MAN ON A LEDGE
Churchrock, Dec. 5
The evening started as a quiet time for Demetrio Begay, of Thoreau, Dec. 4, spending the afternoon drinking with his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend at the Deadhorse Speedway in Churchrock.
After drinking, the three decided to take a short walk to some cliffs nearby, he later said. Then about 5 pm, the other couple went one way and Begay went the other and it wasn’t long before he got stuck.
He found himself on a ledge about 20 feet off the ground and he tried climbing, but found the surface smooth and slippery. He could not get any traction wearing tennis shoes.
He said that was about 5 pm and he remained on the ledge all night. He began calling for help, but no one was around to hear him.
He said he didn’t sleep much that night because he was afraid he would roll off the cliff. Help came in the late morning when a woman driving by saw him. When she found out he was stuck on the ledge, she drove over to Deadhorse Speedway and found a sheriff’s deputy refueling his unit.
She pointed out where Begay was struck and the officer called for assistance from the emergency medical, fire and ambulance personnel who brought ropes and soon had Begay off the ledge.
AKA CATHY BROWN
Gallup, Oct. 31
A Gallup woman was arrested for abuse of a child after leaving her three children alone in her apartment and getting in trouble with police.
Gallup Patrolman Jerald Watchman said he was dispatched about 3:44 pm to the downtown walkway.
When he got there he said he was waved over by a woman, later identified as Hilary Nez, who then began walking away from him. He commanded her to stop and when he began talking to her, he noticed signs that she was intoxicated.
She had been sitting with a man in the walkway, but said she did not know the man’s name. Employees of the nearby district attorney’s office said they saw the woman fighting with skateboarders in the walkway.
The man on the bench said when he tried to keep Nez from harassing the skateboarders, she threw food in his face.
The woman gave her name as Cathy Brown. But a check with Metro Dispatch found no one with that name in the system.
Watchman said when he told her he was taking her to Gallup Detox, she became upset, saying that her children, including a six-month-old, were alone in her apartment. She said she ran out of the apartment after her wallet was stolen.
She became confused when he asked for her address, giving him two different addresses. He checked the first address and found no children, but when he checked out the second one, he found an apartment where he heard children crying.
He knocked on the door after calling out that he was a police officer. The oldest girl answered. A boy and an infant, who was crying, were inside. Watchman checked and found the children were safe. He also found the woman’s wallet. Which showed her name to be Hilary Nez, not Cathy Brown.
Nez, 27, was also found to have an outstanding warrant. Nez was taken to county jail and her children were turned over to a family member for safe keeping.
