Serving the High Plains
On this date ...
1973: A Quay County jury of three men and nine women deliberated for five hours and convicted Tucumcari resident Jose “Henry” Quintana, 26, of second-degree murder.
Quintana was accused of fatally shooting Roberto Roybal, 30, of Tucumcari in the chest with a revolver on Feb. 10 at the La Chiquita Lounge on West Main Street in Tucumcari.
Quintana’s attorneys said he shot Roybal accidentally when he was struck in the back of the head with a pool cue during a brawl.
District Judge Stanley Frost was scheduled to sentence Quintana on April 27.
— Thirteen local men were sworn in as the newest members of the New Mexico Mounted Patrol Troop 21 after a dinner at the Samboy Restaurant in Tucumcari. Among the officers were 2nd Lt. Donald Knight, Sgt. David Goldston, 1st Sgt. Dan Rorabaugh, 1st Lt. Jerry Cozzen and Commanding Officer Arnold Olsen.
— The Tucumcari Rattlers baseball team improved to 8-0 after a doubleheader sweep of Robertson by scores of 4-1 and 4-0. Leslie Bell was the winning pitcher in the first game, and Bruce Wooldridge won the nightcap.
— The Odeon Theatre was advertising screenings of “Vanishing Point” and “Funny Girl,” with Friday the 13th late showings of “The Curse of Frankenstein” and “The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock.”