A man trying to get a large amount of marijuana out of the state may have been hoping Jesus Melvarde, the “narco-saint”, would help him achieve his mission.

On March 16, around 9:36 am, Gallup Police Officer Brandon Salazar saw a white Ford Fusion following too closely to a semi-truck near the 27-mile marker on I-40 eastbound. The car was also swerving onto the shoulder of the road.

When Salazar finally pulled the car over, he met the driver, Jonathan Jairo Barragan Alejo, 25, from Clearlake Oaks, Calif. He asked the young man for his license, registration, and car insurance, which Barragan Alejo was able to provide.

The officer had the young man follow him to his patrol car and...

An Albuquerque man was about to be charged with shoplifting, but then the police found fentanyl on him, so he received another charge for that.

On March 15, around 4:27 pm, Gallup Police Officer Christopher Dawes was dispatched to the Home Depot 530 Kachina St., in reference to a shoplifting call.

When he arrived at the store, the employee pointed out the alleged thief to Dawes. Edward Begay, 34, from Albuquerque, was sitting behind a stack of bags.

When Dawes spoke to the employee, he explained that Begay had been trying to swipe a card to pay for his items, but when it didn’t work, he began to walk out without paying.

According to Dawes’s report, Begay stole a pair of Husky...

Two men led police on a chase through Gallup after absconding with some copper wire from Gallup’s streets department headquarters.

Andrew Howe, 31, of Gallup, and Shawn Denney, 44, from Gamerco, face larceny charges for allegedly going after a spool of precious metal paid for with taxpayer dollars.

It all started on March 11, around 5:03 am, when Metro Dispatch received a call from a city employee regarding two men loading up some copper wire from the streets department, 840 Warehouse Ln.

When Gallup Police Officer Philamina Chischilly arrived at the scene, a city employee explained that a small black SUV was seen near the electrical storage yard. The employee said he saw the two...

Featured DWI

Lamar Thompson

March 11, 12:46 pm

DWI (Third)

A call for a domestic dispute led to Lamar Thompson, 34, of Fort Wingate, being arrested and charged with a third DWI.

Gallup Officer Cindy Romancito was dispatched to Hidden Valley Apartments at 810 Patton Dr. after a woman called stating her boyfriend had been drinking and driving. Romancito arrived and was flagged down by the caller, who pointed out the beige GMC Sierra truck her boyfriend, Thompson, had driven.

She told Romancito that Thompson had not returned to their residence since March 7. Earlier that day, the caller saw Thompson in the truck in a nearby drive-thru and tried to get his attention. He...