Gallup police were called to Comfort Suites at 1:11 am June 26 in response to a report by security personnel. Officers were told about a man pushing “bags” between the fence dividing Comfort Suites and Townhouse Suites. Those bags were later discovered to be full of marijuana.
When officers checked the registration of a male they were questioning, it matched a vehicle in the Comfort Suites lot. They found a 2007 silver Toyota Tundra with a damaged bed cover. They noticed a large quantity of narcotics inside.
The male was Clarence Begay, 24 of Prewitt, N. M. Begay admitted to breaking into the vehicle and taking eight bags of “weed” from the truck.
Officers also made contact with the truck’s owner, James Rutledge, 41 of Lubbock, Tex. He was a guest of the hotel.
Begay was booked into the McKinley County Detention Center on one count of Breaking and Entering.
Rutledge was booked on one count of Possession of Marijuana, a third degree felony.
A search warrant was executed on the truck, which yielded 250 pounds of marijuana.
More charges are pending on James Rutledge.
Staff Reports