Leyba Murder Trial Begins

In Brief

Check SFReeper.com for live coverage of Marino “Reno” Leyba Jr.’s trial, which begins April 21 at the 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.

SFR Talk: A Short Way Home

With Robert Seigle

It’s 6:30 on a Friday night and happy hours around town are winding down. SFR hops into a cab in South Capitol for a ride-along with Capital City Cab driver Robert Seigle. A former mechanical engineer who builds PCs in his spare time, Seigle has worked for Capital for eight years.

Suspect in Protective Custody

Mother of accused drunk driver says sheriff’s office has not contacted her about death threats

Scott Owens, the man accused of driving drunk and killing four Santa Fe teenagers, is now in protective custody at the Santa Fe jail.

Triangulation

Class, culture and crime clash on Second Street

Businesses on Second and to its east signal the gentrification of the area: a kettle bell workout parlor, miniature sculpture gardens, bakeries and bike repair shops. To the west, there’s subsidized housing, a taco truck and a community center, as well as drug deals and violent crime scenes. But property crime doesn’t observe the boundaries.

"If I was trying to kill you, I would have"

And other stories from Santa Fe’s domestic violence epidemic

A review of felony domestic violence cases, along with recent police reports and protection orders, reveals a troubling pattern: The state often fails to protect women who have been threatened, beaten or worse by men they live with, share children with or once upon a time dated. And even when police, prosecutors and social workers know offenders’ names and addresses, they can stay beyond the reach of the law.

Stealing the Past

Recent artifact raids shed light on today’s looting syndicate and the damage it does to New Mexico’s history

Using undercover sources, agents from the FBI and the US Bureau of Land Management spent more than two years infiltrating a tight-knit community of looters in the Four Corners area who dig up graves and pillage archaeological sites on public lands, then sell the items they find to dealers and collectors.

This is OK

Despite violent rap, state let guard keep license

Jury selection begins next month for the trial of Marino K Leyba, known to friends as Reno. He stands accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend, Sarah Lovato, and her father, Bennie Lovato Sr. Police say he committed the murder wearing the uniform and possibly with the gun he used working for his father, Marino M Leyba, owner of USA Security and Surveillance.

Briefs: Sept. 30

The ongoing case of security guard Phillip Glock and the trial of Carlos Fierro.

Behind Closed Doors

SFR's ongoing coverage of Santa Fe's domestic violence epidemic.

In 2009, staff writer Corey Pein began examining domestic violence in Santa Fe and in New Mexico from a variety of perspectives and through dramatic cases that were under-reported in the mainstream media. What he uncovered is a shocking persistence of domestic violence, habitual abuse and resistance to meaningful reform at all levels of enforcement and treatment for perpetrators as well as insufficient support for victims.

Pushing Back

Domestic violence surge prompts government action

Local leaders say they are finally ready “to protect survivors of domestic violence…and to hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable,” according to a Santa Fe County press release. It is, after all, “Domestic Violence Awareness Month.” What’s the plan?