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Weekly Police Activity Reports

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CONSTRUCTION LARCENY

Churchrock, Dec. 24

When security guard Cody Manygoats arrived at his worksite on Pipeline Road about 4:30 pm, he realized a number of cardboard boxes containing numerous plastic pipes and industrial sandbags were empty. He spoke with one of his coworkers who said nothing had been taken when he was on watch, so the items had gone missing between their shifts.

Manygoats called the incident into McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Savannah Williams met with Manygoats about the incident. He estimated about 20 sandbags had been taken along with the plastic pipes.

There are no suspects.

 

STORE VANDALISM

Ya-ta-hey, Dec. 23

McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Franklin Begaye was dispatched to the Family Dollar at 24 Hwy. 264 in Ya-ta-hey in reference to property damage.

Store Manager Charlotte Etsitty said she arrived about 6:55 am and noticed one of the front windows of the building was broken and there was glass debris on the ground. There was no one inside the store, and the back receiving door of the building was left open. A large rock was also found on the ground north of the broken window.

When Etsitty reviewed the security footage, she saw two men with covered faces enter the store through the broken window. They were inside for about two minutes. The men were in the southeast corner of the store, putting a number of unknown objects inside a bag.

Etsitty said two speakers were taken, valued at a total of $60, along with other unknown items.

There are no suspects.

 

SHED BREAK-IN

Gallup, Nov. 18

Gallup Police are looking for a thief who broke into a storage shed on the 3200 block of Historic Highway 66 sometime around Nov. 18.

The break-in was reported by Deepak Mehta who said he discovered the break-in when he tried to open the padlock on the shed and found it has been replaced. Once the padlock was cut off, he discovered that four gallons of paint had been taken from the shed.

Security tapes revealed that a white SUV had driven up to the shed about 10:22 pm. the day before. The passenger was seen leaving the SUV and removing the padlock. The video did not show a clear image of either the vehicle or the passenger.

 

BATTERY AGAINST POLICE OFFICER

Gallup, Nov. 11

A Gallup man was arrested for battery on a peace officer after he tried to intervene in the arrest of another man.

Gallup Police Officer Jerald Watchman said he was dispatched to the Hacienda Motel, 2510 East Highway 66 in connection with a possible burglary. He said he was interviewing a man when he saw Jose Ramone Martinez, 22, running in his direction with a clenched fist as if he was going to help the suspect run away.

Watchman said he ordered Martinez to stop yelling. He also backed away. But as he was putting the suspect inside his unit, he saw Martinez throw a rock at him, almost hitting his leg.

Another officer at the scene arrested Martinez, who was discovered to have a warrant out for his arrest. Later, after turning over the other man to another officer to transport to jail, Watchman picked up Martinez to transport to jail.

As he was being transferred from one police unit to Watchman’s unit, Martinez reportedly became aggressive to the point where police had to put a spit mask over his face. As they were doing this, Watchman said Martinez tried to bite him.

 

CREDIT CARD STOLEN

Gallup, Nov. 11

On Nov. 11, Shelby Begay was at the Red Rock 10 Theater when she got a text in her phone saying her credit card had been used to purchase gas.

She went outside and discovered that her purse, which was in her car, had been stolen. There was no sign of damage to her vehicle. She told police she was not sure if she had locked the vehicle.

She immediately called to cancel the credit card. She found it had also been used at a local fast food restaurant and that’s when she found out that it had been used by an elderly Native American man.

Police currently have no suspects.

 

FOOD IN THE FACE

Gallup, Nov. 11

Brian Pat was arrested by Gallup police after he got into an argument with his girlfriend and reportedly threw a plate of food in her face.

Gallup Police were dispatched to a house on Patton Drive about 10 pm on Nov. 11 in connection with a possible domestic dispute. When they arrived, police officers found the house a mess with food thrown on the floor.  Pat, 44, was carrying items of clothing out of the house.

He was told to put the clothes down and when he did, he was detained while officers questioned his girlfriend to find out what had happened. She told police they began arguing after Pat yelled at one of their kids and was told not to talk to him like that.

She said the argument ended with Pat throwing a plate of food in her face. She said she retaliated by throwing a plate of food at him, but she missed.

She said that she told Pat to get his clothing and leave the house, which he was doing when police arrived. He was arrested and transported to the county jail.

 

MAN WITH KNIVES

Gallup, Nov. 4

A Gallup man was arrested on Nov. 4 after he reportedly pulled out a knife on another man before running away when police were called.

Shaundale Yazzie said he was walking along West Webster Avenue when he was approached by three men, one of whom pulled out a knife.  He said the man made a growling sound as if to scare him.

He said he backed away and as he did, his wallet fell our of his jacket pocket. As he bent over to pick it up, he said he threatened to call police, at which time all three men ran away. When police arrived, they began an immediate search of the nearby area and found Jeffery Webster, 43, who Yazzie identified as the man with the knife.

When Webster was arrested, two knives were found on his person, one of which Yazzie identified as the one pulled on him. Webster was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.

 

MISSING PURSE

Gallup, Nov. 5

Gallup Patrolman Norman Bowman answered a call from Bernice Turney, who stated her purse and a firearm were stolen out of her vehicle about Nov. 3.

Turney said she had seen the items in her car about 10 am that morning, and then noticed they were missing around 7 pm that evening.

She added she had gone to Red Rock 10 at about 1:30 pm, and the items were still in her vehicle when she exited the theater.

Bowman asked Turney if her vehicle had any signs of forced entry, and she replied no. She said her purse contained approximately $2,000, two credit cards, and her driver’s license.

Later, Turney found out her bank card had been used at a Sonic restaurant and a Speedway gas station at about 4:40 pm.

No other information was available.

 

MOTEL LARCENY

Gallup, Nov. 5

Gallup Patrolman Jerald Watchman was dispatched to the Hacienda Motel, 2510 E. Hwy. 66, in reference to a larceny call.

The complainant, Marrisa Olaso, said she had received a call from her son earlier stating his video game system had been taken out of his room. It looked like someone had ransacked his room. The value of the system and the associated items came to near $300.

Olaso also noted a jewelry box containing approximately $600 in jewelry was missing from her night stand. She identified a potential suspect, Nathan Blue Bird, 37, of Valentine, Neb.

She said Blue Bird was the only person who had access to the room while Olaso was at work and her son was at school. Blue Bird drives a 2006 Chevrolet Impala with Utah license plates. His destination was unclear.

Watchman attempted to contact Blue Bird several times by phone, but each call went to voicemail. No other information is available.

 

HOTEL TRESPASSER

Gallup, Nov. 5

Gallup Patrolman Michael Eley was dispatched to the Zia Motel, 915 E. Hwy. 66, in reference to a male trying to open doors on the premises.

Eley met with a hotel desk worker, Patel Bilweshkumar, who told him the person identified as Stewart Castillo, had been knocking on doors to several units and then finally went inside an unlocked unit.

Once Bilweshkumar confronted Castillo inside the unit, Castillo took off and proceeded westbound on Highway 66. Eley traveled the same route and found Castillo near the intersection of South McKinley Drive and Coal Avenue.

Bilweshkumar confirmed the identity of Castillo after Eley brought him back to the motel. Eley issued a No Trespassing Notice for Castillo.

He also noted Castillo was intoxicated and transported him to Na’Nizhoozhi Center, Inc.

 

TRUCK BREAK-IN

Gallup, Nov. 5

Officer Thomas House was dispatched to 404 W. Maxwell Ave. in reference to a vehicle burglary.

House made contact with Anthony Baldonado, who told him one of the city trucks had been broken into overnight. Baldonado arrived about 8:30 that morning and found one of the windows on the truck was shattered, and a number of items from inside the truck were missing, including keys to gardening equipment and a record book.

Baldonado said his supervisor told him he would need a report of the incident because the vehicle is owned by the city.

House was advised by other officers that an arrest had been made the day before they received Baldonado’s call, and a male was found with multiple items from the truck on his person. No information was available about the male’s identity.