State Police investigating alleged inappropriate conduct involving Mountainair HS athletes
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Update, 3 p.m. Tuesday – Mountainair Public Schools Superintendent Dawn Apodaca provided the following statement to KOB 4:
“As you are already aware, MPS had allegations of misconduct made, which prompted the presence and an investigation by the NMSP. Games were cancelled due to us not knowing how long the process would take. However, due to the regulations set forth by Title IX our district games have been rescheduled. This is still a very active investigation and no further comments will be made at this time.”
MOUNTAINAIR, N.M. — There’s a concerning situation happening in Mountainair.
New Mexico State Police came to Mountainair High School Thursday, and the school district shut down all sporting events this week and next week.
NMSP confirmed they are investigating allegations of inappropriate conduct involving members of the Mountainair High School football and basketball teams.
Mentions of a state police presence were first reported Thursday when Mountainair Public Schools made this Facebook post:
Then three hours later, the school district made another Facebook post about a police presence:
This police presence concerned residents.
On Thursday, New Mexico State Police came to Mountainair High School, and the school district shut down all sporting events this week and next week.
“I had just seen that there was a bunch of state police officers by the high school up there,” said Joe Lajuenesse, a Mountainair resident. “That’s pretty much what everyone was saying was that something was going on between the two and state police were called to investigate so.”
The superintendent of Mountainair Public Schools, Dawn Apodaca, was not available to speak Friday since the school district operates on a four-day week schedule – no schools or school administrative offices were open.
There was also concern among residents about the state police presence and the absence of a local department’s existence.
Torrance County dispatch confirmed there are not any Mountainair police officers employed for the community — the town only operates off of county and state police help.
With the investigation going on, state police could not get into the specifics of the inappropriate conduct since it is an active case, but they stated they are working with the school administration and the family members of potential victims in this case.