‘ONLY GOD CAN JUDGE ME’
Thoreau, Sept. 8

A man wearing a black Tupac shirt with the words “only God can judge me,” was seen by a Dollar General employee at 90 State Hwy. 371 in Thoreau, taking a Sylvania Bluetooth Boom Box and leaving the store without paying.

McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Harland Soseeah made contact with the suspect, identified as Andy Garcia, 31, of Gallup, who stated he bought the speaker two days earlier.

Soseeah said he noticed the charging cord was still in the bag and not open.

A review of the security footage showed Garcia entered the store at about 5:37 pm, went to the back-to-school section and grabbed the box, and then left. The serial number of the box matched the speaker.

Garcia was placed under arrest and transported to McKinley County Adult Detention Center for shoplifting.

Garcia was released on his own recognizance on Sept. 9.

LOCKED IN THE PORT-A-POTTY
Gallup, Sept. 4

A woman found herself padlocked into a port-a-potty at the Gallup Flea Market.

After she posted about the incident on Facebook, McKinley County Sheriff’s Sergeant Tammy Houghtaling contacted the woman, who told her that she and her mother set up their booth at the flea market and that when she went to one of the port-a-potties, she got locked inside.

First she said she heard someone trying to open the door. She told the unknown person the port-a-potty was occupied and the noise stopped.

Then when she got ready to leave,  she was unable to open the door.

When she called for help, a male came to the door and said there was a padlock on it. He got someone to cut the padlock off.

The woman said she did not know how it happened or who could have done it.

The man who went to find help to get the lock removed, said there was a man he didn’t know walking around acting irritated near the port-a-potties. The man left before he could be questioned.

The victim told Houghtaling that she had been contacted on Facebook by a person who questioned her about the incident. She said his name was “Rippy Milonakis.”  She said she never heard from him again.

No other information about the suspect is available.

BAD CHECK
Gallup, July 19

A woman came into the Gallup Police station and claimed she had been a victim of fraud.

On July 19, around 11:30 am, Gallup Police Officer Cameron Long met with the woman from Gallup who explained that she had applied for a job online with a business called “Duracell.”

According to the police report, a man who claimed to be David Michaels contacted her and said she would be his personal assistant. The woman explained that Michaels told her there was a check in the mail for her, but didn’t tell her the amount.

The woman deposited the check she received on July 16 at First Financial. The bank told her the check was going to be on a two-day hold. When she attempted to use her bank card, she found that something was wrong with it. She called the bank and an employee told her that her account had been put on hold because the check was fraudulent.

The woman said the check had been for $1,800 and that it had looked real because it had her name on it, as well as a check number and Arabic names written on the side. She said it had a seal on it and the words “U.S. Bank” in the middle. It also had “State of Maine” written at the top and signatures purported to be those of a governor, state controller, and treasurer.

The woman blocked the number of the caller who claimed he was from “Duracell.”