Courts

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A 53-year-old Espanola woman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft.

Roberta Dunsworth was sentenced in Albuquerque last week. She will be on a year of supervised release after the prison term and must pay more than $26,000 in restitution to her former employer, Wells Fargo Bank in Espanola.

Dunsworth was charged last December with 14 counts, but entered a guilty plea to one count of aggravated identity theft under a plea agreement.

She acknowledged using the identity of a bank customer, without the customer's knowledge or authorization, to obtain credit and debit cards and to open bank accounts between October 2008 and March 2009.

For the first time in a decade, Los Alamos Municipal Court is publishing its bench warrant list. The list contains all the names of local residents who possess outstanding bench warrants in Municipal Court.

“We’re looking to close out these cases so we want people to voluntarily come in to the Municipal Court on the main level of the Justice Center and pay their citations, fees and fines,” said Court Administrator Lisa Zuhn during an interview Tuesday afternoon. “The majority of the warrants involve traffic violations in which the driver has failed to appear in court or failed to pay fines.”

The court is seeking 70 Los Alamos County residents and another 150 people who reside in the Española Valley, Zuhn said.

Former Los Alamos youth pastor Matthew Nichols, 62, was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison to be followed by registration as a sex offender and lifetime supervision, according to U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales. The sentence also includes a $10,000 fine.

Nichols was a youth minister at Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church when he was indicted on six charges last June. 

In an agreement with prosecutors, Nichols pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Appeals Court Judge Robert Eugene Robles has been arrested on aggravated drunken driving and reckless driving charges, police said.

Robles, 60, was pulled over around 1 a.m. Wednesday on an Albuquerque street, according to police spokesman Robert Gibbs.

He told The Associated Press late Wednesday night that Robles was held at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center and released on his own recognizance after 10-12 hours.