THOREAU – The McKinley County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a brawl-in at the Thoreau Senior Citizen Center during which a vehicle belonging to the organization was stolen.

Deputy J. Bowman said he was dispatched to the center about 6:49 a.m. on June 13 after officials at the center came to work and noticed that their garage door was open. They found some sensor lights damaged. Nothing was missing from the building but the organization’s Ford Explorer was gone.

Bowman found a window on the north end of the garage that had been opened about 8 inches, enough to allow a thin person to enter. Officials at the center said that whoever broke in found the keys to the car in the...

ALBUQUERQUE – Ronald George, 47, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Vanderwagen, N.M., pled guilty June 15 in federal court in Albuquerque to an abusive sexual contact charge.

George entered the guilty plea under a plea agreement that recommends that he be sentenced to a term of imprisonment within the range of 78 to 97 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.  George will be required to register as a sex offender after completing his prison sentence.

George was arrested on April 18, 2017, on an indictment charging him with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 years between Feb. 4, 2014 and Sept. 21, 2015, on the...

Biz owner leads police to THIEVES

A Church Rock man is facing multiple charges in connection with the theft of numerous tools from a Gallup nursery.

Tristan Peterson, 19, has been charged with burglary of a structure, criminal damage to property, tampering with evidence, larceny and conspiracy.

The charges stem from the theft of numerous tools from Holiday Nursery, 204 Valley View Rd., on May 28. John Kilgore, the owner of the nursery, said among the items that were stolen were leaf blowers, two chainsaws and two tool boxes filled with tools.

A week later, on June 6, Kilgore called police and reported that someone was trying to sell him a climbing harness. When he looked at it...

A Thoreau man is now facing sexual assault charges after the victim’s mother reportedly rescued her daughter after she had been raped and beaten by the suspect.

Bryon Pahe, 28, has been charged with criminal sexual penetration, aggravated battery on a household member, assault to commit a serious felony, false imprisonment, criminal damage to property and interference with communication.

The victim’s mother came to the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office on June 6 to report that she had to rescue her daughter. She said he had picked her up two weeks before the incident and family members were not able to get in touch with her.

She said she was concerned for her daughter’s safety...