Mike Smith

Artesia Daily Press

msmith@currentargus.com

Long before Alexis Archunde opened her new clothing and jewelry store in Artesia, “affordable” was a key word in her approach to business.

“I wanted everyone to be able to afford my shop,” said Archunde, 35, whose Limitless Unique Boutique opened March 25 at 315 W. Washington Ave. “I’m a frugal mom.”

The store is new but Archunde’s appreciation for affordability dates back at least to 2020 when she was selling online for a company called Paparazzi Accessories, and a single mom thanked her for selling $5 jewelry.

“She said, ‘Thank you for offering something affordable,’ Alexis recalled. “I remember crying. There is a need for affordability.”

A 2007 graduate of Artesia High School, Alexis attended New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs but moved on without earning a degree.

She returned to Artesia, where she and future husband Christopher had their first child in 2013.

“We agreed I would be a stay-at-home mom,” she said. “Sitting still and not working was an adjustment.”

Later, in search of extra income, Alexis undertook a multi-level marketing venture selling jewelry and scented wax bars and warmers. After that, she signed on with Paparazzi Accessories.

“I loved it, it was fun,” Archunde said.

Her encounter with a single mom who appreciated affordable jewelry prompted Archunde to create an online boutique featuring clothing and jewelry, which in turn planted the seed for a brick-and-mortar store.

“I started small with my group. It grew to 1,700 members. I remember when I had 60,” she said. “I got community support from Artesia. Artesia is one of the best places to have a small business.”

In November 2024 she found what she decided was the perfect location for her store when she drove past an office park that had a vacant corner suite.

“I envisioned my shop here,” she said. “It needed a lot of cosmetic work.”

She drove to the Sherwin-Williams store, bought a can of paint, and Limitless Unique Boutique was on its way.

“It took me about four months to renovate and I was doing it myself,” Archunde said.

Besides painting, she pulled up the old carpet and added new patio rugs.

“What it looks like today is what I envisioned. If you have a dream, you can accomplish it with hard work,” Archunde said.

She said the shop offers merchandise ranging in price from $2 to $25, including clothing, jewelry, and custom-made hats that are made right in the store.

“You can design your own hat and walk out with it,” Archunde said.

Limitless Unique Boutique is open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The store is closed Wednesdays for family time, Archunde said.

“Saturdays are on a ‘when available’ schedule right now because of summer,” she said. “But I post in my (Limitless Unique Boutique) group on Facebook a heads-up when I’m there. When I am, it’s 9 a.m. to noon.”

Husband Christopher, who works as branch manager for Q2 Artificial Lift Services in Carlsbad, provided support as she accomplished her dream, Alexis said.

The couple has two children, 11-year-old Zayden and 4-year-old Luka.

Luke Burns, spokesman for the city of Artesia, said Archunde’s store is a welcome addition to the city’s retail scene, reflecting a “can-do” business culture.

“It’s exciting to see people turn their passion into a small business and to see how it adds to our community in the process,” Burns said.

Mike Smith can be followed on X @mikesmithartesianm.

Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
achedden@currentargus.com

Sentenced to life in prison

Acadio Lucero gazed stoically toward the 12 jurors who found him guilty of first-degree murder on Friday, June 6, for shooting a man during a 2023 argument outside the Artesia Police Department.

Minutes later, he was sentenced to life in prison – the mandatory sentence for the charge under New Mexico law. Lucero will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

The verdict followed a four-day trial held at Fifth Judicial District Court in Carlsbad.

Lucero, 24, was accused of shooting Mark Rommel, 42, on Oct. 12, 2023 in the parking lot of the Artesia Public Safety Complex, which houses the city police and fire departments. The facility also serves as a location for “custody exchanges” when estranged couples pick up their children from one another.

Such an exchange brought Lucero and Rommel, along with Jahnika Guajardo, the mother of Rommel’s infant child who Lucero was dating, to the parking lot where the shooting took place.

Police said Lucero retrieved a handgun from his truck, firing at Rommel 12 times and hitting him three times including a fatal shot to the head.

Rommel’s mother Linda Dobbins read a statement to Lucero ahead of sentencing, describing the “ripple effect” her son’s death had on her family. She said she was at the scene of the shooting, and watched her son die.

Dobbins was called to testify in the trial and contended Rommel made no physical threat to Lucero to justify the shooting.

“He wanted nothing more than to live a good life. It was a dream that was stolen when Acadio took his life,” Dobbins said. “I witnessed my son’s murder. I don’t sleep, and when I do I have nightmares.”

Rommel’s younger brother James Dobbins also gave a statement before Lucero was sentenced, calling Lucero a “coward” and “evil.”

“You took away my brother that day,” James Dobbins said. “I know what it was like to be around my brother. I know he was scary. But you chose to gun him down instead of fighting him.”

Before issuing the sentence, Finger said the incident that claimed Rommel’s life was “very unfortunate” and “should not have happened.”

A ‘show of force’

During closing arguments ahead of the jury’s two-hour deliberation, prosecutor Ariane Gonzales recapped the events leading to Rommel’s death, describing how the two men met in the parking lot, and how they moved through the area during the argument and shooting.

She said the conflict began at a nearby medical center where Rommel brought the child, who was suffering from COVID-19 symptoms. Gonzales said Lucero was not present at the medical center but was called by Guajardo, who was with Rommel at the center at some point during an argument that arose between the parents.

Gonzales said Lucero gathered his firearm and ammunition and drove first to the medical center and then to the public safety complex after a police officer recommended the arguing parties meet there for a “safe drop-off” of the child.

These acts by the defendant, Gonzales said, were proof of Lucero’s intent to kill Rommel.

“By the defendant’s own words, they were there as a ‘show of force,’” Gonzales said. “You get the idea of the tone the defendant wanted to create at this custody exchange.”

The prosecutor continued to narrate how Lucero allegedly shot and killed an unarmed Rommel and was witnessed in the act by Artesia police Sgt. Christopher Gallegos, who shot and injured Lucero during the incident. She said that while curse words were exchanged between the two men, the altercation did not get physical until Lucero opened fire.

“There are no actions that were seen by anyone that was there, or any evidence that was presented, that there was a gun on Mark Rommel or a knife. He (Lucero) never saw a weapon,” Gonzales said.

Defense attorney Raymond Conley countered that Lucero’s police interviews were consistent in that his client’s version of events indicated Rommel was threatening Lucero with physical violence, justifying the shooting.

Conley questioned the detectives’ tactics throughout the investigation as they told Lucero during interrogation that police had video evidence and multiple witnesses indicating the incident conflicted with the defendant’s statements.

No such evidence was presented at trial, argued Conley, who said police repeatedly lied to his client during the investigation. Conley said Lucero maintained that Rommel was much closer than the prosecution presented, physically threatening the defendant.

The defense attorney also questioned Sgt. Gallegos’ testimony that Lucero and Rommel were 20 feet apart when Lucero started shooting. Conley said that while Gallegos’ training as a police officer kicked in, adrenaline may have clouded the officer’s judgment as to the distance between the men.

“The issue is distance and position,” Conley said. “It’s reasonable to ask if Gallegos was as focused as he thought he was or saw what he thought he saw. What he (Lucero) is saying is the truth.”

Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

Denise Marquez
Hobbs News-Sun

During the eighth annual EnergyPlex Conference, attendees got the lowdown on the impact of the oil and gas industry throughout New Mexico and the efforts the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association puts in on educating state residents who are not too fond of the oil patch business.

Missi Currier, NMOGA chief executive officer and president, spoke Tuesday during the annual conference at the Lea County Event Center in Hobbs. Currier shared how NMOGA staff work throughout the state to “champion and push forward the oil and gas industry.”

“Even if you don’t work for oil and gas, even if oil and gas doesn’t pay you. it does fund our schools, it does fund our roads,” she said. “It’s in some of the makeup that some of the ladies are wearing, it’s in the car that you drive, it’s in the cell phone you carry.

“Because of oil and gas, we are very fortunate to live in the world that we do. That is the work that NMOGA does — to help every New Mexican understand how oil and gas benefits their everyday life.”

NMOGA focuses on three main objectives to promote the oil and gas industry throughout the state: regulatory work, legislative advocacy and education efforts, Currier told the audience. She explained NMOGA partners with oil and gas industry leaders and local economic and business entities to share information on the oil and gas business, including how New Mexico produces out of two basins — the San Juan Basin and Permian Basin — and how the state is in the forefront of oil production, bringing in more than $13.26 billion to New Mexico in 2024.

“Texas is the number one oil producer, we are number two,” Currier said. “The only reason that we are a little bit behind Texas is because Texas just has more basins than we do. Texas and New Mexico really drive the entire country forward and I think that is something we should all be incredibly proud of.”

Currier said the $13.26 billion supports almost 49 percent of the state’s budget. Those oil and gas industry dollars are used to fund New Mexico’s roads, healthcare and education, to name a few.

“$7.4 billion goes to our general fund that funds all kinds of things … that improve quality of life throughout New Mexico,” Currier said. “(The oil and gas industry) also drives over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs. We provide billions for education and we also provide for long-term investment for the state.”

Though Currier stated, “that billion stands for ‘boy, is that a lot of money,” she said New Mexico should be a powerhouse within the U.S. and not an economic development tool for other states and countries.

“That $13.26 billion … that is something that we can be very proud of but that is also something a little concerning because New Mexico is unfortunately, a one-trick pony when it comes to the industries that drive our states (in the United States) forward,” Currier said. “We, of course, don’t want to reduce production; if anything, we want to grow it in responsible and sustainable ways. But we also want to ensure that New Mexico can continue to diversify, to build our budget much like, for example, Texas has, Colorado has and California has. Unfortunately, we as New Mexico are one of the best economic development tools for every other state in the country and every other country in the world.”

Currier said of that more than $13 billion, approximately $781 million came back to Lea County last year.

“Is that enough? Of course not, but there is money that comes back to the county to ensure that Corey Needham (Lea County manager) and his team, as well as the city’s leadership can continue to make the places where they live even better for all of you,” she said.

Currier explained many other New Mexico counties benefit from the oil and gas industry. She said Taos County received $89 million and Bernalillo benefited with more than $2.3 billion from the oil and gas industry this past year.

“Taos isn’t really a fan of oil and gas,” she said. “Maybe not everybody that lives there but for the most part they’re like, ‘oil and gas is not for us.’ These numbers show that oil and gas is for you and oil and gas supports the way you move forward. The next region that is sometimes having mixed feelings about (oil and gas) is Bernalillo County. Bernalillo County absolutely benefits from oil and gas.”

Currier also shared the struggles the oil and gas industry experiences in the legislative and regulatory process. She said the state makes it difficult for the industry to thrive and prosper.

“There is often not a ton of love in our current legislative and regulatory process for oil and gas,” she said. “There’s a ton of regulations they have to cut through, there’s a ton of bureaucracy, there’s a ton of waiting, there’s understaffing of agencies, there’s agency folks that don’t like the industry and there’s a laundry-list of things that don’t allow New Mexico industry or New Mexico business to move forward.”

Denise Marquez’s email is reporter@hobbsnews.com.

Mike Smith
Artesia Daily Press
msmith@currentargus.com

An accountant by trade, Artesia resident Rachael Joy found a hobby four years ago that could be a full-time vocation someday.

Joy and her family live on a farm northwest of Artesia where alfalfa is grown and goats roam the fields, producing milk used to create handmade soaps and other body care products.

“I wanted my own little herd,” Joy said during a recent interview at the family farm.

Founded in 2021, her DSB Soap Company operates out of the family household. Joy said 50 goats provide the milk and she does the rest.

The process starts with mixing containers and a lye pot.

“I freeze the goat milk and add lye to the frozen milk,” she said.

Joy has another pot used for melting oils, which are mixed with the lye. Next comes a process called saponification, which involves using a hand mixer to blend the ingredients.

According to the website goatmilkstuff.com, saponification produces a balanced bar that contains both soap and glycerin.

“When the soap is handmade through the cold process method, the glycerin is in balance with the soap,” says the website.

Joy said she uses a cold process to make all DSB soaps. She uses clay and mica, a substance found in granite and other rocks, to add color to the mixture.

“I pour the batter into molds, and it sits for 24 to 48 hours,” she said. “Then I cut it into loaves.”

She said three loaves can be cut in a large mold and two loaves can be cut into a small mold.

“Once it’s cut I put it on a wire rack and it cures for four weeks,” she said. “After four weeks, I shrink-wrap it and put it in the mail.”

Soap orders are taken online, Joy said, and she also sells soap at trade shows in southeast New Mexico.

Joy and her family raise Nigerian Dwarf goats registered by the American Dairy Goat Association, she said. The herd’s name is Desert Sky Bliss.

“Since we started making soap, we shortened it to DSB. We had a lot of milk,” she said.

Joy said she learned to make soap from her late mother, Lori White.

Born in Bremerton, Washington, Joy met her husband Jagan, an Artesia native, while he was in the military. They moved to Artesia from Washington in 2007. Her mom moved to Artesia in 2015.

“We made all the soap in my mom’s house,” Joy said. “My husband had to enclose the garage – we had to make a place for all of my soap.”

The goats are milked twice a day and the best time for milking is in late fall and early winter, she said.

“In December, January and February goats are birthing. To have a baby, a goat has to have live milk,” she said.

She said her husband and daughters Jaylee and Jeslyn help with the soapmaking and shipping.

The amount of time Rachael devotes to making her wares varies based on demand, she said.

“When I have a lot of events coming up, like during the holidays, I make a batch of soap every day. Plus maybe 50 candles a week …. it’s kind of seasonal right now.”

And what about turning her hobby into a full-time pursuit?

Maybe, she said, and she might start by growing her presence online.

“I’ve got to expand my market, and I do have a website,” she said. “Most of my soap is on there and I do have lotions on my website.”

Joys’ web address is dsbsoapco.com.

Follow Mike Smith on X @mikesmithartesianm.