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Police detective gets strawberries, gets reported to CYFD

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A quick trip to the market for a box of strawberries landed a Gallup police detective on report.

McKinley County Deputy Nocona Clark was sent to the Gallup Walmart at 1650 W. Maloney Ave. at 6:22 pm on April 24. Dispatchers told him there was a child left alone in a car at that address.

Several people became involved. Clark met Gallup Police Officer Christopher Dawes on his way over.

Dawes said he was waved down by a citizen telling him about the same child and that the child had crawled out of the window of the car.

They ran the license plate.

It turned out the car belonged to a Gallup police detective named Tasheena Wilson.

Clark caught up with Wilson and she said she had stopped at Walmart to pick up some strawberries and left her daughter, Frankie, in the car, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that Walmart would not allow her to take Frankie into the store.

He also asked her if she left the car running and she said yes, that the air conditioning was on. She also said she left her daughter in her car seat, but thought that Frankie knew how to unbuckle herself.

Asked how long she was inside the store, Wilson said about five minutes.

Wilson pointed out that she is a single parent and has no babysitter.  She said her parents live on the Navajo Nation Reservation and are currently on lockdown.

Clark told Wilson he would be making a report and contacting CYFD.

A National Guard Specialist, Cheyanne Hidalgo also got involved when she spotted the child walking around the parking lot unattended. Hidalgo walked the child into the store, and told a supervisor.

Announcements were made over the loudspeaker and Walmart security video was reviewed by Clark and Sgt. Terrance Peykatewa.

Clark contacted Statewide Central Intake and filed a report with Worker #544.

Clark called Wilson’s supervisor and advised him a report would be filed for abandonment of a child and forwarded to the district attorney for possible prosecution.

Gallup Police Captain Erin Toadlena-Pablo told the Gallup Sun on June 30 that Wilson is on the job at this time and that any investigation would come from outside the police department.

Eleventh District DA Div. 2 Paula Pakkala told the Sun July 1 that her office sent the case to another district for investigation.

The case has gone to DA Clint Wellborn in the Seventh District, who will review it to determine if charges should be brought.

By Beth Blakeman
Associate Editor