Police Search for Suspect after SWAT Situation in NE Albuquerque

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Albuquerque authorities are searching for a suspect who attempted to rob a restaurant in northwest Albuquerque Wednesday morning, KOAT-TV reports.

Little Anitas located at 2419 Mountain Road was surrounded by a SWAT team after reports surfaced that an armed man was inside. The suspect allegedly walked into the restaurant and demanded cash from the register, according to a witness account.

The intersection of Rio Grande and Mountain was temporarily closed during the incident and was reopened around 12 p.m. after police confirmed the suspect was no longer in the building.

The gunman is described as Native American.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Woman Arrested at ABQ Airport for Smuggling Marijuana

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A 20-year-old woman who was arrested Monday for smuggling marijuana appeared in court on Tuesday.

Officials say Miesha Bell boarded a flight in Tucson where she checked two bags. After a drug-sniffing dog discovered the drugs in her luggage, TSA officials kept one bag while the other was loaded onto Bell's flight to Dallas. Bell stopped at Albuquerque International for a connecting flight, where she asked airline officials if her luggage had arrived. Officials identified and arrested Bell after she inquired about the bags.

Officials say Bell admitted to carrying the more than 33 pounds of marijuana in both bags and said she was going to be paid $850 for transporting the drugs to Dallas. Bell also told police that she had transported drugs in a similar manner before.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

AGO Warns Parents of "Pedobear" Stalking Children Online

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Officials are cautioning parents to remain aware of an Internet cartoon image called the "pedobear" that could be used by sexual predators to lure children.

The New Mexico Attorney General's Office says the pedobear was used as a means of mocking pedophiles on the Internet, but has since been embraced by predators who may use the image as a means of luring children.

AGO official Lynn Southard tells ABC News affiliate KOAT-TV there are reports the image has been seen on vehicles in the Albuquerque and southern New Mexico area.

"It's very scary, it's a very scary situation that's been brought to our attention that these vehicles are circulating around New Mexico," Southard said.

Southard says some images brought to the attention of authorities show the pedobear snatching a little girl, dangling a carrot over two children, and joking about not using condoms.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

More NM Children Unvaccinated

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- More New Mexico children are going without vaccines, ABC News Albuquerque affiliate KOAT-TV reports.

According to newly released data from New Mexico’s Department of Health, there’s been a 300-percent increase in the number of New Mexican parents who opted out of vaccinating their children over the past 15 years.

The percentage is as high as 50 percent among some New Mexico schools for the number of parents who decline vaccinations for their children.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

'Shop and Stroll' to Disrupt Some Bus Service

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- The 17th annual Shop and Stroll event in Nob Hill will see a disruption in service for some bus riders.

ABQ Ride has announced that several bus lines which provide service along Central Avenue in Nob Hill will not be operating between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday. The affected routes include: #16/18, #66, #766 and #777. Officials say the affected buses will not provide service between Girard and Washington boulevards.

The Shop and Stroll event runs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and will see Central Avenue being blocked off to traffic for shopping and entertainment.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Suspect Accidentally Dials 911 During Robbery

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- An Albuquerque woman is facing multiple charges after authorities traced an accidental 911 call to her.

ABC News affiliate KOAT-TV reports Jerrica Sander is charged with robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy after a four-month-long investigation determined she accidentally dialed 911 from the same room a victim was robbed in.

Police say Sander lured the male victim back to his motel room for drinks after meeting him in a bar in July. According to police, Sander and a group of friends then beat and robbed the man before driving him to the highway to drop him off.

Authorities say they were able to trace Sander's phone from a 911 call she accidentally made while inside the victim's room.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Driver Who Killed Toddler to Be Sentenced

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A driver charged with hitting and killing a toddler in 2010 appeared in court Monday to retrieve his sentence, ABC News Albuquerque affiliate KOAT-TV reports.

Ramon Rascon, who was high on methamphetamine at the time of the incident that killed 17-month-old Brandon Lucero, could face up to 13 years in prison.

Rascon was found guilty on homicide by vehicle DWI in an October trial.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Study: Albuquerque Lost More Than 500 Businesses to Recession

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A report released Monday states that the recession in the U.S. officially began in December 2007, and has resulted in the loss of more than 500 Albuquerque businesses.

Based on analysis done by The Business Journal's "On Numbers," New Mexico's most populous city had 19,579 private-sector businesses in 2008, however, after the recession ramped up, that number was down to 19,077 in 2009.

Albuquerque wasn't alone in the losing business states the findings of the analysis, which were published in the New Mexico Business Weekly. A total of 870 metropolitan and micropolitan areas also had fewer businesses on record in 2009 than in 2008. Sixty-one metropolitan and micropolitan areas saw an increases in businesses over the period, according to the report.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Mayor Announces Free Parking During Holiday Season

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- Shoppers will be treated to free parking at select locations in Albuquerque during the holiday season, Mayor Richard Berry announced Tuesday.

“By offering free parking, we’re encouraging people to think about doing their holiday shopping at locally owned businesses in Old Town, Downtown and Nob Hill.,” Berry said in a statement. “This is just another example of how the city can provide potential economic development to our business dense areas.”

Berry says the free parking, which begins Friday and runs through Dec. 26, will be at a lot on Rio Grande and Central in Old Town, Central and Gold Avenues between 1st and 7th Street in the city's downtown, and on Central Avenue and Carlisle in Nob Hill.

Officials said the free parking space will be available for a period of up to two hours.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

103-Year-Old House Near UNM Demolished

(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) -- A 103-year-old house near the University of New Mexico is being torn down, according to ABC affiliate KOAT-TV.

The Werner Gilchrist house, located in University Heights, is finally being destroyed, even after a longstanding preservation effort.

The dilapidated residence was placed on historical registries, but the repairs were so overwhelming, the city was forced to order its demolition. Sun Valley Building Enterprises will destroy the structure.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio