Deputy Jerald Watchman and Deputy Dewayne Holder were called to 206 Summit Avenue in Gamerco on Feb. 26, around 3:30 am. They were responding to a call about a gunshot victim.

A man named Thompson Becenti met the deputies in the yard outside the trailer home. He told the officers that the victim was in the trailer.  Holder went inside, where he met the victim Brandon Kiyite, sitting in a chair just inside the door.

When Holder asked him what happened, Kiyite said a man had taken his car and shot him. He said he didn’t know the man, but that he told Kiyite that he worked for the cartel.

Holder asked about the shooter’s race, and Kiyite said he thought he was Native. He described him as five feet, seven inches tall, between 170 and 200 pounds and approximately 40 years old.  He did not know what he was wearing.

Kiyite went on to say that the shooting happened outside at 202 Summit Avenue. He said he had been sitting in his car when a man came up and pointed a gun at his head, telling him to get out. He told Holder the man shot him when he was standing outside his car.

Holder asked Kiyite about his car. Kiyite said he drove a dark blue 2014 Ford Flex. He told the deputy it was registered to him. But when Holder called it in to dispatch, they couldn’t find a car registered to Kiyite.

Kiyite told police he had been shot with a .45, and Holder did notice a bullet wound on the lower right side of his back. He was transported to Gallup Indian Medical Center.

While Holder was speaking with Kiyite, Watchman stayed outside and talked to Thompson. Thompson stated he had been sleeping when he heard a gunshot that woke him up.

Thompson said he started recording on his camera, but only heard one gunshot and did not know what type of gun had been fired. He said Kiyite walked over to his house and told him he had been shot.

Thompson said that people are always doing crazy things over where Kiyite was shot, and that they’re always shooting. When Watchman asked him who the people he was referring to were, Thompson said he didn’t really know who they were, but that one of the guys’ names was something like Shane.

In the video Thompson provided, Kiyite can be seen arguing with a man, but Watchman said he couldn’t tell what the two men were saying to each other. The video also showed Kiyite walking over to 206 Summit Ave. Watchman told Thompson to save the video for evidence.

Holder also spoke with Thompson’s mom and dad, Virginia Becenti and Eugene Becenti. They both said they had been watching TV when they heard the gunshot. Virginia said she had seen Kiyite walking back and forth on Summit Avenue earlier that morning,

Watchman and Holder stayed on the scene with Sergeant Shane Bennett until Chief Investigator Chris Escamilla arrived.

No casings were found at the scene, only tire tracks and shoe prints.

By Molly Adamson
Sun Correspondent