Two classes at Rehoboth Christian Elementary School invited members of the Gallup Police Department for a holiday visit Dec. 14.

Mr. Solomon Sun and Mrs. Beverly Jonkman’s fourth and fifth grade classes had gifts for all the patrol officers, including heavy-duty winter gloves, candy, and handmade cards.

The celebration was part of their Community Builders program in which they learn to contribute to their community and also learn about the criminal justice system as Justice Warriors.

The new program is known as ‘LEAD’

The Gallup Police Department has started a new program that tackles low-level, non-violent crimes like shoplifting, loitering, and trespassing.

The department kicked off the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program on Nov. 16. LEAD is a pre-arrest diversion program rooted in harm reduction.

Nicole Lujan, the project coordinator for LEAD, explained how it works. After an officer makes an arrest, they can refer the person to the program. The project’s case manager Vaughn Awelgate then meets with the individual. Awelgate tries to help them by getting them the resources they need. The hope is that with resources, the crimes will stop. The...

Book signing, discussion for ‘Tony Hillerman: A Life’

The Navajo Nation is a region that one author thought was rich with story potential, an author whose name has, for better or worse, become synonymous with the region: Tony Hillerman.

After his first novel, “The Blessing Way,” was published in 1970, Hillerman went on to write 17 additional volumes chronicling the cases of Navajo Tribal Police detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.

The books were both critical and commercial successes, earning Hillerman an Edgar Award and a distinction as a “Grand Master of Crime Fiction” by the Mystery Writers of America. By the time of his passing in 2008, more than 20 million copies of...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. —Navajo Police Department Window Rock District Officer Jershon Begay received the Gallup Police Department “Citation of Life Saving Commendation” on Nov. 18 for outstanding achievement and meritorious service in the performance of his duty while off-duty.

While off-duty and traveling eastbound on Interstate 40 on Oct. 18, Begay noticed a man standing over the ledge of a bridge near Mile Marker 26 in Gallup.

He notified emergency dispatch and circled back on the westbound lanes to interact with the man until Gallup Police Department officers arrived. He said he saw a rope around the neck of the subject tied to a metal railing on the bridge.

Gallup Police...