A man was walking around the Heritage Plaza reportedly threatening people with a machete.
On July 5, around 2 pm, Gallup Police Officer Daniel Brown was dispatched to the Pepboys tire shop at 702 U.S. Hwy. 491 when a caller told Metro Dispatch that a man was threatening people at the store with a machete.
When Brown arrived at the scene, he met with a Heritage Plaza security guard, who pointed out which direction the man had gone in. The security guard said the man had tried swinging at him and pulled out a machete.
Witnesses said the man was wearing black shorts with a white stripe, a black shirt, a gold chain, and he had a camo backpack. Brown and Officer Christopher Dawes found a man fitting that description just south of the tire shop. The man, who was later identified as Devon Descheenie, was sleeping on his stomach when the officers found him.
In his report, Brown said he noticed a machete lying next to Descheenie, 19. Brown went to put handcuffs on Descheenie, and he began to try and pull away.
Once Brown was able to handcuff Descheenie, the man began spitting. The officers put a “spit hood” on him to prevent him from spitting on them.
Descheenie refused to walk, and sunk down to the ground, but he eventually did get up and start walking.
In his report, Brown noted that Descheenie was highly intoxicated and smelled of alcohol. When the officer asked Descheenie his name, he responded with “Lucky Eighteen” but he did eventually give them his real name.
The security guard confirmed that Descheenie was the one who had threatened him with a machete. He said he’d been chasing Descheenie off the property all day because he was loitering and “talking shit.” The security guard said Descheenie even got in his face, but then he turned around and pulled a machete out of his backpack.
The security guard said he went to pull out his mace, but then decided to just let Descheenie go because he was worried about being stabbed with the machete.
Descheenie was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer, and concealing identity. His preliminary examination is scheduled for Aug. 10.
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