Login

Gallup Sun

Friday, Mar 29th

Last update12:57:39 AM GMT

You are here: News Public Safety Weekly Police Activity Reports

Weekly Police Activity Reports

E-mail Print PDF

AXED

9/26, Gallup

The MCSO is investigating a robbery that took place at about 7 pm Sept. 26 at the T&R Rope and Feed Center north of Gallup.

A clerk at the store said two men in blue jeans and black hoodies entered the store. One man wore sun glasses and went to the back of the store while the other man approached the clerk at the cash register.

The man who approached the clerk appeared to be intoxicated, the clerk said, and began to speak, but he was incomprehensible.

The man who had gone to the back of the store started walking at a fast pace to the front door and appeared to have placed something inside his jacket. He was told to stop, said the clerk.

The man in the jacket tried to run out the door but it would not open. The clerk said she could see the handles of four axes under his jacket. As she approached him, the other man tackled her to the ground, she said.

The two then left the store and got into a Dodge Stratus. A female was driving the vehicle. They then left the area.

For some reason, the vehicle drove to the back of the store where another store employee said two men got out of the car. Both appeared to be intoxicated and one asked for someone who didn’t work there. They were told to leave, and they did.

That employee said one of the men appeared to have a bulletproof vest under his jacket.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking that anyone who has information about the incident contact Merle Bates, the department’s lead investigator, at (505) 722-7205.

 

DOGS WILL BE DOGS

9/23, Gallup

Dogs will be dogs and therein lies the problem a deputy for the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office discovered Sept. 23, when he went to investigate a report about dogs attacking a vehicle in the Prewitt area.

The owner of the vehicle said he was driving by the house when at least five dogs ran after his vehicle and caused damage to his rear bumper.

The deputy observed damage to the rear bumper and contacted the owner of the dogs who said she tries to keep them in the yard, but they find a way to dig under the fence.

She was told she has to try harder. The deputy said while talking to the owner, he observed two dogs chasing a vehicle.

 

PUNCHED AND ROBBED

9/24, Gallup

MCSO Deputy Cecil Sanders said he was dispatched to the 1000 block of West Highway 66 about 8 pm Sept. 24 in reference to a stolen vehicle.

There, he met a man who said he had gone to the Sports Page two nights earlier and had someone drive him home because he was too drunk to drive.

Along the way home, he said he passed out and remembers being punched in the back of the head a couple of times.

When he woke up, he was on the Rock Springs Road and his car was nowhere in sight.

The man reportedly didn’t remember the name of the person who drove him home, but he said the man may have been the son of someone he knew.

The Sheriff’s office is looking to see if that person had anything to do with the theft of the vehicle.

 

SCREWDRIVERED

9/22, Gallup

The Gallup Police Department is looking for the person who broke into a vehicle parked in the back of the Aztec Laundry West, 1001 W. Aztec Ave., about 11:30 am on Sept. 22.

The owner of the vehicle said she had parked the vehicle there about an hour before, and when she returned, she discovered that the driver’s side window had been broken and the ignition switch had been damaged.

Police discovered what appeared to be the tip of a screwdriver in the key slot.

The woman said her purse, which contained personal documents, had been stolen.

Police currently have no suspects.

 

WILD AND DISORDERLY

9/21

A St. Michael’s woman now faces multiple counts after she allegedly assaulted a GPD officer several times as he was trying to get her into his police unit.

Tamara Begay, 26, has been charged with battery on a police officer, disbarment of a peace officer and resisting arrest.

GPD Patrolman Julio Yazzie said he was helping a community service aide at about 10 pm on Sept. 21 to place Begay in his unit after she was found to be intoxicated near the Allsup’s on Arnold Street.

As they were placing her in the CSA van, Yazzie said Begay spit in his face, so she was arrested and they attempted to get her into Yazzie’s unit.

That proved to be difficult as she managed to kick Yazzie in the chest area as they were trying to put a spit mask on her. They were able to get her in the unit, but as she was transported, she made threats and managed to get her handcuffs from her back to the front.

When Yazzie stopped, he and another officer reportedly tried to get the hand cuffs behind her and to place shackles on her legs. During that process, Yazzie said Begay managed to kick him in the groin area.

As the officers tried to get Begay back in the unit, Yazzie said she managed to kick him in the face.

Yazzie said Begay then tried to reach his taser and remove it. They finally got her back in the unit, but she continued to be disorderly as she was transported to the county jail.

When he finally got her to the jail, Yazzie said she continued to be disorderly toward the jail staff.

 

CHILD ABUSE

9/14

Vernell Harvey, 33, of Fort Wingate was arrested on Sept. 14 and charged with abuse of a child (causing great bodily harm) after he struck his three-year-old daughter in the nose and caused it to bleed.

Deputy Frank Villa Jr. said he was dispatched to the Harvey residence about 12:30 am, where he met with Harvey’s mother, who said when Harvey came home with his daughter, she was crying and her nose was bleeding.

She said she asked her son what had happened, and he started yelling at her. She said she took the young girl to the bathroom to get her cleaned up and asked her what happened and she said her dad had hit her.

Villa said when he and another deputy went into Harvey’s bedroom, they found him asleep. They woke him up and when they told him he was being arrested, Villa said he attempted to tense up and resist the arrest.

Two two deputies were reportedly able to place him in handcuffs and transport him to the county jail.

Later, Villa said he had an opportunity to talk to Harvey and ask him what happened. He said he took his daughter to a friend’s house for a party. When asked about the bloody nose, he said she got it because she doesn’t drink enough water.

 

PLATELESS

9/13, Gallup

Two area residents are facing drug charges after their vehicle was stopped when a McKinley County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted them driving without a license plate on the back of the vehicle Sept. 13.

Deputy Johnson Lee said when he stopped Tandreka Anderson, 28, of Gamerco, and asked her about the missing license plate, she said she was on the way to get one since she’d just bought the vehicle.

As he was checking her credentials, Lee reportedly discovered Anderson had an outstanding bench warrant and placed her under arrest.

He then questioned her passenger, John Paradise, who was also found to have an outstanding warrant. When Paradise was searched at the county jail, officers found what appeared to be heroin residue on foil papers in his pocket.

Deputies also searched Anderson’s purse and reportedly found a glass pipe with marijuana residue inside.

 

RUST AND FIRE

9/12, Gallup

The Gallup Fire Department responded to a fire at 36 Coronado Blvd. Sept. 12 about a residential fire.

Fire officials reported the fire was contained in less than an hour and the residence received moderate damage to the attic area. There were no injuries.

According to the Gallup Police Department, the homeowner was watching television about 12:20 pm, when he smelled smoke coming from the west side of the house.

He told police he had forgotten he placed a can of rust-oleum inside the ductwork by the swamp cooler. Fire officials later confirmed the origin of the fire was where the can was located.

 

CHASE AND JOINT

9/10, Gallup

The McKinley County Sheriff’s Office charged a Flagstaff man with aggravated fleeing Sept. 10.

MCSO Deputy Garylie James said he was approaching the rock-climbing area near County Road 1 at about 10:30 pm, when he saw a car containing two men speed away. James went in pursuit of the vehicle, which was speeding to get away.

The pursuit lasted for several minutes as the vehicle went onto State Highway 118 and then onto Day Street before it turned into a driveway on Saguaro Drive.

At that point, it stopped and James said he had the driver, Brendan Fox, get down on the ground so he could be handcuffed.

Fox did not appear to be intoxicated and when asked why he didn’t stop, he said he thought the officer could smell the marijuana in his vehicle. James said a search turned up a joint in the center console so he was charged with that as well.

 

SHOT AND CLUBBED

9/8, Thoreau

An Albuquerque man and another man from Thoreau were charged with aggravated battery in connection with an incident involving a B.B. gun that occurred in Thoreau on Sept. 8.

MCSO Deputy Clayton Etsitty said he was on routine patrol in Thoreau around midnight when he saw a vehicle go through a stop sign without stopping. He gave pursuit and eventually got it to stop.

The driver was identified as Carnell Chavez, 23, of Albuquerque. A passenger in his vehicle — Dion Emerson Jr., 24, of Thoreau — was also detained.

When asked why he didn’t stop immediately, Chavez said he was scared and suffered from anxiety.

At that time, Etsitty said, another car arrived and he was approached by a woman who told him that she and her son were at the Thoreau Giant when they were approached by five people who were after her son.

Chavez and Emerson were among the five and they reportedly shot at her son with a B.B. gun.

The woman said she attempted to break it up and was hit over the head with the handle of a handgun while a woman hit her on the side of the face with a golf club.

They then got into a vehicle and sped away from the scene.

The two were treated by EMS personnel at the scene while Chavez and Emerson were transported to the county jail.