Murder suspect: I didn't know gun was loaded

A 38-year-old Santa Fe man who told 911 dispatchers he shot his girlfriend late last Friday said he didn't know the gun was loaded, according to a police report.

Police officers who arrived at Mark Kelly's residence, 2090 Avenida de las Alturas, found him standing outside, talking on a cordless phone, with human blood and tissue on his forehead, Detective James Lamb wrote.

Police found Julia Ostercamp, a 32-year-old Home Depot employee, lying on a bed with a gunshot wound in the center of her forehead and blood stains on the bedroom walls. A Ruger semiautomatic handgun with blood on it sat on a kitchen counter, the report says.

The gun had no magazine in it, though officers found a brass-colored casing on the floor next to Ostercamp's body. In a bathroom, police found a gun case that contained a magazine with hollowpoint ammunition in silver casing and another magazine with "ball-type ammunition" in brass-colored casing.

Kelly, an employee of the state Environment Department's Solid Waste Division, faces an open count of murder. A judge Monday ordered him held in lieu of a $1 million cash-only bond.

Award-winning holiday stories coming Friday

The holidays strike a chord with Santa Fe area writers who submitted more than 200 stories for The New Mexican's Holiday Writing Contest.

A selection of the stories will be published in Friday's edition of Pasatiempo.

Of the 226 entries, 25 were awarded prizes, and an additional 11 writers were given honorable mentions.

A panel of judges selected the winning entries based on originality, creativity and theme.

The entries included a wide variety of stories, essays and poetry by adults, teens and children in The New Mexican's readership area.

Immigrant advocates to honor Luján, Beaumont

The immigrant advocacy group Somos Un Pueblo Unido will recognize New Mexico House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, and the Rev. Holly Beaumont, legislative advocate for the New Mexico Conference of Churches, for their commitment to helping the immigrant community.

At a fundraising event scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road, the Santa Fe nonprofit will also honor Mabel Arellanes, a University of New Mexico student activist, with the first annual Spirit of Somos Youth Award.

Admission for the event, which will feature music by Nacha Méndez and Mariachi Buenaventura, is $15 for adults and $5 for children.

Three arrested in connection with bank robberies

BOSQUE FARMS — Bosque Farms police have arrested three men suspected in several bank robberies in the Albuquerque area over the past month.

The FBI says two of the men were arrested after MyBank in Los Lunas was robbed Monday. Officers spotted a car that fit the description of the getaway vehicle. Inside were Daniel Alexander Duran, 34, and Marco Anthony Demarsh, 31, both of Albuquerque.

FBI bank robbery specialists were able to link the men to what they believe is involvement in as many as five recent robberies in the Albuquerque area.

In addition, authorities also arrested Raymond David Trujillo in Grants, who is also believed to be connected to the recent robberies.

The FBI says all three men were in federal custody Tuesday.

Souper Bowl recruits sought

The Food Depot, a food bank for seven Northern New Mexico counties, is recruiting restaurants to take part in Souper Bowl XV.

The annual benefit will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

More than 1,000 guests are expected to decide which local eateries should win awards in several categories: Best Chunky Soup, Best Cream Soup, Best Seafood Soup, Best Vegetarian Soup and Best Soup.

Space will be limited to 35 restaurants. To sign up, call 471-1633, ext. 10.

Tickets will be available beginning Jan. 5 at The Food Depot, 1222 Siler Road, or online at www.thefooddepot.org beginning Monday.

The Food Depot provides food to 100 not-for-profit agencies, distributing an average of 240,000 pounds of food and household products each month and providing more than 320,000 meals to people in need.

Border cameras help nab traffickers

EL PASO — A month after going online, a network of Internet cameras trained on the Texas-Mexico border is being credited with the arrest of three people and the seizure of about 550 pounds of marijuana.

Donald Reay, executive director of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition, said more than 1.8 million hits had been recorded since November's launch of the Web site where anyone can take a peek at more than a dozen cameras aimed at the border. Reay, whose group has partnered with private Internet company BlueServo for the $2 million project, said "upward of 1,000 e-mails" have also been sent to local law enforcement by users.

Iranian sentenced in nuke plant case

PHOENIX — An Iranian-born engineer who worked at the nation's largest nuclear power plant was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in federal prison for taking computer software he obtained at the plant to Iran.

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake sentenced Mohammad Reza Alavi to two 15-month terms but ordered they be served at the same time.

Alavi apologized in court before Wake handed down the sentence. "I have only myself to blame for these actions, and I accept full responsibility," said Alavi, a naturalized U.S. citizen. "I love America and would never do anything to hurt this country."

Alavi worked for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix for 17 years.