar topic — talking about the number of police shootings in Doña Ana County this year.
We’ll speak in depth about the most recent shooting. It happened on the afternoon of Aug. 2, after Las Cruces police responded to a shoplifting call at a gas station. Over the next hour, the situation escalated and ended abruptly with 36-year-old Presley Eze killed by a police officer.
It was at least the fifth police shooting within Doña Ana County this year. Does this point to a trend? And, if so, what does it mean? You can listen to the latest episode here.
Thank you for reading this week's Reporter's Notebook. We hope you'll continue supporting our reporting, and perhaps forward this email to a friend.
Damien Willis is a Lead Reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at 575-541-5443, dwillis@lcsun-news.com or @DamienWillis on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Abe Romero passes away, Jarrott lawsuit may go to trial and more
