Gallup Sun

ALBUQUERQUE – Leonard Yazzie, 39, of Pine Hill, N.M., and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was arraigned in federal court today on a charge of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in Indian Country. Yazzie will remain in custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for April 7.

A federal grand jury indicted Yazzie on March 23. According to the indictment, on March 28, 2016, and March 27, 2017, Yazzie allegedly engaged in a sexual act with a victim, identified as Jane Doe. At the time, Jane Doe was under 12 years old. The abuse is alleged to have occurred on the Ramah Navajo Reservation.

An indictment is only an allegation. A defendant is considered innocent unless and until...

Week ending Friday, April 1, 2022

 

Early Birds

A new study reveals that some birds in the American Midwest are now laying their eggs about a month earlier than they did a century ago, with a steadily warming climate pointed to as the cause. Led by Chicago’s Field Museum, a team compared century-old eggs preserved in the museum’s unique collection with recent avian observations. Each egg is accompanied by a label, noting the kind of bird and precisely where and when it was collected. A third of the 72 species studied around Chicago now lay their eggs about 25 days earlier than they did a century ago. The gradual shift to an earlier spring has resulted in large impacts on animal...

Life on the lam was brief

An inmate experienced a brief moment of freedom when he took control of the van that was transporting him and two other inmates from Bernalillo County Detention Center to McKinley County Adult Detention Center March 21.

The two male inmates 35-year-old Joshua Hall and 36-year-old Rickie Billie were shackled and handcuffed and placed in the rear compartment of the transport van. The lone female, 45-year-old LaCosta Reeves, was shackled in the side compartment of the van.

Before getting onto I-40, there was some commotion in the rear compartment so the deputy stopped to check on his restrained passengers and found nothing alarming. He got back on the road...

New Mexico’s State Auditor is looking into an anonymous complaint by a group claiming they are city employees concerned about how the city is handling employee and ex-employee health benefits.

That may or may not be a big deal. Auditor Brian Colón’s office confirmed that they received a complaint alleging insurance fraud of at least $50,000 and opened an examination, but spokeswoman Stephanie Telles also noted the office opens an examination for every tip received on the anonymous line.

The auditor’s office investigates complaints of government fraud, waste and abuse. It doesn’t discuss the mechanics of or timeline for their examinations, other than to say they are handled by...