Toilet paper thieves don’t get off clean
An Albuquerque restaurant employee says he’s now seen it all: three men leaving his diner with rolls of toilet paper were nabbed in the parking lot by police.
Burgers, Dogs and Wings employee Josh Flannery-Stewart told KOAT-TV that he was immediately suspicious of the men when they came in Saturday because they weren’t talking and appeared “messed up.”
The three went into the bathroom and emerged carrying about a dozen rolls of toilet paper. They got in a car in the parking lot, but didn’t get far.
Albuquerque police apparently already had the trio under surveillance and quickly surrounded the car and arrested them.
The toilet paper was returned to its rightful owner.
Couple arrested for prostitution, drugs
ALAMOGORDO — Police in Alamogordo say they arrested a husband and wife on prostitution charges during an undercover operation at an Alamogordo area hotel.
Sheriff Benny House told the Alamogordo Daily News that Stephen Pzszkowski, 54, and Julie Darnold, 41, were taken into custody on Friday. The couple was arrested after members of the county’s narcotics enforcement task force followed up on a website advertisement offering sex in exchange for money.
Pzszkowski was charged with promoting prostitution and possession of drug paraphernalia. Darnold was charged with prostitution, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Believers said miracle kept old carving safe
An ancient cottonwood tree behind an Albuquerque church snapped in half and toppled in high winds, but a carving of Our Lady of Guadalupe inside the tree survived.
The tree behind San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church in Albuquerque’s Old Town fell Thursday night. The carving on it was created in 1959 by a soldier who had returned unharmed from the Korean War.
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The story is that Toby Avila made the carving inside a dying cottonwood to thank Our Lady of Guadalupe. Folklore says the tree suddenly came back to life.
Some parishioners believe the icon had a hand in that, and in the survival of the carving.
Father Dennis Garcia told KRQE-TV he believes the miracle is that no one was hurt and the church was only mildly damaged.
N.M. pre-teen lured to Idaho by online friend
BOISE, Idaho — A 19-year-old Idaho man who met a 12-year-old New Mexico girl while playing an online game and then helped her travel to Idaho for sex has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
KTVB-TV reported that U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Alexander Trowell to four years and nine months in federal prison.
Trowell must also pay $25,000 in restitution and attend sex offender treatment.
The girl flew to Boise in April, where she met with Trowell.
The girl’s mother notified police, who arrested Trowell at his home before the girl was returned to New Mexico.
Trowell pleaded guilty in September to the charge of interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact with a minor.
Domestic dispute leaves meddler dead
POJOAQUE — Authorities in Santa Fe County say two men who tried to intervene in a domestic dispute were stabbed by a man who was later captured.
County sheriff’s officials say 21-year-old Victoriano Gonzales of Santa Fe was stabbed in the neck and died after trying to stop the dispute on Friday night. Another man also was stabbed but is expected to survive.
Sheriff Robert Garcia says the two men were at a trailer park in Pojoaque when they witnessed the domestic dispute. A woman told deputies she was being assaulted by 31-year-old Adrian Gonzales.
Gonzales fled in a car that was spotted on Interstate 25 between Bernalillo and Albuquerque early Saturday. He was arrested on murder and aggravated battery charges. He is not related to the man who was killed.
