Probation violators who failed to comply with their probation requirements found out how serious the McKinley County Sheriff's Office can be when deputies began making arrests Nov. 18.

Samuel Sandoval was located on Arnold Drive in Gallup. He had fentanyl pills on him at the time of his arrest.

Cristina Quintana, another occupant of the residence, was found to have outstanding warrants against her.

After deputies obtained a search warrant for the residence, a .45 caliber pistol was found.

Sandoval is a convicted felon and is not allowed to possess a firearm.

Deputies also found evidence of narcotics being disposed of prior to the forced entry by Adult Probation.

Sandoval was...

A brush fire on Nov. 18 sent McKinley County Sheriff's officers and members of the New Mexico State Police to a group of homeless encampments, one of which was burned to the ground. However, no one was injured.

State police joined the sheriff's office and McKinley County and Gallup Fire Departments to put out the blaze using fire extinguishers and shovels.

It is not known who started the fire, but one woman in the camp was arrested on an outstanding bench warrant out of Gallup Municipal Court for shoplifting.

That arrest marked the fifth bench warrant arrest for MCSO on Nov. 18.

McKinley County voter turnout increases, but only by two percent

The official election results for McKinley County for the Nov. 2 regular election were reviewed by the McKinley County Commissioners during a special meeting on Nov. 9.

 

In an interview with the Sun, McKinley County’s Director of the Bureau of Elections Marlene Custer said that seven percent of the county’s population voted in the election. She noted that the number is up from previous years. She said that only about five percent voted in the 2019 election.

 

Custer said that despite the passions displayed by parents when the topics of how to respond to COVID or school violence or textbook content or digital...

The annual Best of the Best Rodeo looked a little different this year, and the pandemic definitely had an impact on the event’s revenue.

During the Nov. 9 Gallup City Council meeting, Assistant City Manager Jon DeYoung went over the final numbers of how much money the 2021 event brought in and how much money was lost.

“This past year and a half has been tough and putting on events has been extremely hard; but Walt Eddy was successful, I think, in putting on the Best of the Best for us this year,” DeYoung commented.

He explained that over $212,000 was made in revenue, but over $229,000 was spent creating a loss of about $17,000. He said the money comes from the city’s general...