Family of crash survivor seeks settlement approval

The parents and stepmother of Avree Koffman want a judge to approve a $185,000 settlement with three insurance companies over last summer's drunken-driving crash that injured her and left four of her friends dead.

Koffman, now 17, was driving her father's 1992 Subaru, with four teenage friends as passengers, on the Old Las Vegas Highway when a 1992 Jeep driven by Scott Owens of Eldorado struck the passenger side.

Owens, 28, who had a blood-alcohol content of 0.16, twice the legal limit, was charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and is scheduled to stand trial on Oct. 25. He was under-insured at the time of the accident, according to the petition filed by lawyer Daniel O'Friel on Monday.

Although no civil lawsuit has been filed, O'Friel seeks court approval of the settlement with Geico General Insurance Co., Geico Casualty Insurance Co. and Allstate Insurance Co. on behalf of Koffman's natural parents, Daniel Koffman of Santa Fe and Beth Cohen of Texas, and her stepmother, Amy Black of Santa Fe.

O'Friel also seeks an order appointing Annie-Laurie Coogan as guardian ad litem for Avree Koffman, since she is a minor.

Police: Officer did not act negligently in alleged gun theft

A state police officer whose girlfriend's son allegedly stole his service weapon and shot another teen to death last week did not act negligently in securing the gun, a Santa Fe police spokesman said Thursday.

Officer Trace Spoonhoward secured the weapon properly and went to run errands before Michael Trujillo, 16, stole the .357-caliber handgun, said Sgt. Louis Carlos. Carlos declined to specify exactly how the weapon was secured, saying it was an officer safety issue. Officers are required to "secure" their weapons when not on duty, though exactly how that is done is up to each officer, he said.

Spoonhoward was interviewed by Santa Fe police Wednesday, he said. "He's beating himself up over it," Carlos said. "He, too, in essence, was victimized by this young man's actions."

Trujillo is charged with shooting Chris Aguayo, 18, multiple times in the Santa Fe Place mall parking lot July 8.

Bingaman/Udall offer help on Paolo Soleri

U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall are offering their assistance in preserving the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater should the All Indian Pueblo Council and the Santa Fe Indian School decide to do so.

Saying that hosting rock concerts does not sync with the educational function of the land, the tribal governors and leadership have decided to shutter the music venue — at least for now.

The school has said that upkeep and improvements to comply with ADA requirements would be expensive.

In a letter to Joe Garcia, chairman of the AIPC, and Everett Chavez, superintendent of the SFIS, the senators point to the amphitheater's historic nature and value to the Santa Fe community as reasons to preserve it. The Udall family recently held a memorial service there for Stewart Udall, former interior secretary.

"Should the 19 Pueblos and the Santa Fe Indian School decide to pursue a course to preserve this important architectural landmark, we stand ready to assist to ensure it can be enjoyed by all members of the community for years to come," the letter stated.

Mobile veterinary clinic in La Cienega

The Santa Fe animal shelter's mobile clinic will be in La Cienega today and Saturday for a variety of low-cost veterinary services.

While many services, such as vaccinations, heartworm testing, microchipping and flea-and-tick preventatives are available on a first-come-first-served basis, appointments for surgeries such as spay and neutering should be made in advance, said Bill Hutchison, the shelter's communications director.

The van will be parked from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the La Cienega Community Center on Camino San Jose (C.R. 50-A). To guarantee a spot for your critter, call 983-4309, ext. 129 and leave a message. Indicate whether the companion animal is a cat or dog, its gender and approximate size.

Cost for spaying and neutering an animal is on a sliding scale based on income. The on-site veterinarian and technicians are available to look at a variety of animal-health issues, Hutchison noted.

The van's visit is supported by anonymous donors through the Fix-A-Fido Fund and Moving Forward for Felines fund, as well as co-payments by pet owners.

Error on subscriber renewal notices

Subscriber renewal notices that have been sent out over the last two weeks have an incorrect contact number for The New Mexican. The number should read 986-3010 and has been corrected for future mailings. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

Unidentified body recovered from Rio Grande Gorge

A body recovered from the Rio Grande Gorge on Wednesday is believed to be that of a Santa Fe man, a state police spokesman said Thursday.

However, the Office of the Medical Investigator hasn't yet identified him and is having to track down dental records to make an official identification, said Lt. Eric Garcia.

The body was first reported about 4 p.m. Tuesday in an area 600 feet south of the Taos Gorge Bridge, he said. State police had to use a winch to retrieve the body Wednesday morning, Garcia said.

Utah man repays $25,000 to S.F. woman in scam

A Utah man has pleaded guilty to violating state securities law and repaid a Santa Fe woman $25,000 lost in an investment scheme, according to the Securities Division of the state Regulation and Licensing Department.

Keith H. Debus, 52, of Holladay, Utah, misrepresented himself as a successful licensed manager of a "high yield fund" specializing in commodities trading to the woman during a religious conference at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiú, says the division's news release.

"After she gave him $25,000 to invest for her, Debus assured her the investment was profitable and urged her to add to her account," it says. "When she tried to get some of her money back, however, Debus claimed the entire investment had been lost in the commodities market."

State District Judge Michael Vigil recently sentenced Debus to three years of probation and ordered him to make full restitution. Debus already is on probation for a previous fraud conviction in Utah and also has an identity-theft charge pending in Washington state, the release says.

Oil and gas group choose new president

The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association selected career Bureau of Land Management staffer Steve Henke as the organization's new president beginning Aug. 1, according to a news statement.

Henke, 56, retired from the BLM after 34 years, most recently serving as district manager in Farmington, one of the highest-producing oil and gas producing parts of the state. It also is one of the largest on-shore oil and gas programs in the United States, according to the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.

NMOGA is a trade organization and represents oil and gas producers in the state along with the New Mexico Independent Petroleum Producers.

New Mexico is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country and the sixth-largest crude oil producer in the lower 48 states. The state ranks second in gas reserves and fourth in oil reserves.

Henke replaces Bob Gallagher, the longtime president of the organization,

BLM holds mineral lease auction

The Bureau of Land Management will auction oil and gas leasing mineral rights Wednesday to 139 parcels totaling 42,661.19 acres of public lands in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The oral auction is at the new BLM State Office Building, 301 Dinosaur Trail in Santa Fe.

The BLM will be available in the lobby at 8 a.m. to set up people with bidding numbers. The sale will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Only oral bids offered at the sale will be accepted.

Parcels will be awarded to qualified bidders offering the highest acceptable bid. The minimum acceptable bid is $2 per acre.

The lease sale notice can be found at www.blm.gov/nm.

Teague, Pearce have more than $1M for campaigns

New campaign finance reports show that Democratic Congressman Harry Teague and Republican challenger Steve Pearce each have at least $1 million stockpiled for their 2nd Congressional District race.

Teague reported a cash balance of almost $1.2 million in his campaign account as of the end of June. Pearce had cash-on-hand of slightly more than $1 million.

Teague won the Southern New Mexico congressional seat in 2008, when Pearce left the House to run for an open Senate seat.

Pearce raised about $284,000 from May 13 through the end of June. Teague collected almost $270,000.

Thursday is the deadline for congressional candidates to file fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission.


A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the status of Scott Owen's auto insurance during a 2009 crash. It should have read "under-insured." The correction was applied 3 p.m. July 22, 2010.

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