Gallup Police have located the man they were seeking for questioning
Staff Reports
The weekend turned violent at Red Hills Mobile Home Park in Gallup when shots were fired and one man was killed. Gallup Police responded around 7:50 pm Oct. 24 and discovered another male injured.
Detectives and officers were searching for a heavy-set bald man for questioning. He is identified as Melford John, 38, and described as about 5 ' 9" tall, weighing 212 pounds, with tattoos on his face, head, and chest.
On October 28, 2021, Navajo Nation Police Department along with McKinley County Sheriff Department and New Mexico State Police received information of a possible carjacking. Officers contacted the victim and victim’s vehicle in the area of Manuelito Canyon on the Navajo Reservation. The victim identified Melford John as the suspect in this case.
Officers later contacted John in that same location and he was taken into custody.
The Gallup Police Department was contact by the Navajo Nation Police Department that John died while in custody.
The Gallup Police Detective Division considers this a closed case with no other suspects at large.
This picture of the police processing unit was taken from a distance by a reader who lives in the Red Hills area.
