CHILD ABUSE
Yah-ta-hey, Oct. 15
McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Monty Yazzie said he was dispatched to a house in Yah-Ta-Hey about 11:46 pm Oct. 15 after a woman called in saying her daughter was abusing her child.
Yazzie said when he arrived at the residence, all the lights were out, but when he knocked on the door, he thought he heard a dog whimpering inside. As the whimpering continued, he said he realized it was coming from a small child.
At that point, a woman, later identified as Taylor Natonie, 26, opened the door. Yazzie explained why he was there and Natonie asked who had called the police and Yazzie told her it was her mother.
He said Natonie showed signs of being intoxicated, so he asked if she would take some tests. She agreed, but had problems with the tests.
Yazzie asked her to take a portable breath test. She refused, but admitted she had been drinking Peppermint Shnapps. Since it was determined that she was intoxicated while caring for a small child, she was charged with abuse of a child and her son was transported to the sheriff’s office.
Natonie was placed under arrest. During the trip to jail, Natonie told Yazzie she remembered making her son chicken soup and then blacked out.
EVERYTHING BUT THE KITCHEN SINK
Gamerco, Oct. 14
Workers at Joe Mama's Mexican Walmart reported that someone had broken into their storage shed and stolen several items after climbing over a fence.
Most of the items were recovered as McKinley County Sheriff deputies searched the area. For example, a truck dolly and air compressor were found in the yard, apparently left there because they were too big to lift over the fence.
Deputies later found a marijuana bowl near where it was suspected the person entered the yard. Deputies also found shoe prints in the area.
One witness later remembered seeing a gray Jeep Cherokee in the area.
The only object that was not found was a Craftsman tool box with tools inside which had been purchased some years before for $40 at a flea market.
There are no suspects.
HIT HIM
WITH A BRICK
Thoreau, Oct. 9
A Smith Lake woman has been charged with misdemeanor aggravated battery after she reportedly hit her ex-husband in the head with a brick.
The incident occurred about 2:30 pm on Oct. 9 outside a residence in Thoreau where her husband, Eugene Morgan, did yard work part time.
Morgan told McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Jonathan Todachine Jr. that he was outside with his ex-wife, Louise Spencer, 67. Both were later reported to have been drinking.
Morgan said he and Spencer were both hungry, so he was preparing to go into the trailer to talk to his boss when he suddenly found himself on the ground. He said he realized that Spencer had picked up a rock and hit him in the head with it.
Morgan said he sat on the ground waiting for help while Spencer went inside. Todachine said when he arrived, Morgan was sitting down with a head wound that was still bleeding.
After talking to the owner of the trailer, who said she had gone outside after Morgan was hit, Todachine said he approached Spencer and asked her if she had any injuries. When she said no, he told her she was being arrested and then transported her to the county jail.
LEFT THE GUN IN THE CAR
Gallup, Oct. 8
Wilma Marie Dawes showed up at the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 8 to report that a personal handgun had been stolen from her car the week before.
She said she left the handgun behind the driver’s seat when she came home from work at about 10 pm Oct. 2. She discovered it missing the next day about 2 pm when she headed back to work.
She said the remote to open the car doors did not work, so the car doors were unlocked during that time. There are no suspects.
ARGUMENT
Gamerco, Oct. 8
Jeremiah Saucedo, 18, of Gamerco, was charged with battery on a household member after he got into an argument with his mother, Amanda Palacios, about moving his uncle’s property and he pulled a necklace off from around her neck.
Palacios told a sheriff’s deputy that she told him to stop moving the items in the den and he began calling her names and made a closed fist and threatened to punch her in the face, adding that she was lucky he didn’t do it.
When he was questioned, Saucedo confirmed her story, adding that he was intoxicated at the time. He was arrested and transported to the McKinley County Adult Detention Center for booking.
NO SPITTING
Gallup, Sept. 11
A Lukachukai, Ariz. man was charged with assault on a police officer after he reportedly spit on a Gallup police officer as he was being transported to the Gallup Detox Center.
Darius Johnson said he was dispatched to 1500 S. Second St. about 11 am on Sept. 11 in connection with a report of a man dressed in black who was trying to start a fight with people in the area.
When he got there, he met Kurt Willie, 38, who had been pointed out to him by a woman at a nearby gas station. He went over to Willie and asked if he was okay. Willie said he was fine and was just waiting for his wife to pick him up.
He showed signs of being intoxicated and admitted he had drunk a half pint of whiskey that morning, so Johnson placed him in his unit to drive him to the Detox Center.
On the way, Johnson said, Willie became aggressive and started calling him names as he hit his head on the cage. He also began spitting at Johnson and Johnson said he felt spit hit the side of his face.
Johnson said he then pulled over and got Willie out of the vehicle and placed a spit mask over his head. He then transported Willie to the county jail.
