An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation was charged Oct. 4 in federal court with a killing in Indian Country. Quinten Smith, 21, of Mexican Springs, N.M. will remain in custody pending trial.

According to a criminal complaint, Smith and others went to the home of the victim, identified as John Doe, on Sept. 24. They wanted to confront him. When they arrived, a physical altercation is said to have begun. During the fight, Smith allegedly stabbed the victim multiple times in the back using a pocketknife. Smith and the others are believed to have fled the scene.

Doe, also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, and who lived on the Navajo Nation, was found dead at his home.

If convicted...

An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for second degree murder in a domestic violence case.

Roderrell Boyd Charley, 33, of Chinle, Ariz was sentenced to 222 months of imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes on Oct. 13. Charley previously pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder.

It was Charley’s mother who called police, who then found the victim lying in the road.

According to the FBI statement, Charley beat the victim to death with his fists and feet between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, 2019. Family members heard him screaming and arguing with the victim on the night of Oct. 7. The next morning, Charley told his sister that the...

A speeding violation led to a 42 pound drug haul for Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Salazar Oct. 13.

When he stopped a vehicle on I-40 at Mile Marker 20, he noticed the statements given by the driver and the passenger were inconsistent. That led him to ask for consent to search the vehicle, which he received.

Salazar found 42 pounds of methamphetamine and a gun.

Three men were arrested. They are: Martin Cabrera-Villa, 31, of Tijuana, Mexico; José Marquez, 20, of Indio, Calif.; and Joseph Barrera, 32, of Brawley, Calif.

All three face charges of trafficking a controlled substance by possession, with intent to distribute (methamphetamine) and unlawful carrying of a firearm.

Cabrera-Villa...

A house that suffered a destructive fire on May 30, burned again on Oct. 14. Fire Marshal Jon Pairett said someone had been taking care of the house since the May incident, but that it was vacant at the time of the blaze, Oct. 14.

The owners of the house, are in the process of getting it demolished.

The cause of the most recent fire is under investigation.