Third open field death in November

Gallup Police are trying to determine the identity of a body found on the north side of Gallup early Nov. 26.

The badly decomposed body of a Native American male was found about 8:53 am by two passers-by near the football field at 631 N. Sixth St.

Police Captain Erin Toadlena-Pablo said there was no identification on the body and it is uncertain how long the body was there.

There is no official cause of death. But police are treating it as an open field death which means death was caused by exposure to the cold weather. It is the third open field death reported so far this winter season.

The two prior open field deaths were Nov. 2 and Nov. 10. On...

Family was traveling on I-40 when tragedy struck

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – On Dec. 1, New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau responded to Interstate 40 around mile post 114 in Cibola County, near the town of Laguna for an unresponsive 12-year-old female child, who’s condition was believed to be the result of child abuse.



State Police Investigations Bureau agents learned that Heather J. Rooks, 39, of Pahrump, NV was traveling through New Mexico to Nevada with her 17-year-old-son Khachadourian Rooks and her 12-year-old-daughter, in a van driven by Heather’s father.  Heather and her father were in the front seats while Khachadourian and the daughter were in the rear seats of...

Aftermath of multi-vehicle collision

A Crownpoint mother is facing two counts of child abuse, as well as contributing to the delinquency of a minor after an incident in Gallup Nov. 14.

McKinley County Sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Morales was on patrol when he observed a three-vehicle collision near the intersection of Boardman Avenue and Highway 66. A silver Nissan Sentra ran a red light on Highway 66 and slammed into the driver’s side of a white Chevrolet Silverado, which was traveling north on Boardman Avenue and turning left onto Highway 66.

The Silverado was hit with such force that it spun around 180 degrees and rolled into a red Chevrolet Malibu that was in front of Morales’...

Detectives and agents of the Gallup Police Department arrested DeShawn Yazzie, 18, of Gallup, just before 9 am Nov. 21. Yazzie was located in a vehicle on the west side of Gallup.

Yazzie was wanted for attempted murder, among other charges, after allegedly shooting multiple people at the Gallup Skate Park, 308 E. Hwy. 66, Oct. 14. He was taken into custody without incident and was booked into the McKinley County Adult Detention Center on those charges.



 

THE SKATE PARK SHOOTING

The Oct. 14 shooting left three victims in the hospital and the skate park has been closed indefinitely ever since.

Around 6:30 pm Oct. 14,three brothers were at the skate park when one of two...