FIGHTING FRIENDS
9/30, Gallup
A fight between friends ended with an arrest for an outstanding bench warrant and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Gallup Police Department Patrolman Brandon Salazar said he was dispatched around 8:30 pm on Sept. 30 to America’s Best Value Inn at 2003 W. Highway 66 because of a fight in progress.
When he arrived on scene, he found Aaron Mescale, 27, of Gallup, and another man, who had a sizable amount of blood on his collar and neck. Both individuals admitted they had been fighting.
Mescale said his friend pulled his hair and punched him, so it became an issue of who started the fight. Witnesses said the other man seemed to be the one who wanted to continue the fight, though both seemed to be actively involved.
No one was arrested for the fight, but Mescale was placed under arrest for an outstanding bench warrant. Two glass pipes commonly used to smoke narcotics were found when he was searched.
ATTACKER UNKNOWN
9/29, Gallup
The GPD is investigating an attack that occurred Sept. 29 when five unknown men accosted a man as he was walking on North Fifth Street.
A Fort Defiance man told police he was walking along the street at about 8 pm when five men he did not know approached and attacked him for no apparent reason. He said they hit and kicked him in the face and body several times. He described the men as young and Native American.
The victim reportedly suffered abrasions on his face and lips, and was was treated by medical personnel. Police said there are currently no suspects.
DOLLAR DIPPING
9/29, Gallup
A shoplifting incident at the Family Dollar Store at 3185 West Highway 66 resulted in one arrest and a separate non-traffic citation for battery.
It all began when a store clerk told GPD Patrol Officer Cindy Romancito that at about 3:30 pm on Sept. 29, she saw a man and woman walking out of the store with merchandise they did not pay for.
She said she went outside to confront them and saw that the man had the merchandise, but the woman allegedly got in her face and attempted to hit her. The clerk said she blocked the blow.
She said she was pushed back and watched the man enter a maroon truck while the woman walked away and joined two other women.
Romancito said she later found a woman matching the suspect’s description on the 1300 block of West Highway 66.
When she approached the woman, the suspect was crying and said she was thirsty and tired. She admitted she was at the store but said she did not take anything.
At that point, another woman came up and said she was helping the suspected shoplifter. When Romancito checked their names with Metro Dispatch, she discovered the second woman, Nina Sloan, 38, of Window Rock, had an outstanding felony warrant so she was arrested for that while the original suspect was given a citation for battery.
DOUBLE BATTERY
9/28, Gallup
A Thoreau man was arrested Sept. 28 after police were dispatched just after midnight to investigate a fight in the 2500 block of West Aztec Avenue.
When police arrived on scene, they found Arvin Billy, 23, and another man. The men were told to sit in the court while police tried to stop a fight that was going on nearby involving two women and a man.
When that fight was stopped, police noticed that Billy had left and he was later found sitting behind a dumpster at the Kentucky Fried Chicken.
A woman involved later told police she and her two brothers were walking past the apartment on West Aztec when they saw two individuals bust the window to the apartment. She said they kept walking as Billy and another woman came running out if the building, blaming them for busting the window.
The five then allegedly began fighting, and during the fight, Billy was accused of hitting her two brothers with a socket wrench several times. The brothers were treated for their injuries, which medical technicians said were non-life-threatening.
Billy was transported to the hospital after complaining of injuries to his wrist, but these were found to have occurred long before the fight. Billy was then reportedly transported to the county jail and charged with two counts of aggravated battery.
DANGEROUS TEENS
9/28, Gallup
Two Gallup teenagers were charged with breaking into a car after Gallup police investigated thefts from two vehicles.
Xzavriel Payaso, 16, and Nathaniel Naswood, 17, were both charged with battery and burglary of a vehicle and were transported to the San Juan Juvenile Detention Center.
The two were arrested about 11:30 pm on Sept. 28 when Gallup police were called to the Alon Gas Station, 1500 South Second St., when an alarm went off.
GPD Patrolman Julio Yazzie said when he first met the two, they said they were headed home. He said he also noticed Naswood drop a leather item near his feet as he approached.
It also turned out that Naswood had a folded knife in his pocket and the knife had blood on the blade.
Yazzie said Payaso was seen dropping a wallet near his feet. When asked about the wallet, he said he didn’t have one.
It turned out, there was a report of a 2017 Chevy that was broken into at the Sports Page earlier in the evening and a wallet matching the description of the one found near Payson’s shoe was reportedly stolen.
A cell phone was also taken in that break-in and police reported finding the cell phone in Naswood’s pocket.
The two were also implicated in a stabbing that occurred earlier in the evening.
A witness told police he noticed three individuals walking toward the Sports Page parking lot and one of the individuals allegedly threw a rock at a window.
He ran after that individual and managed to catch him. The man said the two suspects then came running toward him. Payaso reportedly hit him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.
When he got up, he said he saw Payaso lunge at him, and one hand hit him in a stabbing motion. He said he stepped back and the three individuals ran away. It wasn’t until he walked away that he noticed his shirt was wet and covered with blood.
The victim was later treated for two stab wounds in the stomach.
