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Broken Culture Review.....The New Mexico Gun Violence Epidemic....Main Index
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This blog is an information site on the current epidemic of gun violence in New Mexico and is dedicated to the children of New Mexico
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ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE)...October 30, 2015 – "The driver suspected of killing 4-year-old Lilly Garcia in a fit of road rage is in more trouble......The Federal DEA has now hit Tony Torrez with gun and drug dealing charges....at his home in the Westgate neighborhood of Albuquerque, they found him and a woman loading things up in a car, before the woman drove off in it.....investigators found two assault rifles, a revolver, a bulletproof vest and duffle bags filled with baggies of marijuana in the car Torrez was loading up....the car Torrez had been driving had a grocery bag full of cash and some “marijuana in folded court documents in the floorboard.....Investigators found more cash at his home, altogether totaling to $64,000....they also discovered digital scales, several cell phones, duffle bags and plastic bags.....Police said Torrez confessed to shooting at the truck 4 year old Lilly and her family were in after he became enraged with Lilly’s father while driving on the freeway."
Lilly (Illiana) Garcia, age 4, died after taking a gunshot to the head on the way back from school in her father's car.
Lilly Garcia, who was killed in road rage incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 21, 2015
"Lilly was riding in her family's car with her brother and her father, Alan Garcia, Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 40 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when another car pulled up beside them and began firing into the car in what police believe was a road rage incident.....Lilly was struck in the back of the head and later died in the hospital. "She was just a beautiful, beautiful soul," her mother Veronica Garcia said."
Albuquerque Police arrested a man in connection with Lilly's killing on Wednesday.....Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said that Tony Torrez, 32, was taken into custody after they received an anonymous call from a person claiming they knew who had shot Lilly....Torrez confessed to the murder, police said. He is being held on $650,000 cash bond.
"New Mexico has an "extended domain" law, which means that a person's vehicle (including motorcycles, bicycles, all-terrain vehicles, RVs, and while riding a horse) is considered an extension of their home. It is therefore legal to carry a loaded firearm without a permit, openly or concealed, anywhere in a vehicle."....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_Mexico
Tony Torrez was arrested for four prior violent felony arrests between 2006 and 2014, but was not convicted in any of the cases, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge Chris J. Schultz said at an appearance for Torrez on Thursday.
"Torrez was involved in another attack nine years earlier.... he allegedly pulled a gun on another driver in 2006, the Albuquerque Journal reported....Torrez allegedly snapped when another driver became angry over Torrez’s car blocking the exit of a parking structure......The other driver told police that he was able to disarm Torrez and put him in a chokehold. When the weapon fell to the ground, however, both men struggled to retrieve it, causing it to fire three times -- striking a friend of Torrez in the forehead......Injuries sustained in that altercation were not disclosed, according to the Journal's review, and charges against Torrez were not pursued because of a lack of cooperation from the other driver and the victim."
"Torrez has been charged with an open count of murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, assault with the intent to commit a violent felony, shooting at or from a motor vehicle, child abuse, child abuse resulting in death and tampering with evidence."
"The judge said he considers Torrez to be a flight risk due to numerous instances of him failing to appear in court.....Court records show Torrez has about a dozen prior felony charges, including charges from another incident in which he was accused of pulling a gun on another driver. However, all previous felony charges against Torrez were either dismissed or dropped......Prosecutors charged Torrez in 2006 with aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A man told investigators Torrez pulled a gun on him after an argument. The victim defended himself and was able to get Torrez in a chokehold, and the gun fired as they wrestled.....Prosecutors ended up dropping the charges because the victim and a witness would not cooperate......In 2010, police arrested Torrez for kidnapping, aggravated battery, domestic violence and child abuse. Court records show the dismissal of those charges in 2013 after the victim died from an unrelated cause......Two earlier cases of aggravated battery were also dismissed, and a 2014 arrest for negligent use of a deadly weapon also resulted with charges being dropped."......
"The red Toyota believed to be involved in the road rage incident was located Thursday, police said, after the appropriate warrants were acquired......"One of those warrants was for a house in the 7600 block of Saltbrush southwest, which is the home of Mr. Torrez," Officer Tanner Tixier said. "Inside the garage at this residence was the (Toyota) detectives were actively searching for."....It will be processed for forensic evidence, Tixier said......Detectives also recovered the firearm believed to be involved with the girl's shooting death."......Devon Armijo.....KOAT HEARST-ARGYLE TELEVISION, INC
......http://www.koat.com/news/heavy-police-presence-closes-i40-west-at-unser/35947470
"New Mexico is among states with some of the least restrictive firearms laws in the country. State laws governing the possession and use of firearms include those in New Mexico Statutes Chapter 30, Article 7, "Weapons and Explosives"....New Mexico is a Permissive Open Carry state. Open carry of a loaded firearm without a license is legal statewide, except for restricted places listed in the section below. Provisions in the New Mexico Constitution prevent counties or municipalities from enacting ordinances restricting or banning open carry."
Click to enlarge.....Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_Mexico
"New Mexico's current concealed carry permit law was enacted in 2003....At the time, officials in most larger cities, notably Albuquerque and Santa Fe, strongly opposed the legalization of statewide concealed carry. After the May-Issue law was enacted but before it could go into effect, the City of Albuquerque filed a lawsuit (Baca v. New Mexico Department of Public Safety) to block implementation of the concealed carry law. Ultimately the May-Issue concealed carry law was struck down by the New Mexico Supreme Court before it could go into effect. The current Shall-Issue law, which pre-empted any existing local restrictions on firearms carry, was passed in 2003, with the issuance of Concealed Handgun Licenses beginning later that year, after surviving its own legal challenge by concealed carry opponents."....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_Mexico
"Even with a concealed carry permit, it is not legal to carry a firearm into a federal building, school, or restaurant that serves alcohol.[10] Carrying of a concealed weapon into a store that sells alcohol for off site consumption is legal, but open carry is not allowed in these locations. The state also has an "opt-out" statute, allowing home and business owners the ability to legally forbid firearms on their property and/or in their buildings with appropriately displayed signage stating such prohibition. While violating these "gun free" areas is a 4th Degree Felony that is punishable by up to 18 months imprisonment and/or a $5,000 fine, it is more common for those who inadvertently carry into such areas to be reprimanded by law enforcement officials and possibly have their concealed carry license suspended or revoked.
New Mexico has an "extended domain" law, which means that a person's vehicle (including motorcycles, bicycles, all-terrain vehicles, RVs, and while riding a horse) is considered an extension of their home. It is therefore legal to carry a loaded firearm without a permit, openly or concealed, anywhere in a vehicle. On foot, no permit is required to carry a firearm unless it is both loaded and concealed.
Concealed carry of an unloaded firearm is legal without a permit in New Mexico, however the same restrictions that apply to openly carried firearms apply. Persons under age 19 cannot carry in this manner unless traveling to certain sporting, recreational or training events as defined in law or on property controlled by parents, grandparents or guardians and under their supervision.
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Email....brokenculturereview@gmail.com
October 2015
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