From the Pecos Valley Newsroom

A traffic alert for you in Roswell… Waterline work will take place on South Main Street adjacent to South Park Cemetery beginning Thursday, Oct. 1, and continuing until Nov. 2. The work will require the closure of the outside lane of northbound traffic. In addition, the west gate of the cemetery (the regular entrance and exit) will be closed and access shifted to the east gate on Southeast Main Street.

The Roswell Police Department has recently received reports of scam calls being made to Roswell residents from callers claiming to be an RPD officer or other law enforcement officer and saying the person receiving the call failed to show up for a court appearance and a warrant has been or may be issued against that person. The caller will likely present some sort of requirement in which the person must pay a certain amount — calling it a bond fee or something else — to avoid being arrested. This is a scam. Do not give personal information to such a caller and do not give or send money in any form. The caller may represent himself using the real name of a local officer and may use software to alter the originating phone number so it appears the call is coming from a local law enforcement agency. However, law enforcement agencies do not make phone calls of these types.

The Roswell Police Department is investigating a shooting homicide and two other shootings that occurred late Friday night and early Saturday morning. The three incidents, which occurred in southwest Roswell, have been determined to be unrelated. About 11:45 p.m. Friday, multiple shots were fired at the intersection of West McGaffey Street and Rancho Road. Investigators determined occupants in two vehicles had a verbal confrontation with three people who had come out of a house. That confrontation occurred a short distance from the intersection before the subjects in the vehicles drove away. One of the males from the house chased after the vehicles and shots were exchanged at the intersection.

The male driver, age 18, of one of the vehicles was struck by a shot in the elbow and was later transported to a hospital for treatment. It is believed this driver did not fire any shots, but that the driver of the other vehicle did. That second driver, a male, as well as the male who chased the vehicles on foot and fired at them, remain at large.

Minutes after that call came in to police, officers were called to the Raintree Apartments at West McGaffey Street and Sunset Avenue. During a gathering of numerous people in an apartment, a gun was fired, striking Brandon Patterson, 25, in the chest. He was transported to a hospital and pronounced deceased. Police have located and detained the alleged shooter as the investigation continues.

At around 5 a.m. Saturday, RPD responded to the 1000 block of West Summit Street where a 24-year-old man had been shot in the leg following a verbal confrontation with another man outside in front of a house. The victim was transported to a hospital with a non-life-threatening injury. Investigators are currently working to identify a suspect.

Anyone with information about any of these shootings is asked to call the Roswell Police Department at (575) 624-6770.

The City of Roswell Utility Office (415 North Richardson Ave.) will be closed Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 21-22, so staff can attend training in connection with a new computer system. While the office will not be available for in-person water-bill payments those two days, water customers always have other payment options of online payment (onlineservices.roswell-nm.gov/Click2GovCX/index.html), using the drop box across the street from the office or mailing a payment. The City of Roswell and its Utility Office thank the public for its cooperation and patience.

A portion of West Martin Street at the Roswell Air Center will be closed temporarily on two occasions this week as a construction crew raises and connects the parts of a new water tower at Earl Cummings Loop and West Martin Street. The closures will occur between Earl Cummings Loop and the west entrance to the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell dormitory. The first closure will begin this morning, as the crew raises a large steel tube to the top of the tower using a large crane. Once the tube is secured in place, the street will be reopened. The same portion of street will be closed again either Thursday, Sept. 17, or Friday, Sept. 18, while the construction crew hoists a steel tank to the top of the tower. The street will be reopened as soon as possible once the tank is secured in place.

Local residents will have the opportunity to grow their knowledge about gardening when the City of Roswell’s Keep Roswell Beautiful program hosts an online Gardening Workshop this Monday, Sept. 21. The workshop will be shown live at 5:30 p.m. on the Keep Roswell Beautiful Facebook page (@keeproswellbeautiful). People will be able to return to the page after the original livestream to view the workshop again or for the first time. The workshop will be led by Tanner Thompson, Chaves County Agriculture Extension Agent from New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service.

And the city of Roswell is also continuing its series of virtual public forums. The next one will focus on the ROswell Air Center and local economic development efforts. The forum is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 17, at 5:30 p.m. It will be broadcast on the online service GoToMeeting. People are asked to submit questions and discussion priorities before Thursday. You can find a link to do that on the city’s website and Facebook page. City Manager Joe Neeb will host the forum and answer questions from the public.

Next week, the New Mexico Tourism Departm,ent, al;ongside the state hospitality association, will host six virtual town hall meetings to provide members of the tourism industry throughout New Mexico with the opportunity to elevate pressing questions and concerns with NMTD leadership. The regional town halls are open to anyone. The Southeast Region meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 21st at 11am. You can find a link to register on the city of Roswell website.

A traffic alert for you in Roswell beginning next week. As part of an ongoing project to replace large-diameter water-line valves in various parts of the city, work is scheduled to begin Monday, Sept. 14, on West Eighth Street near the parking lot of the Nancy Lopez Golf Course at Spring River. The work in that area is expected to be completed by Sept. 24. West Eighth Street will be closed to through traffic between Union and Sycamore avenues, but local residential traffic will be able to access the area and all streets. Access to the golf course parking lot will also remain open throughout the project.

A second person who was shot in Roswell Tuesday has now died. RPD originally said one person was killed and another was seriously injured in the shooting in the 500 block of SOuth Kansas Avenue. According to an updated statement on the Roswell Poclie Facebook page, the second victim, Mark Montoya, died early Thursday morning. Previously, police had said that Crystal Aguilar was found dead in the back yard of the home. Meanwhile, an alert still remain out for a possible person of interest. That person is 29 year-old Ignacio Juan Gamez.