Aryan Brotherhood Member Solicits Murder

An alleged member of the local Aryan Brotherhood Thomas Hill pleaded guilty today to soliciting the murder of a family member imprisoned for a sex offense against a child.

As a part of a larger investigation into the Aryan Brotherhood, FBI agents learned in 2006 that 24-year-old Thomas Hill was seeking someone inside the brotherhood's New Mexico prison membership to murder Stanley Hill because the younger Hill believed he had allegedly sexually abused a minor family child. Stanley Hill pleaded guilty to Criminal Sexual Contact of a Minor Under 12 in 2004 and is currently in prison in New Mexico.

The FBI referred the case to the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque in 2007 and Thomas Hill was indicted. After a series of court hearings, Hill appeared before District Judge Stan Whitaker this morning and entered a plea of guilty to one count of solicitation of murder. Hill faces up to nine years of incarceration in this case. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

This morning, Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg commended the agents and prosecutors involved in this long and complicated case. The cooperation between the FBI and District Attorney’s Office demonstrates the continuing cooperative efforts by all agencies involved in law enforcement to bring offenders in the community to justice.

State Road Is Renamed after Slain Sheriff's Deputy!

A Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty is getting a new tribute.

Today, at a meeting in Santa Rosa, The NM Transportation Commission agreed to name State Road 337, in Tijreas , the James McGrane Highway.

Deputy McGrane was shot and killed while making a traffic stop there at the end of his watch on March 22, 2006.

McGrane's accused killer Michael Paul Astoraga is awaiting trial and is currently housed at the NM State Prison in Santa Fe on parole violations. Astoraga is also accused in two other earlier murders. He was arrested in Mexico City and extradited to New Mexico in April 2006 after his mug shot appeared on America's Most Wanted.

McGrane had served with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department for 3 years. He also worked in law enforcement for the NM State Police and the United State Postal Inspection Service.

The renaming process began a few years ago by residents in the East Mountains.

County Commissioner Michael Brasher and Sheriff Darren White backed the idea, but the process was delayed because road name change rules were being changed by the NM Transportation Commission.

"This is a fitting tribute to a dedicated law enforcement officer," said White. "It is recognition of the way McGrane lived his life, not by the way it was taken."

White says he doesn't have an exact date for the ribbon cutting ceremony, but said, "It won't be long. We've already been in touch with the Governor's office."

The Officer's Down Memorial Page has more information on McGrane.

The ABQJournal has more on the story, including how the 38-year old's family is celebrating the decision.