Free Republic

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The man suspected of shooting and critically injuring a protester Monday night is no longer facing charges in relation to the shooting and is instead facing charges of unlawful carrying of a firearm and battery against three other protesters. District Attorney Raúl Torrez announced the new development at a news conference Wednesday. But he stressed that charges could be refiled as the New Mexico State Police take over the investigation. “I want to make absolutely clear that the reason he is not facing that charge right now is because this investigation is not complete,” Torrez said. During...

A New Mexico prosecutor on Wednesday dropped a shooting charge against a man suspected of shooting a protester in New Mexico, stressing the need for further investigation after “rumors on social media” emerged about the incident. Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez dropped an initial aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge against Steven Baca, a 31-year-old former City Council candidate, after online images emerged showing the protester Scott Williams, 39, holding what is rumored to be a knife before he was allegedly shot by Baca, Reuters reported. “There have been rumors on social media about what transpired in the...

Frank Spencer Harm told his neighbors he was an ex-cop. He told his mother he was in the witness protection program. But a Santa Clara County sheriff's detective says Harm was a killer on the lam for more than 33 years, until authorities arrested him in Minnesota this week. Harm was jailed Thursday on a warrant charging him with shooting 25-year-old Fred Izzarelli to death after Harm broke into a Monte Sereno bungalow -- apparently in search of drugs -- where Izzarelli was living in 1972. Sheriff's Lt. Pedro Contreras said Harm was ``on the radar right from the beginning,''...