Connects sex-trafficking to missing native women

Disturbing Sex Trafficking Facts

23,500 endangered runaways reported in 2018

One in seven endangered runaways’ likely victims of child sex trafficking

Average age of child sex trafficking victims: 15 years old

Child sex trafficking reported in all 50 U.S. States

*Source National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Kimberly Wahpepah has taken her response to a secret and personal violation, and turned it into a mission.  Wahpepah, who was sexually assaulted when she was a child, has become a spokeswoman for human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and missing and murdered native women.

Wahpepah says these violation that occur  in the shadows leave terrible marks on our society. She adds that these activities are kept concealed by attitudes, such as those she faced as a young girl.

“My parents didn’t believe me at the time. They said I was making up stories,” she said, referring to her reported past abuse. “I keep seeking answers as to why this is happening.”

Wahpepah spoke about how her grandmother would tell her to not talk about these taboo subjects with other people, but she said that as a victim, she has to get the word out.

Originally from Manuelito, Wahpepah was raised both traditionally and as a Christian. But, she faced difficulties early in life, including being homeless, and overcame those challenges in recent years. It prompted her to think of ways of how she could help other folks living on the streets.

“What I’ve been through is how I’m trying to seek some type of answer to different situations in my life that will help others who are going through the same thing,” Wahpepah said. “I put it upon myself to do something about it.”

As part of her advocate work, Wahpepah was a spokesperson for Navajo Nation Missing Persons, where she first researched what human trafficking entails and learned what she could do to help with her own resources.

Wahpepah said getting entangled in sex trafficking is relatively easy. She studied the moves and describes it as something as simple as someone going up to a potential victim and asking if they want to perform sexual acts and get paid for it.

“That’s how easy it is to become a victim,” she said. “It’s as easy as [the perpetrator] saying, ‘Hey, you want to make some money?’”

Wahpepah said she spoke to several victims about why they got involved.

“When I started talking about it to people, they said they’re going through it for money, a place to stay, food to eat,” she said.

Victims don’t know what they’re getting into, Wahpepah said. Perpetrators will often manipulate victims into staying with them and continuing to perform the acts, because they know the victims are in a vulnerable state, she added.

“The victim won’t understand what their role is in the situation, until it is too late,” she said.

Once the trafficker has either done what they wanted with the victim or thinks that the victim could pose a threat, they find a way to relocate the victim, Wahpepah said. This is how human trafficking comes into play, she said.

“Going through the trafficking, I see it on a daily basis,” she said, referencing the women who are walking the streets.

Wahpepah added that she feels a connection to the potential victims on the street because she used to be in their situation. She said that those people look up to her, because she is doing something with her life to help others like her.

Wahpepah said she has recently started to talk about sex trafficking in McKinley County, especially in border towns such as Gallup and Farmington.

These two towns are also where Wahpepah experienced the dangers of human trafficking firsthand. She said that she survived a sex trafficking incident in Gallup in 2007, and that she was nearly abducted by an unidentified person in Farmington around 2008.

During her advocate work, Wahpepah spoke with the Gallup Police Department about stopping trafficking and bringing awareness about sex trafficking to the community.  In particular, she talked about its connection to missing and murdered indigenous women.

As for her current plans, Wahpepah said she has spoken with numerous elected officials about getting the issue heard at the highest levels of government in Washington, D.C.

One step along the road to getting the word out was speaking at the Gallup City Council’s regular meeting April 23. During the meeting, Mayor Jackie McKinney presented a proclamation about supporting potential native victims.

“[Native women] experience a higher missing rate than any other ethnicity,” McKinney said, adding that about one in every four or five native women experience this violence.

McKinney pointed out that May 5 has been proclaimed as a Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Native Women and Girls.

Dist. 3 Councilor Yogash Kumar agreed that human trafficking is a vital community issue.

“It’s hard to figure out what people are actually doing, because we may not see the trafficking,” he said.

Wahpepah said these covert crimes are difficult to see, and often the result of drug dealing and abuse. However, she said she has also encountered perpetrators who are authority figures in the community, but she refused to provide names.

“It’s mostly business people, ones who have money. They get away with it,” she said.

For more information about human trafficking, or to report an incident, visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/

By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent

‘BUY, BUILD, BELIEVE GALLUP’

He’s traveled the globe and lived in a myriad of locations throughout his life, but as the saying goes, “all roads lead back home,” Bill Lee found his home and heart in Gallup, despite living in other amazing locales such as the picturesque northwest, old El Paso and Southern California.

Presently, Lee serves as one of Gallup’s movers and shakers, and sticks his neck out to promote local businesses while doing what he can to pump up Gallup to prospective business owners.

He’s the CEO of Gallup-McKinley Chamber of Commerce. And the voice on the radio, telling readers to “Buy, build, believe Gallup.”

“This is home. Four generations of my family have lived here,” he said.

Lee, 58, also spearheads the annual Red Rock Balloon Rally, falling in love with ballooning after meeting event founder Peter Procopio persuaded him to get in a balloon when he hosted a live radio remote some 20 years ago.

“I was hooked from there on,” he said.

The relationship forged with the balloon rally, further solidified his love of Gallup because of the “great interpersonal connections and relationships” he’s built over the years.

In the early 2010s, Lee left the chamber to take on a leadership role at a promising company, but he soon discovered that it wasn’t a fit. Around that time, call it kismet, the position of McKinley County manager opened, so he applied and got the job.

Lee eventually left the county manager job and returned to the chamber. As this transition took place, he ran for McKinley County commissioner and won. When asked if he plans to run again, he promptly responded with a resounding “no.”

“I can (make) changes more effectively from the outside, rather from the inside,” he said.

UNCONVENTIAL CHILDHOOD

Lee was born in Gallup 58 years ago. His father, a natural gas pipeline worker, had to travel for work.

So, before any childhood roots could be firmly planted in the Indian Capital, his parents uprooted and followed the pipeline to jobs that would take him on a sight-seeing odyssey across the nation.

In all, Lee says he lived in 36 different states before he reached his teens. He recalled moving 13 times in one year. The family returned to Gallup as Lee hit his teen years, so he could finish out his middle and high school years in Gallup.

What prompted the man who so many have come to know and love to take on high profile jobs?

It was radio.

It was something he dreamed about at night. While working at Levine’s Department Store, he found that stocking ladies’ bras and underwear wasn’t his thing, he quipped. Eventually, Lee, as a 13-year-old, landed his first radio job at KGYK.

When he arrived at college, Lee hit the airwaves. He split his college years between North Idaho College and Eastern New Mexico University. Lee, a communications major, excelled at the university radio station, and left college early to pursue a career as a program director, bouncing around to different radio stations.

But, he would always return to his beloved hometown of Gallup. In what would be his last gig away from Gallup, in the early 2000s, he took a job in El Paso, TX. He considers it a blessing in disguise, as his wife Jennifer was diagnosed with breast cancer while living there.

New Mexico Cancer Treatment Center didn’t exist, yet, so, his wife started and finished her cancer treatments in El Paso.

The couple eventually grew homesick, and decided to return home and close the door to opportunities outside of Gallup for good. In 2006, they packed their bags and headed back to the Land of Enchantment or what Lee refers to as the place with the “great green chili.”

“I’ll never forget my wife calling me in tears,” he said, as they caravanned back toward Gallup with their belongings in tow. To note, as they neared Gallup, he said, the tears flowed when his wife called him after seeing hay in the back of a pickup truck, saying to him “we’re home.”

Jennifer Lee has been cancer free to this day.

“She was a real warrior and continues to be,” he said.

The couple has two grown daughters and two grandkids. Sadly, they lost a daughter shortly after birth.

Meanwhile, upon returning home from Texas, Lee applied at the Chamber of Commerce, and one can say, the rest is history.

COMMUNITY, CAUSES CLOSE TO HEART

In addition to being the face of businesses in Gallup and Red Rock Balloon Rally, Lee’s passionate about cancer awareness, and veterans and first responder causes.

A horrible, recent event further solidified his commitment to area veterans.

A veteran friend of his ended his life in recent weeks. He was a Marine sniper, who suffered from PTSD after returning home from Afghanistan. Lee met him at one of many balloon rallies he attends throughout the year, and the two became fast friends.

“He committed suicide,” was all Lee could say, fighting back pent up emotions.

For Lee, in all, his life has been about forging connections with people from all walks of life, and doing his part by showing up to community events to inspire, and share his fiery love of everything Gallup.

“This has been the most rewarding and fulfilling career of my life,” he said, adding that he’s “proud that he’s involved in creating a better place for all of us.”

By Babette Herrmann
Sun Editor

City leaders PLACE confidence in Boyd’s abilities

The City of Gallup has chosen its next police chief, 21-year Gallup Police Department veteran Franklin Boyd, who in December received a “no confidence” vote from the Gallup Police Officers Association for the way he was reportedly running the department on an interim basis.

The vote breakdown from the association was sent to City Manager Maryann Ustick, but she said in a letter, responding  to GPOA President Victor Rodriguez on Dec. 17, that the votes of no confidence against Boyd contain no “facts or allegations” about his conduct or actions.

In a release issued April 9, city officials said they felt that Boyd was the most qualified of the 31 people from across the country who applied for the job to replace Phillip Hart, who resigned last November, as police chief.

Boyd has been interim police chief since then. He also served as interim police chief for several months in 2015, before Hart was selected to run the department.

He wasn’t available for comment, per GPD Capt. Marinda Spencer, but Ustick weighed in on the newly-minted chief.

“I am delighted to have Franklin Boyd serve as our Chief of Police,” she said in a news release. “He worked his way up the ranks of the Gallup Police Department, he has a distinguished record of dedicated service, integrity, and leadership, and he knows our community and the people we serve.”

Mayor Jackie McKinney agreed, echoing Ustick’s comments, saying Boyd recognizes the importance of continuity and consistency in the directing of the police department.

“I am confident that Boyd has the qualities needed to provide our officers and citizens the critical services for safety we expect in our community,” McKinney said.

However, there have been hurdles along the way, where the spotlight shone brightly on Boyd – GPOA’s vote of no confidence and one contentious lawsuit.

Out of 21 members present at the GPOA Dec. 13 meeting, 15 gave Boyd a vote of no confidence, four a vote of confidence, and two abstained. Boyd responded to “all-gallup-police” via email Dec. 19, stating the members voting against him, represent a small percentage of the 65 law enforcement personnel that work for the city.

“I would also be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge the personnel who have offered support and continued assistance in the last few days, and their continued commitment in moving our Department in a positive direction,” Boyd said. “To them I would also say; stay focused on the positive and to continue to do the outstanding job you are doing.”

“Unfortunately, there is a false perception (put out by a very small percentage) that the department is ‘divided,’ but the majority of the personnel of the Department know that is NOT the case,” he continued. “So far, the department has been moving in a very positive and progressive direction in the last six months, and we will continue in that direction.”

However, the blowback from the association paled in comparison to the lawsuit filed against the city by GPD Lt. Rosanne Morrissette.

The problems between Morrissette and Boyd began when he was captain. According to reports, Boyd came into Morissette’s office at police headquarters and allegedly yelled at her for several minutes. She later filed a complaint against Boyd for his actions.

When Chief Robert Cron retired in 2016, several high-ranking officers decided to retire, too, and a number of positions opened up. As a result, Morrissette, who worked in the detective squad, was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant.

Her action against Boyd continued after he was promoted by Hart to be his deputy chief, and eventually, Boyd was reprimanded after an internal affairs investigation, according to sources. But when Morrissette asked to see a copy of the report, her request was reportedly rejected.

She filed suit in District Court to get that report released to her, and eventually, Judge Robert Aragon ruled in her favor, although it took some time for the city to comply with the order.

According to Morrissette’s Attorney Thomas Grover, she continued to have problems with Boyd and Hart, and Boyd eventually issued charges against her, allegedly claiming that she was derelict in her duties.

As a result of these charges, Morrissette found herself demoted to sergeant and then to patrol status, before she was terminated outright. More legal battles ensued, and ultimately city officials became involved. As a result, the city reinstated Morrissette with back pay, and a position as liaison with the schools and community was created for her.

On April 9, after repeated requests, the city released the applications of those individuals who were considered finalists for the position.

During the Gallup City Council’s regular meeting that same evening, Acting City Manager Jon DeYoung said Boyd was out of the office for training, which was confirmed by Capt. Marinda Spencer on April 10, and that the announcement time of the chief’s swearing in ceremony at Gallup Police Department would follow soon.

Boyd will officially start as police chief on April 15.

THE REST OF THE CANDIDATES

The minimum qualifications called for a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in criminology, police science, criminal justice, business administration, public administration or a closely related field.

Boyd holds an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice from University of New Mexico-Gallup. He began classes in 1997 and graduated in 2018.

Additionally, the candidates needed at least 10 years of service within a local government police department with at least five years in a progressive supervisory capacity of police captain or higher.

The Sun reached out to the City of Gallup’s Human Resources Director Klo Abeita several times to ask who was on the selection committee, but didn’t receive a response as of press time.

The finalists:

Charles Carafino, from Damascus, MD. He has 24 years of experience working for the Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland. He is currently a captain in the department.

Samson Cowboy, who is currently police chief of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe in Dulce. He is a former chief of police for the Navajo Nation. He is from the Thoreau area.

Daniel Dugatkin, who is from New Paltz, N.Y. He has been chief of police for the last seven years for the SUNY College at New Paltz.

Joey Comstock, who is the current police chief for the Sauk-Suiattle Trina, Police Department in Darrington, Wash.

Benny Gaona, a graduate of Gallup High School with 24 years in the Gallup Police Department. He is currently a patrol sergeant in the department.

Jeffery Gilbert, who is currently police chief of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in Port Angeles, Wash. Before that he worked for 17 years with the Quartzsite Police Department where he rose to the rank of chief of police.

John Gruszka, who has worked for the Lake County Police Department in Crown Point, Ind., where he is presently a commander in the department.

Brian Paulson, who has worked for the Yankton Police Department in Yankton, S.D. for the past eight years as police chief.

Earl Andy Yearley, who has worked for the Gallup Police Department since 1994 and is currently a patrolman first class in the department. He also worked for the New Mexico State Police as a recruit.

Cody Begaye & Staff

Part of effort to create quiet zones

The railroad crossings and the creation of possible quiet zones in and around downtown Gallup were front and center at a recent Gallup City Council special meeting.

The council listened to a presentation by the New Mexico Department of Transportation regarding results of a road safety assesment March 28.

Origins of the project

Mayor Jackie McKinney said during the special meeting that the project safety assessment has been in the works for about eight years, and the council is happy to see progress.

In an April 3 phone call, McKinney said the solution to create quiet zones at Second Street and Third Street was first presented by BNSF Railway in 2011, when he first took office.

However, the first issue to arise in BNSF’s solution was an increase in the project price to create quiet zones. McKinney said the first estimate from BNSF in 2012 was about $1 million, but when the city met with the company again, over a year later, the cost had risen to about $2.1 million.

The more pressing issue, McKinney said, is one that first came up at that time and still stands today.

“If they come in and help us create a quiet zone in the railroad crossings, they would transfer liability of the railroad crossing and right of way onto the city,” McKinney said.

What this means is the City of Gallup would have liability for any kind of train collision, with a vehicle or pedestrian, on BNSF’s right of way, he added.

“We don’t want to assume liability for their trains possibly hitting someone. We don’t want [to deal with] the lawsuits,” he said.

The BNSF solution

BNSF had an answer to create quiet zones and eliminate possible collisions about four years ago, according to McKinney. Their top priority was to close any railroad crossings to pedestrians or vehicles.

This way, BNSF would not have to worry about cars or pedestrians, McKinney said. He added that BNSF offered a cash settlement of $1 million to close the railroad crossings at Second Street and Third Street.

However, the Gallup City Council does not know if this is a viable solution to the train noise problem, McKinney said.

“We don’t know if closing both crossings is a good idea for the connection to north and south sides of Gallup,” he said, adding that the council continually receives feedback from the public. “Just talking to the citizens, [like] the business owners, they like the opportunity to zip across the tracks instead of taking overpasses.”

When switch engines have to drop off cars or back up on the tracks, they can create closures at railroad crossings for upwards of 45 minutes, McKinney said.

He added, however, that while these prolonged closures may be an inconvenience for the community, most Gallup citizens have lived with it for years, and know to take the nearby overpasses when this occurs.

Gallup’s solution

A resolution was passed for NMDOT to conduct the assessment two years ago at the regular meeting on Jan. 24, 2017.

At that meeting, former City Attorney George Kozeliski said NMDOT required a resolution of support to conduct the assessment for the Second Street and Third Street railroad crossings.

The study would help determine if closure of the Third Street crossing is required while converting the Second Street crossing into a two-way street for the implementation of the proposed quiet zone, according to city documents.

The proposed cost of the study was about $100,000. The resolution carried with a 3-1 vote.

During the March 28 meeting, several people from NMDOT spoke about the study and their findings.

Statewide Planning Bureau Chief Jessica Griffin spoke about the Road Safety Assessment team that assembled last August, which consisted of police officers, Public Works Director Stanley Henderson, and City Manager Maryann Ustick, among others.

“The team consisted of a large, diverse group of stakeholders [to conduct the study],” Griffin said, adding that they focused on the railroad crossings near N.M. 118 by Allison Road, Second Street, and Third Street.

Jonathan Kruse, licensed professional engineer with Lee Engineering, was present at the special meeting to describe the survey process.

Kruse said the RSA team’s role was to assess the current corridors near railroad crossings, including what would happen if the nearby streets were closed, not allowing vehicles to pass over the railroad tracks.

In all, Kruse said that four possible long-term corridor alternatives were studied:

The closure of the Third Street railroad crossing, and turning Second Street into a two-way traffic street from Maloney to Highway 66.

Closure of the Third Street crossing, and turning Second Street into a two-way street from Maloney to Green Ave.

Closure of the Second Street crossing, and turning Third Street into a two-way street from Maloney to Highway 66.

No modifications to roadway configurations or traffic flow, but reconstructing railroad crossings with improvements for pedestrians.

Any new construction would have to adhere to public rights-of-way accessibility guidelines standards, according to information given at the meeting. This includes appropriate sidewalk widths, adequate clearance widths on sidewalks, adequate landing spaces at ramps, and compliant railroad crossing surfaces.

Some of the side effects of changing road configurations included an increase in road queuing, or vehicles lining up at crossings, and sometimes stacking pedestrians at crossings, and increased pedestrian trespassing on railroads, according to Kruse.

The RSA team then used the known traffic volume, intersection geometry, and intersection phasing of the railroad crossings to predict how many vehicle crashes may occur near each site.

Information provided at the meeting showed as few as nine railroad crossing collisions and as many as 33, based on the team’s formula.

In addition, the alternative solutions carried project price tags that ranged between $4 million and about $6.2 million, Kruse said.

McKinney asked if there was NMDOT funding that could go towards the project, and was told that there is not at the moment because all the funding is tentative.

Bill Craven, Rail Bureau Chief for NMDOT, said that the city can seek out Section 130 funding, which is a federal program that provides funds for the elimination of hazards at railway-highway crossings.

A collaborative effort

McKinney said April 3 that BNSF has been conducting its own safety assessment study similar to the city’s, but has not shared the results with the city. He said that their first option is likely still closing the Second Street and Third Street crossings.

“[Closing both crossings] has never been brought to council, so we don’t know if it would be supported,” McKinney said.

He added that BNSF’s idea of closing the two crossings led the city to experiment with closing just one of the crossings, and turning the other open street into a two-way lane.

The issue with this, as stated during the special meeting, was that there could be more traffic collisions with cars and pedestrians, McKinney said.

“We don’t want to do anything that makes the safety worse than what it is,” he added.

McKinney said that to make downtown Gallup more customer and business friendly, cutting down on the train noise is a big step in the right direction.

“Until we get BNSF report and merge it with NMDOT and get every entity at the table, we’ll continue to look at viable options to quiet the trains down,” he said.

For the good of the community

Craven said that the project is worth doing because improving the railroad crossing conditions can remove or greatly reduce the hazards that exist for pedestrians.

“[Sidewalk improvements] will discourage trespassing at crossings,” Craven said, adding that the improvements could ultimately save lives.

This sentiment was echoed by Larry Maynard, District Six engineer for NMDOT.

“Saving lives would be an improvement we can all support,” he said.

Despite the conversations at the special meeting, McKinney said that the meeting was all suggestion, a precursor to the work ahead.

Dist. 1 Councilor Linda Garcia asked Maynard for a time frame for the project, and was told that NMDOT would first apply for Section 130 funding to begin planning and then building the sidewalks, a project that could take two to three years.

Maynard was asked by the council if the process could be expedited, and he said the department will keep working on the project, and securing funding for sidewalk construction is the first step.

In all, the city council agreed that reconstructing the sidewalks at railroad crossings would be the best outcome for the city. Dist. 4 Councilor Fran Palochak said that the city and NMDOT can coordinate to clear any obstacles with the project, for the sake of people’s safety.

“We can’t eliminate the railroad crossings, but we can work on the pedestrian crossings quickly,” she said. “We need to save lives.”