Renelda Begay

May 26, 2:17 am

Aggravated DWI

Gallup Patrolman Andrew Thayer was on routine patrol about 2:17 am when he noticed a car parked behind 107 West Coal Ave. with its engine running and what looked like the driver passed out behind the wheel.

As he drove toward the vehicle to do a welfare check, he watched as the vehicle accelerate forward, striking a metal pole in the parking lot. The driver then reversed and appeared to be ready to drive away when Thayer turned on his lights and did a traffic stop.

He then watched the driver, identified as Renelda Begay, 29 of Sanders, Ariz., slowly place the vehicle into park. Thayer said he asked her to roll down her window and...

BOMB SCARE

6/4, Gallup

A bomb scare was called in about 11 am to the Magistrate Court compliance office, located at 285 Boardman.

However, the caller said the bomb was at federal probation office, located on the north side of town.

The person who took the call said a soft-spoken woman called in the threat. She said by the time she thought to check caller ID all she could read was 505-715… And an attempt to pull up the number of the last call also failed.

The occupants of the building were evacuated and a search was conducted. No bomb was found.

FATALITY ACCIDENT

6/1, Route 11-49

The McKinley County Sheriff’s Office assisted Navajo Police in investigating a vehicle crash...

The McKinley County Sheriff’s Office has begun an investigation into the death of John Craddock, a teacher in the Gallup-McKinley County School system.

Craddock, 65, died from a subdural hematoma caused by injuries suffered at the teacherage at Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School on March 16.

According to the police report, based on Inv. Robert Turney’s interview with Jeremy Alire on May 29, he described his relationship with Craddock as a nephew to an uncle, and said he traveled from Albuquerque to Craddock’s home in Cuba to get some coffee and pick up the mail because he was expecting a settlement check.

When Craddock got home from school, Alire said he looked “pale.”

Alire...

Traffic was snarled on Interstate 40 in both directions June 2, due to two separate fatality accidents. One occurred in Gallup, near the on-ramp of I-40 eastbound at Munoz overpass, and the other near the Refinery exit in Continental Divide, N.M.

As for the local accident, Gallup Police Dept. Capt. Marinda Spencer said based off the initial investigation, shortly after 1 pm, the driver, Ken Leatherman, 61, of Yuma, Ariz., lost control of his vehicle that was towing a 6-foot long utility trailer.

The accident report states that as he merged onto the freeway from Munoz overpass, heading eastbound on I-40, he swerved onto the left side of the roadway, overcorrected, and came back onto...