Hi, journos! 👋 I’m looking for work! For 3+ years I’ve led the news cycle in NM. I broke the stories of lavish spending @ WNMU, troubled rollout of ABQ Community Safety, bad math behind DOJ consent decree & more If you’re an editor, drop me a line [email protected]

Fake paperwork prepared by an incarcerated Arizona man’s family apparently tricked prison officials into letting him walk free … despite the 22 years remaining on his sentence

Exclusive: Jeffrey Epstein’s estate has given Congress a copy of the 2003 birthday book, including the letter with Trump’s signature that he has said doesn’t exist.

NEW @searchlightnm.bsky.social: I’ve reviewed the Brady List files for nearly 100 cops across the state. See for yourself what prosecutors have to say about the officers and deputies they don’t want to put on the stand:

BREAKING: WNMU regents unanimously vote to invalidate and disapprove former President Joseph Shepard’s $1.9 million severance agreement and 5-year faculty contract Unclear if/how the regents can claw back that money. Appears likely to affect ongoing AG lawsuit

Today’s Western New Mexico University hybrid/virtual regents meeting was just hijacked by a group of hackers displaying graphic pornographic videos and racist/antisemitic imagery Appears to have been done by this same group:

A new lawsuit in the 2024 fatal police shooting of teenager Elijah Hadley could shed light on a persistent problem in New Mexico: an outsized portion of police violence begins with a welfare check

If Caitlin Clark is worth a billion dollars to the WNBA, why is she paid only a fraction of that? http://dlvr.it/TLf6f5

ICYMI: The State Ethics Commission accused former WNMU Prez Joseph Shepard of using $ meant for an ADA-compliant project to build an outdoor venue for his daughter’s wedding reception

NEW: In a lawsuit quietly filed Friday, the NM State Ethics Commission accuses former WNMU President Joseph Shepard of misappropriating money meant for an ADA-compliant project and spending it instead on a patio for his daughter's wedding reception.

NEW on @searchlightnm.bsky.social: In addition to spending I uncovered on travel/luxury stays, the State Ethics Commission accuses former WNMU President Joseph Shepard of taking $ meant for ADA compliance and instead building an outdoor venue for his daughter’s wedding reception with it

🚨News incoming🚨

In light of recent news, my reporting from last year on the APD consent decree, in which a cop asks me of the DOJ: “How the hell do we have more shootings than we did before they came here?”

A new lawsuit alleges that Rio Arriba County officials violated the civil rights of two protestors by fostering an environment that let Ryan Martinez open fire into an anti-Oñate demonstration in Española in 2023

A new lawsuit accuses Rio Arriba County officials of turning a blind eye to the red flags exhibited by Ryan Martinez in the moments before he drew a gun and shot a Native activist at a 2023 anti-Oñate demonstration in Española Details here:

Just one year ago, JD Vance was a leading advocate of the Great Lakes and the efforts to restore the largest system of freshwater on the face of the planet. Now, his boss’ administration is upending the very restoration efforts that Vance once championed.

The former New Mexico judge and his wife who are accused of evidence tampering in an immigration case appeared in federal court Tuesday in shackles, alongside over 70 other people facing criminal charges who were waiting to have their cases heard.

ICYMI: An infamous Russia-linked hacking group known as Qilin appears to have taken Western New Mexico University’s systems hostage An employee’s desktop (reviewed by me) shows a threatening ransom: pay up, or have your SSN, driver’s license & more leaked

ICE DEPORTED THREE U.S. CITIZENS, ages 2, 4 and 7, with their moms early Friday per @efelton.bsky.social @maeganvaz.bsky.social. They were seized during a routine check-in and not allowed to call family or lawyers. The 4-year-old, with Stage 4 cancer, was removed without medication wapo.st/4jJ7BPC

New at @searchlightnm.bsky.social: A notorious Russian hacking group, Qilin, appears to have launched a crippling cyberattack on Western New Mexico University, gaining access to employee Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, and more. searchlightnm.org/western-new-...

In an image shared with Searchlight, one employee’s laptop screen displayed a ransomware message. “We have downloaded compromising and sensitive data from your system/network ... If you refuse to communicate with us and we do not come to an agreement, your data will be reviewed and published."

Publicly, Western New Mexico University has simply said it’s “working through technical issues,” but employees’ computers are displaying threatening messages signed by a notorious group, Qilin, that claims to have access to employee Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and more.

NEW: Western New Mexico University publicly said it’s “working through technical issues” while site & systems down Images/documentation I’ve reviewed show cybercrime group claiming to be infamous Russia-linked Qilin behind it — threatens to leak SSNs, driver’s licenses + more

🚨news incoming🚨

"the judge abused the prestige of his office when he repeatedly mentioned his judicial title while speaking to officers investigating a fatal crash"

A long-awaited archive detailing decades of clergy sex abuse in New Mexico has partially launched online through the University of New Mexico. Read through the detailed depositions of accused priests in their own words here: digitalrepository.unm.edu/cswr_asf_dep...

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham last week fired Daniel Werwath, her housing policy adviser, Source NM has learned.

Re: NM Governor race. From my reporting last summer: searchlightnm.org/racehorses-s...

Interestingly, getting rid of the people responsible for complying with public-records laws does not relieve the government of its obligation to comply with the laws.

Thrilled to be a finalist in the national @edwriters.bsky.social awards for investigative and public service journalism! Read what judges had to say about my coverage of the lavish spending at WNMU by former President Joseph Shepard and First Lady Valerie Plame:

👋Hello, everyone who’s joined me here in the last 24 hours or so! I’m an investigative journalist at the nonprofit newsroom @searchlightnm.bsky.social. If you’re in NM, you might know me as the reporter who broke the news of lavish spending at WNMU in Silver City. You can check out my work here:

“Andrew Cummins, the director of marketing and communications at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, said the center received six patients, and five of them were flown from the medical center to El Paso.”

LAS CRUCES: Join Searchlight investigative reporter @cosmicbowling.bsky.social at @nmsu.edu at 3 p.m. today for a discussion on proposed changes to New Mexico’s public records law This event is free and open to the public. Details below:

All of New Mexico is now in Drought or Abnormally Dry conditions for the first time since September 2023.

Hey, southern New Mexico! Come join me for a free discussion at @nmsu.edu’s Branson Library tomorrow from 3-4:30 p.m. We’ll discuss the state’s public records laws — and why they should matter to you Hope to see you there!

Meet Searchlight New Mexico's new Executive Director: Rick Herrman, a veteran businessman with a wide range of experience in finance, philanthropy and fundraising. Read all about Herrman and what he brings to Searchlight here:

Tune in! Starting in 20 minutes!

Tonight at 7 p.m.: Catch Searchlight reporter @cosmicbowling.bsky.social on New Mexico in Focus discussing his recent story on the Archdiocese of Santa Fe Tune in on TV at channel 5.1, or here on YouTube: m.youtube.com/@nminfocus/f...

I just published story on secretive NYPD unit led by Eric Adams buddies Things they've done: Purposely crashed into motorcyclist, killing him Punched unarmed driver in head then kicked him Shoved a man into a car window after he protested stop WE HAVE VIDEOS www.propublica.org/article/eric...

You may find yourself living next to a shotgun shack

DESERT DUB!

What the criminal conviction of a Las Cruces officer tells us about the broader state of police violence across New Mexico — and the nation.

“Police in NM killed civilians at a rate higher than other depts, but the raw statistics were even more telling. They showed that only 3 — NY, Houston & LA, 3 of the 5 largest cities in the US — actually killed more people than APD. This figure was not adjusted for population.”

NEW LAWSUIT: A Title IX investigator at Liberty University alleged his boss harassed his peers and “prejudged” cases. The investigator was fired: www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

Come work with me! @searchlightnm.bsky.social is seeking an Executive Director who can help our scrappy newsroom — now in its seventh year — grow into the future If you’re passionate about investigative journalism in the SW and want to regularly get an earful about the PHX Suns from me, apply here:

Come work with us! We're hiring an Executive Director who will help us carry out our mission and lead us to long-term sustainability by building back-office operations, expanding funding sources and growing our audience. If you believe in high-impact journalism, apply today. Details below:

Nuclear weapons and Los Alamos National Laboratory reporter Alicia Inez Guzmán is looking for information for a story she's reporting for The New York Times. Details in the link below — please help spread the word

Thanks to @ncronline.bsky.social for republishing our latest @searchlightnm.bsky.social story — Undercount: why the Catholic church won't list many New Mexico priests who've been linked to sexual abuse Read online here:

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe maintains a list of priests who were “credibly accused” of having sexually abused children in a decades-long crime pattern that dates back at least to the 1950s. @searchlightnm.bsky.social found that it’s shorter than it should be — by a total of 59 names.