JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER ASSAULTS
12/9, 12/12, GALLUP
12/9: Alejandro Bustillos, a 15-year-old inmate at the JDC allegedly hit correction officer Jasper Willie in the face. According to McKinley County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Christopher Tsosie’s report, the assault occurred while Willie escorted 13 inmates indoors after some recreational time in the yard.
Bustillos reportedly started arguing with inmate Christopher Jim. When he got between the two, Bustillos hit Willie in the right ear. The report has been sent to the District Attorney’s office for review.
12/12: MCSO Deputy Jeff Barnhurst was dispatched to the JDC shortly before 2 pm to take a report on two inmates that got into a fight. Barnhurst stated in his report that supervisor Andrew Becenti witnessed inmate Jesse Rodriguez, 17, say something to inmate Travis Wayne Nolan, 15.
Nolan then proceeded to put Rodriguez in a headlock and flip him onto the ground where he started punching him in the face. Barnhurst said that “no statements” were made by either of the boys.
A few hours later, another fight broke out involving Rodriguez. Deputy Salina Brown stated in her report that JDC Officer Tyson Nolcott was escorting inmate Mauricio Cuevas, 17, back to his cell when another inmate started hitting him. A fight then ensued.
Rodriguez said that Cuevas came up behind him and called him a “B-tch N-g-a” and hit him twice with a closed fist on the left side of his cheek, and had spit on him as well. Cuevas admitted to hitting him two to three times. Both juveniles were advised that a report would be on file and forwarded to the Juvenile Probation Officer.
STABBING ATTACK
12/3, YAHTAHEY
McKinley County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nacona Clark was called to a local hospital to take a report on an alleged horrific stabbing.
The victim, a 26-year-old woman, told Clark that she was stabbed near “T and R.”
She mentioned a possible female suspect’s name, and went on to tell a terrifying tale.
The victim, who appeared highly intoxicated, said that she caught a ride in a white in color four-door passenger car near KFC north. Clark asked if she usually catches rides from strangers, and the victim reportedly said that she felt safe because “there were three girls and a dyke.”
From there, things got plain scary with one suspect reportedly saying, “hurry, get it over with” and “kill her.” One of the passenger’s pulled out a knife and began stabbing her. The suspect was wearing a clown mask, according to the victim. She was able to fight off her attackers and escape from the vehicle.
Deputies took photos of the victim’s stab wounds and placed the her tattered clothes into evidence.
DRUNKEN MESS
12/1, MENTMORE
A man attempting to “fix the electricity” at a Mentmore residence was reportedly assaulted by two men. In addition to getting punched in the face, the alleged hoodlums rammed into his gate. He was able to call police and hold down one of the men that hit him, Thaddeus B. Tsosie, until MCSO Deputy Roxanne King arrived.
According to the report, Tsosie, 37, refused to cooperate with King as she wanted to handcuff and detain him in her patrol unit while she safely investigated the incident. King requested another unit so she could detain the intoxicated, combative Tsosie.
The man also said his wife was assaulted by Tsosie as she attempted to padlock the gate at their nearby residence, slamming her against the truck bed.
While King interviewed the couple, the female victim noticed a car leaving the property. She yelled at the woman identified as Treva Silversmith, 57, to stop the vehicle. But King said she drove toward her instead, prompting her to step out of the way.
King quickly regained control of the situation, and took Silversmith’s keys. She was booked on a DWI, and for battery and assault on a peace officer. Tsosie was booked on the charges of battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting an officer.
VAGUE DETAILS
11/30, THOREAU
MCSO Sgt. Elreno Henio had just started his shift when a motorist alerted him to a man standing alone near the 2 mile marker on N.M. 371.
The 44-year-old man was reportedly “intoxicated and looked disoriented,” according to the report. He had a cut to the forehead that was bleeding. The victim said that he was behind the Red Mesa store when two men started hitting and kicking him, eventually asking him “where was their money.”
He said that he lost consciousness, and when he awoke he tried to hitchhike to his home in Mariano Lake. Instead, he got a ride to a hospital in Gallup. Henio stated in his report that he found a bottle of mouthwash in his jacket sleeve. With vague descriptions of the suspects, the deputy was unable to pursue any possible leads at the time.
SORDID DETAILS
11/30, CHURCH ROCK
When MCSO Deputy Lorenzo Guerrero met up with Raymond Edison, Jr. at a local hospital, he claimed that he had been stabbed in the left hand and left forearm by four men while he walked home from Fire Rock Casino.
But, Guerrero sensed something fishy going on as Edison, 27, “changed his story about seven to ten times on what occurred,” according to the report.
During one of the last tales, Edison said his wife stabbed him during a heated argument, but the deputy noted that he couldn’t provide any details about his spouse, not even her birthday.
A call to the Navajo Nation Crownpoint Police Department shed some light on the situation. NPD Officer Largo told Gurrero that he was dispatched to a Church Rock residence in reference to an intoxicated man (Edison) “destroying property at the residence.” Largo said this is how Edison sustained the hand and arm injuries.
Largo said he would return to the hospital to arrest Edison. It’s unclear what charges he was booked for by the NPD
NO WORDS
11/29, THOREAU
An evening of binge drinking for two men entered the bizarre zone, then quickly turned violent. MCSO Deputy Arnold Noriega was called out to a home in Thoreau where a mom claimed that her son was assaulted by his dad after he caught his dad receiving fellatio from his friend.
According to the report, the 24-year-old son was sleeping when he heard a commotion in the living room. When he walked into the room, he caught his 45-year-old father receiving oral sex from his friend.
The son, then went to his mom’s room to notify her of the incident. When the mom went to investigate, the father pushed her and his son down, hitting his own head on the dresser. The son said his father put him in a choke hold and that he passed out.
Noriega noted that the suspect reeked of alcohol and was intoxicated. The kitchen table was covered with empty beer cans and multiple shot glasses. The father tried to tell a different story about what happened, but eventually told the deputy the truth.
When asked whether he was engaging in oral sex with his best friend, the father “chuckled and stated that he has to get it somewhere if his wife doesn’t do it.”
The father was charged with aggravated battery and battery against a household member.
ONLINE CHILD PREDATOR
11/28, WINGATE
A 15-year-old Fort Wingate girl said a man named Jeffrey, who she was chatting with on Facebook, sent her “x-rated photos” of himself. According to Deputy Noriega’s report, the girl claimed that Jeffrey told her that he was going to hurt the girl’s family and kill her sister if she didn’t send him nude photos of herself.
The victim sent some photos of her breasts and the perpetrator sent photos of his penis in return. MCSO Inv. Joey Guillen took the girl’s phone into evidence so he could track where Jeffrey was calling from.
INCIDENTS
VEHICLE VS. PEDESTRIAN
12/9, CHURCH ROCK
A pedestrian lost his life while walking on N.M. 118, according to MCSO Sgt. Henio’s report. Jason Lewis, 45, was struck by a white GMC pickup truck driven by Calvin Thompson shortly before 6 pm.
Lewis had been seen in the area earlier that day, and was reportedly intoxicated. The MCSO DWI units helped direct traffic while Navajo Police Department officers conducted their onsite investigation.
WATER IN FUEL
12/3, Gallup
Deputy Guerrero was dispatched to Gas Max on U.S. 491 in response to three vehicles stranded after fueling up with gas. According to the police report, the owner of Gas Max, Bruce Nicholson, said that he received a delivery of gas with a “large amount of water in it,” and that the fuel had “more water than usual.”
Two of the three drivers said their vehicles sustained fuel pump and filter damage as a result of the tainted fuel. The report states that Nicholson had the vehicles towed back to his station and made the appropriate repairs.
