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Weekly Police Activity Report

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Warrant arrests were very thin for both the Gallup Police Department and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office during the last week.

GPD Warrants

Nathaniel Gabriel Joe (Municipal Court) and Earl James Vinson (Magistrate Court and Concealing Identity).

MCSO Warrants

Brian Begay, Terilene Boyd, and Morgan Murphy.

Police Activity

A family drinking day on Oct. 22, ended abruptly with one member dead and one at the UNM Hospital in Albuquerque with serious injuries. It could have been worse according to the report by McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Deputy Roxanne Slim, which stated the mother of the deceased victim told her two of her nieces (ages not given) had been forced out of the vehicle and left at the 10-mile marker just minutes before the rollover accident.

Jonathon Largo, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene when he was ejected about 75 feet south of his vehicle on Highway 371 at about the 9-mile marker. He was identified as the driver. Maria Saunders, 21, was also ejected from the vehicle about 35 feet south of the vehicle. The third passenger, Marcus Largo, 16, was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released. While at the hospital, Marcus Saunders told Slim that all three had been drinking.

Five cases of Battery were reported, three at Wingate High and two with the same antagonist, a 14-year old male. The two female victims, also 14, reported the unwanted touching to school officials and Administrator Karen Malone helped MCSO Deputy Brandon Salazar with the interview with the two victims and the reports.

The other incident involved an 18-year-old punching and pushing a 16-year old, both males. The fight started as the two were playing a game in class related to the subject they were learning. The alleged assailant became upset when the victim started talking trash. The alleged bully punched his victim in the back of the head and threw him to the ground, pushing him as he tried to get back up. Both parties were then separated by the teacher. No other information is known at this time.

When MCSO Deputy Jasmine Jaramillo arrived at the Fire Rock Casino just 52 minutes past midnight on Oct. 22, she took a report from a lady that stated that she and her boyfriend were headed south on Highway 566 when she told him to watch his speed before he caused an accident. She knew he had been drinking and was concerned. He then dumped her on the side of the road.

There was plenty of action on Oct. 18, for GPD, with two incidents about six hours apart involving the same suspect.

At 1:03 pm, Officer Cindy Romancito was dispatched to the Redwood Lodge in response to a call from a woman who reported her brother had ‘flipped out’ because he had to sleep in his vehicle the previous night. She told him to leave but he began instead to ram her car with his, and getting out of his vehicle to attempt to smash her windshield. He left the motel but soon returned, aiming his car this time at his sister. A witness saw the action taking place and filled out a statement matching the report the woman had made.

She went on to say that her brother has been damaging her vehicle and fighting with her. She said it has gotten worse since the death of their mother in August of this year. He is supposed to be on medication but she is fearful that he is not.

GPD Officers were sent to the Municipal Airport at 7:12 pm as requested due to a male suspect damaging a vehicle with a wrench. Sgt. Terrance Peyketewa arrived on scene and tried to get the male to cooperate with him but Paul Estrada, Jr. refused to get out of his car.

The Emergency Response Team was activated to come to the location and used a series of flash bangs to get Estrada out of the car, where he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car. He was transported to Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital for medical clearance and then to MCDC where he was served the arrest warrant, with no bond.

A single vehicle rollover accident near the Gallup Headstart at 300 E. Maloney got several GPD Officers involved, including Officer Joe Roanhorse, who wrote the report.

Roanhorse reported the driver, Jeffrey Denton, 33, had an Albuquerque address on his driver’s license and had to be held down by a witnesses to keep him from fleeing the scene. The Gallup Fire Department was attending to Denton and noticed him going into and out of consciousness. The GFD advised the police they would transport Denton to a local hospital for medical clearance and requested the handcuffs be taken off.

About an hour later, approximately 4:30 pm, dispatch received a call of a male sitting in a wheelchair marked RMCH near the intersection of Linda Drive and Monterrey Court.

Denton was placed under arrest by a GPD officer and returned to RMCH. Because of the time delay and it being unknown whether he had consumed more alcohol, neither a field sobriety test or a blood draw was going to be obtained. Instead, Denton was booked on charges of No License, No Registration Plates, No Insurance, and Careless Driving.

He was also served with an Out of County Warrant with a $1,161 Cash Only Bond. There was no arrest for DWI in this case.

By Tom Hartsock

Sun Correspondent