One suspect out; the other still jailed on $25K bond

One known drug dealer remained jailed June 2 and another bonded out May 25 after a Gallup police field operation yielded a drug bust in a grocery store parking lot, according to a police report.

Russell “Rusty” Luna, 29, and Jeremy “We” Henry, 24, were taken into custody May 24 after Gallup narcotics agents seized weapons and drugs. Luna was charged with possession of heroin, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. Luna was also found to be in possession of a knife, the report states. Henry was arrested on two outstanding bench warrants, one for the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the other for failure to comply with the conditions of probation.

Luna posted a $3,000 bail bond. Both Luna and Henry were listed as “known drug users and dealers” in the police report on the matter.

How did the bust go down?

According to the police report, at 3 pm on May 24, agents pulled over a vehicle driven by Luna in the parking lot of the Uptown Lowe’s along Historic Highway 66 and near the intersection of Ford Drive. The report states that agents recognized both Luna and Henry as people with possible drug warrants. Neither of the two resisted arrest, the report states.

McKinley County Adult Detention Center records show that both Luna and Henry have prior drug records. Henry was last in custody in February after police raided the apartment of his girlfriend, Corey Daniel, 22, on First Street near downtown. In that incident, Henry was charged with drug possession and the two tried to evade police by exiting a backdoor of the apartment.

Jail Warden Steve Silversmith said Luna possesses an arrest record that dates back to 2009.

“He [Luna] was in custody six times in 2015,” he said.

There were no attorneys listed for Luna or Henry in jail records.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTED girl on Easter morning

Jeremy Eddie, 27, was arrested on a warrant in Gamerco May 5 for allegedly molesting an 11-year-old girl at her grandmother’s residence on Boardman Drive in Gallup March 27.

He’s being held at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center on a $10,000 cash only bond.

The victim’s father, Kyle Begay, reported the incident to the Children, Youth, and Families Department, according to the affidavit for a search warrant. The case was then was assigned to Gallup Police Department Det. Neil Yazzie.

Based on the investigation, the young victim was spending the evening of March 26 at her grandmother’s residence. Also staying at the residence was the vicim child’s aunt, Natasha Jones, and her boyfriend Eddie.

The victim reported that sometime during the late night hours of March 27,  Easter morning, that “…Eddie came into the living room where she was sleeping and started touching her legs,” the affidavit states.

From there, Eddie sexually assaulted her with his hand. The affidavit also states that Eddie had actually moved the girl from where she was sleeping and laid her on the couch. And he held her arm tight as he assaulted her.

The victim’s grandmother entered the room and asked Eddie what he was doing. He claimed that he was checking on the children. She then asked him to return to his bedroom and began to question her granddaughter.

GPD Lt. Morrissette said based on the investigation, “Det. Neil Yazzie felt he had enough to secure a search warrant and pick up him up.”

The case has been assigned to Magistrate Judge Cynthia Sanders. His arraignment is at 11 am  May 6.

Eddie is facing the charge of criminal sexual penetration in the 1st degree (child under 13 years of age) or the alternative, criminal sexual contact of a minor in the 2nd degree.

By Babette Herrmann
Sun Editor

One arrested is McKinley County jailer

Three Gallup men – one a McKinley County Detention Center officer - remained jailed April 27 following an internal investigation connected to contraband allegedly being brought into the jail, officials said during an April 26 news conference on the matter.

McKinley County Adult Detention Center Warden Steve Silversmith said Officer Terrance Hooper is behind bars on a conspiring to bring contraband into a place of imprisonment charge, which is a fourth degree felony. For safety reasons, Hooper, 23, was booked into the Cibola County Detention Center near Grants, Silversmith said. Hooper, a jailer since January of this year, has his bond set at $5,000.

Also charged in connection to the scheme were Anthony Romero, 25, and Ricardo Teran, 36. Romero was charged with conspiracy, too. Because Romero was already incarcerated at the jail, no bond was set. Teran was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in a separate matter, but indirectly related to Hooper.

Teran has a litany of charges that initially landed him in jail and, like Romero, no bond was set in Teran’s case. Neither Hooper, Romero or Teran had attorneys listed as of Wednesday.

In explaining how the case unfolded, Lt. Pat Salazar of the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office said Hooper and Romero were the subjects of an internal investigation for months. Some good old-fashioned police work led investigators to the involvement of Teran, Salazar said.

Salazar said a jailhouse scheme developed whereby Hooper was to bring methamphetamine into the facility with the intention of selling it to Romero for $300.

Teran became involved when investigators got a hold of Hooper’s cellular phone, which, oddly enough, contained text messages sent to Hooper and containing the words “Ricky T” and “Trust.”

“We put two and two together and just traced things back to the only person we knew of with those initials,” Salazar said.

It was subsequently discovered that Teran had a hiding place behind an electrical outlet in his cell. That space is where he hid the phone, a charger and the marijuana, Salazar said. A bit from a screwdriver was used to open the outlet, Salazar suggested.

In talking about the situation, Silversmith, hired into the warden job on April 18, was adamant about stamping out criminal behavior from within the jail’s rank and file. Saying the matter is about a “zero-tolerance” policy at the detention center, he said. Hooper was immediately terminated from the $38,000 a year job.

“This is something that will not be tolerated,” Silversmith said of employee insubordination. “We will not tolerate dirty cops. We will not tolerate having drugs being brought into the facility. We will go after people who do this. My hat goes off to the officers at the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office who helped in this investigation.”

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

Bust was result of multi-agency investigation

GALLUP – A Gallup man was jailed April 7 on a felony drug charge as the result of a multi-agency bust on Black Diamond Canyon Drive.

Lt. Pat Salazar of the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office said Robert Gonzales, 41, of 327 Black Diamond Canyon Drive, was taken into custody at about 10:45 am on a possession with the intent of trafficking heroin charge.

In explaining how the bust went down, Salazar said the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cibola County Sheriff’s Office raided the mobile home and found an unknown quantity of heroin, some needles and glass pipes at the residence.

He said the drug bust was the result of neighbors complaining of possible illegal activity at the residence. He said two minors, one a 3-years-old and another 17-years-old, were present at the time of the bust, saying they were turned over to a grandmother of Gonzales.

“There have been a lot of complaints about this particular residence over the past four months,” Salazar said. “Neighbors suspected drug-related activities were taking place at the residence.”

Salazar did not disclose the amount of heroin confiscated Thursday, but said it was “enough to be charged with trafficking.”

Gonzales remained behind bars at the McKinley County detention Center as of April 7.  He’s being held on a $46,000 cash only bond.

A person can be found guilty of drug trafficking regardless of amount. Felony drug trafficking charges typically result in prison sentences that last over a year.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent