Wednesday’s Top Stories

Wednesday’s Five Facts

[1] Man arrested for impersonating BCSO deputy on Tinder – Rico TreShon Dukes, 26, has been charged with impersonating a police officer and unauthorized wearing of a police uniform and badge. BCSO says he was using a dating profile on Tinder that included Dukes in a BCSO uniform and a photo of a fully marked patrol car. Dukes was discovered after a Bernalillo County employee matched with him on Tinder, according to a criminal complaint filed with the Metropolitan Court. The employee and Dukes messaged each other – and Dukes allegedly talked about life on the job as a sheriff’s deputy, even though he wasn’t one.

[2] Jury begins deliberations in Luis Talamantes murder trial for 2019 Jacque Vigil killing – After six days of testimony, jurors are expected to begin deliberating a verdict in the Luis Talamantes Romero murder trial Wednesday morning. Talamantes is facing first degree murder and eight other charges tied to the 2019 killing of Jacque Vigil in a northwest Albuquerque neighborhood. Closing arguments lasted nearly three hours Tuesday. While prosecutors painted Talamantes as a killer who only cares about himself, the defense argued that Talamantes is a victim in a plot involving the state’s star witness.

[3] More rain, snow and cooler temperatures – This morning, the storm is still bringing rain and snow to northeast New Mexico, and the precipitation will continue through the day in the east/northeast. We will even see a chance for more isolated showers or virga in the Metro and northern mountains area this afternoon and evening. Temperatures will stay cooler across the state. Thursday will be warmer and sunnier for all. The next storm will arrive Friday, bringing another round of rain, snow, wind and cooler temperatures.

[4] Neighbors say new traffic technology on Lead & Coal makes a difference – The city of Albuquerque is using new “Rest in Red” technology to help slow speeders. The technology that turns red on speeders is activated at eight intersections on Lead and Coal between Nob Hill and East Downtown. You can see them at Carlisle, Girard, Yale, and Walter. The speed limit is 30 along the corridor, and anyone going even a mile an hour over 30 within 350 feet of those signals will trigger the red light, stopping every other driver along with them. The Rest in Red lights are turned off during rush hour to avoid traffic jams caused by nonstop red lights

[5] New Mexico puts millions towards Reforestation Center to recover from wildfire – The government and several New Mexico universities are gearing up to replant fire-ravaged land around the state. The idea to focus on plant seedling science in order to repair fire-damaged landscapes and combat climate change in New Mexico is not new. For decades, New Mexico State University has been doing research on the topic. But soon, $8.5 million approved by lawmakers will help set up the New Mexico Reforestation Center. Most of the funding will go towards designing and setting up facilities for the center. It’s not yet clear where construction will take place