Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 1

PA Uh If ALBUOU fERQUE J0URNA1 114th Year, No. 305 34 Pages in 4 Sections Tuesday Morning, November 1, 1994 Copyright 1994, Journal Publishing Co. FINAL. i i I Two Men Terrorize Taos Couple One Suspect on the Loose After Robbery of Michael's Kitchen I Cl' f. By Andrew Stiny Hostage victims Patricia Ninneman, left, and her husband, Michael, talk to State Police Agent Carlos Martinez in their ransacked home in Ranchos de Taos on Monday morning.

ANDREW STINY JOURNAL JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT driving away from the scene. A Michael's cashier, after hearing the commotion when the robbers entered the restaurant, called 911 before hiding under a desk near the safe while the robbery unfolded. Romero, who was hit with a shotgun MORE: See POLICE on PAGE A2 The robbers kidnapped the owner at his house, drove him to Michael's Kitchen and forced him to open the restaurant's safe. The robbers then fled with what the owner described as a "pretty good chunk of money." James Romero, 44, was captured in a cemetery near where the robbery and shootout occurred. The other suspect also fled on foot after a brief attempt at TAOS Police are seeking one of two masked and armed robbers who took a well-known Taos restaurant owner and his wife hostage Sunday night and fled after a shootout with police.

gunman tate inloiie Gun Att i i Faces 4 Felony Charges Suspect Must Take Psychiatric Exam stuns Iramiiy Youngest Son 'Very PoHte' By Rex Graham JOURNAL STAFF WRITER z-. .1 I I fa sSf (- I it I If Vk I m- -'V if I 11 i 1 The youngest of six Albuquerque brothers, Francisco Martin Duran was born intq a "regular" Barelas family and was not interested in politics, friends and relatives said Monday. As a teen-ager, he rode his bicycle to Los Padillas Community Center where he was a maintenance worker. His mother, Celia By Larry Margasak THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON The man accused of firing a semiautomatic rifle at the White House was charged with four felonies and ordered to undergo a psychiatric exam Monday. Prosecutors said a letter taken from his truck "raises questions whether he is competent." U.S.

Magistrate Deborah Robinson refused to release the handwritten letter, which was taken from Francisco Martin Duran's pickup. She ordered him returned to court Wednesday, after the exam, for a competency hearing. U.S. Attorney Eric H. Holder Jr.

said authorities had recovered two letters the one in the truck and another Duran was carrying when he was seized outside the White House. Also found in the truck, according to prosecutors, was a shotgun, an arsenal of ammunition, a gun magazine, a machete, sleeping bags and a stuffed animal. Officials have previously indicated the letter in the truck was an explanation of how Duran's possessions were to be distributed to his wife and son in event of his death. In his first court appearance, Duran, 26, stood and stated his name, raised his right hand and swore to tell MORE: See SUSPECT on PAGE A2 Duran, filled her home with religious icons and didn't allow firearms. Duran, 26, who was charged Monday with firing a semiautomatic Safety Factor White House security under review A2 Francisco Martin Duran, his wife, Ingrid, and 5-year-old son, Alex, in a 1993 photo.

"Awful," she said. "And sad. I would never think he would do He was very polite with everybody." She pointed to her son's high school graduation photo on the living room wall. Next to it hung a family photograph of Francisco; his wife, Ingrid, and their 5-year-old son, Alex. The family lives in Security, Colo.

The mother visited her son in June for three weeks. "He seemed very happy," she said. "He didn't seem disturbed. He took me to the museum, city park, yard sales She said she called Francisco on his birthday, Sept. 8, and sang him Happy Birthday on the telephone.

"He said, 'Mom, I'm not a baby anymore. Don't sing to and he started laughing," she said. On Monday, she burned a single reli- MORE: See ALLEGATIONS on PAGE A2 rifle at the White House, has stunned his family. "It was a big ol' shock for me," said his brother, Ralph Garcia, during an interview at his mother's Downtown apartment. "I thought O.J.

(Simpson) had the media (attention), now my brother has the It's a shock for me to see his picture in the news." Celia Duran wiped away tears when asked how she felt about Saturday's shooting incident at the White House. ADOLPHE PIERRE-LOUISJOURNAL Celia Duran wipes away a tear while talking about her son, Francisco Martin Duran, who Is charged with firing a semiautomatic rifle at the White House. Commuter Plane Crashes In Indiana, Killing All 68 Duke City Gets Gore on Halloween By Eric Fidler THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VP Here To Scare Up Support for Democrats By Nancy Tipton The plane went down 30 miles south of Gary in northwest Indiana around 4 p.m., about 45 minutes after it had been scheduled to land. It wasn't known if it left Indianapolis on time. "It came down, almost straight down, not at an angle just straight down," said Larry Midkiff, who saw the crash as he was driving along the highway.

Gov. Evan Bayh ordered state police to search the area throughout the night. Earlier, authorities said the search was being halted until today because of heavy rain and MORE: See PLANE on PAGE A2 JOURNAL STAFF WRITER on the platform set up for the press, "I just love him." Many came in costumes ranging from bees to coneheads and the more traditional witches and fairies. Security was extremely tight ROSELAWN, Ind. An American Eagle commuter plane crashed Monday in a field during a driving rainstorm, killing all 68 people aboard.

Flight 4184 from Indianapolis to Chicago Bad been circling in a holding pattern before it began its descent and disappeared from the radar, said Tim Smith, a spokesman for American Eagle. It was not immediately clear how long the plane had been waiting to land. Protected by Secret Service agents and weapons-sniffing dogs, Vice President Al Gore urged Democrats on Civic Plaza on Mon NBMICO 0 TUESDAY day to "just say no to the obstructionist Republicans" on Nov. 8. The noontime rally in Albuquerque for the state's Democratic candidates including Sen.

Jeff Bingaman, Rep. Bill Richardson, and Gov. Bruce King drew about 700 enthusiastic supporters many of during the hours preceding and during the rally. Secret Service agents, some with dogs, roamed through the area, the dogs sniffing at bags and purses. A spokesman for Bingaman's campaign said more agents than usual accompanied the vice president, possibly because of the Weather Good Morning Al Gore used his stump speech to bloody i Republicans and keep his Halloween audience in stitches.

Mostly sunny with light winds. High 70, low 41. C11 ELECI10NS them bused from area schools. The party faithful also came, cameras in hand, hoping to get a photograph of or shake the hand of the vice president. weekend shooting at the White House.

Gore made reference to the shooting in his speech, noting that DEAN HANSONJOURNAL Vice President Al Gore shakes hands with toothless fairy Meredith Edwards at Albuquerque's Civic Plaza on Monday. "I came to see Al Gore," said one elderly woman who found a seat MORE: See GORE on PAGE A4 BRIDGE B2 DEATHS C11 SPORTS D1-5 BUSINESS D6 EDITORIALS A6-7 STOCKS D7 CLASSIFIED C4-10 HAPPENINGS CIO TRENDS B1 COMICS C12 HOROSCOPE B2 JV B4 CROSSWORD B2 METROPOLITAN C1 SPORTSLINE 821-1800 DAILY RECORD 10 MOVIES "B3 WEATHERLINE 821-1111 DEAR ABBY B2 NEW MEXICO C3 SF WEATHERLINE 988-5151 jL-" '1.