Roswell Daily Record
Vol. 120, No. 197 50¢ Daily / $1 Sunday
INSIDE NEWS
ELECTRIC CARS IN PORTLAND
THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
August 17, 2011
‘Perryisms’ take the national stage
GOP presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry
WEDNESDAY
www.rdrnews.com
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — In the words of Gov. Rick Perry, secession was one scenario on the table for frustrated Texans. The BP oil spill? Might have been an act of God instead of corporate errors. And if the Federal Reserve puts more money in the U.S. system, as Perry told voters in Iowa this week, you could chalk it up as a treasonous act that would be treated “pretty ugly” back home. No, that wasn’t on the same level as his famous
interview signoff, “Adios, mofo.” But Perry’s just warming up. Just four days after launching his GOP presidential run, the man from Paint Creek, Texas, already is showing off a color ful tongue. The 61-year -old with maybe the most famous jogging-whilearmed story ever — “Don’t attack my dog or you might get shot ... if you’re a coyote” — may emerge as the most quotable candidate in the Republican field.
But will that hurt as well as help him? The gover nor’s mouth may come across as amusing to some Texans who have grown accustomed to “Perryisms” over his decades in public office. Now, however, he’s on a larger stage with a brighter spotlight. Will his quips be a plus — something for voters to identify with — or a vulnerability in the campaign? Obama said Tuesday he was inclined to cut the gov-
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Electric car drivers will get a charge out of a block-long stretch of a downtown Portland street that’s been dubbed “Electric Avenue,” and it may also help the automotive industry and others make important decisions as the use of electric cars evolves ... - PAGE A5
WEB For The Past 24 Hours
• Congressman Pearce visits Roswell • Books look at Internet’s origins • United Way hosts kickoff luncheon • Carranza hearing to begin • Spirit of ’45 lives on
INSIDE
Job fair draws 550 job seekers
Mark Wilson Photo
Cheryll Parks, left, and her daughter Becky Parks fill out applications at the Comfort Keepers booth Tuesday morning.
VANESSA KAHIN RECORD STAFF WRITER
More than 60 businesses participated in the New Mexico Workforce Connection’s “Out of This World” Job Fair, Tuesday, at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center.
ROMO BACK IN GROOVE AT CAMP
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tony Romo feels like a kid at camp, getting to hang around with his buddies and play football every day. After missing the Dallas Cowboys’ final 10 games last season with a broken left collarbone, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback is back in the groove after ... - PAGE B1
“This is the biggest job fair that we’ve had,” said Workforce Connection Employment Specialist Nellie Daniel. One reason why so many businesses were interested in the job fair? “(Because) there are jobs out there,” Daniel said emphatically.
“I’m hoping that a lot of our job seekers are hired.” Congressman Steve Pearce, RN.M., cosponsored the job fair and estimated that 550 prospective
Have it your way, soon
OBITUARIES
HIGH ...98˚ LOW ....70˚
TODAY’S FORECAST
CLASSIFIEDS..........B6 COMICS.................B4 ENTERTAINMENT.....B6 FINANCIAL .............B3 GENERAL ..............A2 HOROSCOPES ........A8 LOTTERIES ............A2 OPINION ................A4 SPORTS ................B1 WEATHER ..............A8
See JOB FAIR, Page A3
Defense attorney Jesse Cosby referred to the case against his client, David Vega, as failure of the system. Vega is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of his son, Christopher Lee Vega, 25, and his son’s girlfriend, Alisa Michelle Montgomery, 31. He is also facing three counts of attempted murder for the three police officers who were shot in the early morning hours on May 10, 2010, along with one count of attempt to commit a violent felony. Cosby summarized the Vega case “as a case of overload from David Vega on down or David Vega on up.” He was referring to the reaction of the police after the shooting. He said his client’s experiences prior to May 10, also was a testament to the failure of the system. “He
RPD chief names his new deputy
See VEGA, Page A3
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
TODAY’S • Marla Ann Molloy Woods • Everett Greer • Anna Mae Morrison • Victor Clifford Dias • Matthew Christopher Russell - PAGE A6
David Vega trial begins
See PERRY, Page A3
JESSICA PALMER RECORD STAFF WRITER
TOP 5
SPORTS
ernor “some slack” since it was so early in his run. The president was asked on CNN about Perry’s suggestion that military members would respect the Texan more than him because Perry served in the military and he didn’t. “I think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn’t like
Mark Wilson Photo
Bernie Perez, of Superior Signs, welds metal pieces as he prepares to install the Burger King sign in front of the restaurant's new location between Hastings and Walgreens on North Main Street, Tuesday.
Roswell Police Chief Alfonso Solis announced his selection for position of deputy chief on Tuesday, Philip A. Smith Jr., 47, of Atkinson, N.H. The city received seven applications in-house and five applications from outside of Roswell, two of which were from New Mexico. Solis said he chose Smith because of his credentials and his educational background. “He's retired from the police in Salem, N.H. He was police chief in Alton,” said Solis. Smith has 25 years of
Philip A. Smith
experience with law enforcement. He started as a patrol of ficer in
See DEPUTY, Page A3
NM kidnapper thwarted by alert neighbor
INDEX
Philip Garcia, of Albuquerque, after he was arrested and charged with kidnapping, child abuse and tampering with evidence
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The pair of 911 calls came in quick succession from a New Mexico mobile home park. On one, a frantic 12year-old says her little sister is missing. On the other is the wife of the man who would be credited with saving the 6-year -old from every parent’s nightmare. “We are outside of my mom’s house here,” Martha Diaz told the dispatcher. “We heard a man going, ‘Hey, hey let her go. Let her go.’ So we turn around ...
“The man came running to us and said, ‘They stole a little girl.”’ Phillip Garcia, 29, had snatched the girl moments earlier on Monday afternoon in Albuquerque, taking her away in a blue van, police said. Diaz’s husband, Antonio Diaz Chacon, jumped in his black pickup and gave chase. Garcia tried to lose him by driving through a maze of residential streets, “tur ning, and tur ning,” Diaz Chacon, a 24-year-old mechanic, said Tuesday
night as a swarm of media stood outside his home to hear his story. The events were interpreted and relayed from Spanish to English by his wife. Finally, Diaz Chacon said, the man crashed into a telephone pole. Garcia fled on foot, and Diaz Chacon grabbed the girl and took her home. Garcia then returned to his wrecked van and took off but was later captured by police, authorities said. Hidden under a rock just 25 feet from the van was
packing tape and a tiedown strap, police said. Inside the impounded van were tostadas, a glove, a Leatherman tool, a black satchel, orange strapping similar to the strap found hidden under the rock, police said. “This little girl was very lucky,” police Sgt. Tricia Hoffman said. “We can only guess what would have happened to this child.” “Throughout the county See KIDNAPPER, Page A3