On March 12, police received a call at about 9:46 am that US Bank on 101 W. Hill Ave had been robbed, Gallup Police Department Sgt. Rosanne Morrissette said.

Initial reports indicate that the suspect is a tall, thin white male in his 40s and who stands about 5’11” to 6’1.” He was wearing a dark in color hoody pulled up around his face, and blue jeans.

Details are pending, but Morrissette said the man walked into the bank, showed the teller a handgun and made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

He took off out of the bank on foot, and was last seen running southbound on First Street.

Witnesses or anyone that can help identify the man can call Crimestoppers at (505) 722-6161.

Changes at RMCHCS

Elective surgeries and most non-urgent health services will be put off due to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s executive order March 25. Lujan Grisham says the decision is to protect the state’s supply of equipment that workers need in order to stay safe from COVID-19.

That order caused some re-evaluation at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Health Care Services. RMCHCS will decide on procedures on a case by case basis.

“With this new rule in effect, it affects our finances. As we approach the difficult financial challenges COVID-19 imposes on us, like many other businesses across the globe, we are taking prudent financial steps which make sense,” RMCHCS CEO David Conejo said

One of those steps meant ending contracts with 15 traveling nurses, whose 13-week agreements can be renewed or canceled with a two-week notice, as long as the hospital pays the nurses for those two weeks.

Conejo said those nurses will receive that pay.  But they will not be paid through the end of the contracts, if the dates go beyond the two weeks’ notice.

In hearing the story of Tom Kenyon, one of the nurses in the ER who spoke to the Gallup Sun about not being renewed, Conejo expressed regret.

“It’s the collective effect of everything that’s stopping hospitals. The problem is so massive that we can’t make it right for everyone.”

Kenyon, 55, from Detroit City said he worked for almost a year at RMCHCS.  He said April 3 was his last day, but he was expecting it to be April 25.

Kenyon said that cutting ER nurses like himself and mid-level physicians assistants and nurse practitioners would mean long wait times and impacts on procedures that were not elective.

He was also concerned about two traveling nurses who he believed had their contracts renewed because they were married to people working in the hospital, one as a radiologist and one who worked in labor and delivery.

Conejo said that if it was necessary to reduce total staff in the ER and someone’s spouse performed a specific procedure the hospital needed, it was prudent to keep that nurse and move them to an area where more nurses are required.

“They are putting the public in harm’s way. That’s how I see it,” Kenyon said.

Conejo said the hospital is COVID-19 ready, but he views the situation as what he refers to as “the devil’s dilemma.”

“If we lay people off and we get a surge of patients, suddenly we don’t have enough people. If we don’t get enough people, expenses will eat you up.”

RMCHCS has made application for financial aid through the state and FEMA.

Conejo points out that if the hospital gets a substantial check that may provide enough for its needs. But it all depends on how long COVID-19 lasts.

“If COVID runs through November, a lot of money will go up in smoke,” he said.

In terms of the financial situation, “We’re trying to keep panic from spreading,” Conejo said.

Once the elective procedures stop, so does virtually everything else, so not as many people come in for the ER or lab work. They‘re afraid of going to the hospital because the COVID might be there.

In other words, the income goes down, but expenses stay up.

“We have sufficient supplies for our normal number of patients. If we get transfers, or a surge, from Crownpoint or Fort Defiance, or an increase in our patients,” Conejo said that’s when PPEs can dwindle.

“We’re reaching out to everyone we can.  There are a number of companies contacting us, reaching out to us, too. We had masks that a month ago cost $0.43. Today they cost $10. How many $10 masks can you afford?”

Then Conejo talked about ventilators.

“We’re low right now, but we’re adequate. But we’re trying to find more.”  He didn’t care to venture a guess as to what ventilators might cost.

By Beth Blakeman
Associate Editor

Busy start to 2016

Gallup Police Department’s narcotics division has been off to a busy start this year. Four different drug stings resulted in raids and netted 14 arrests thanks to the help of some confidential informants and uncover agents.

The most recent raid was March 4, at the home of Joseph “Spooky” Gonzales, 2580 E. Boyd Ave. At least one stolen gun, along with other guns, drugs, drug paraphernalia, and thousands in cash were confiscated from the property.

It was a three month sting GPD Lt. Matt Wright said. And it was anything but textbook. Gonzales, 30, made a run for it, but two K-9 officers were able to catch up with him and keep him at bay. The situation could have taken a tragic turn if Gonzales was able to fire the pistol that he had stowed in his belt line. But instead, he dropped the gun and was arrested moments later.

Gonzales was elusive in the months leading up to his arrest. He was wanted on a warrant for aggravated fleeing from an officer, driving while license is revoked, and open container (vehicle) issued by Magistrate Court Judge April Silversmith. And a second warrant for possession of a controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia, issued by District Court Judge Robert Aragon.

There were five other individuals arrested Friday: Billy Gonzales, Logic Montona, Devin Masci, Aaron Gonzales, and Tyson Wood.

“Billy Gonzales also tried to run, but was caught,” Wright said.

As of March 10, Joseph Gonzales is still detained at McKinley County Adult Detention Center on two, no bond holds from District Court, and a $2,000 cash only bond. The Sun was unable to obtain release information on the five others that were arrested with him March 4, as of press time.

TWO BUSTS, ONE DAY

Narcotics agents had double the trouble Feb. 19 when they raided Room 9 at the Zia Motel, 915 E. Hwy 66, and a residence on 506 S. 1st St.

Agents had their eyes on Charles Martinez and Jearlyn Malone. The duo had been allegedly selling drugs to undercover agents out of the motel’s parking lot, and in two of the rooms.

To boot, both already had outstanding warrants. Martinez, 51, for possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine, and Malone, 33, had a warrant for trafficking a controlled substance, also meth.

A meth like substance and paraphernalia were discovered during the raid.

As of March 10, Martinez is still in jail, being held on a $1,000 cash only bond from Magistrate Court. Malone was released on her own recognizance.

The bust at the residence, although a bit unusual, resulted in the arrests of Corey Daniel and Jeremy Henry. A concerned citizen called to report that there was the “strong smell of skunk” wafting from the residence. It turned out that the passerby was smelling marijuana.

The couple tried to make a grand escape through the back door, but were greeted by GPD Officer Jessie Diaz and his K-9 partner Kwinto, a Belgian Malanois trained to sniff out narcotics.

What appeared to be about 1 lb. of pot, paraphernalia, foil, and bongs were discovered on the property. A handgun was also retrieved from the property, GPD Capt. Rick White said.

And this duo are no strangers to handcuffs.

Both were arrested for stealing more than $3,500 worth of items from a Colorado’s man’s truck parked outside of Econo Lodge west Jan. 18. Henry was found at Motel 6 west hiding under the bed with firearms at the ready.

Back in July, Henry, 23, was arrested for a rash of residential burglaries. With this latest arrest, he’s shaping up his resume as a career criminal, and as a Gallup Sun regular.

As of March 10, Henry is still in custody on a $5,000 cash/surety bond via Magistrate Court. Daniel, 22, was released Feb. 25 on a $1,000 cash only bond.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

The Feb. 3 a drug raid at Road Runner Motel, 3012 E. Hwy 66, resulted in four arrests: Robert B. Baca, 26; Hilario Josue Garcia, 30; Benjamin Gonzales, 22; John Paradise, 25. Narcotics agents witnessed suspicious activity going on at the motel, plus all men frequenting the motel had outstanding warrants.

When the search warrant was executed, agents “observed in plain sight sheets of aluminum, [and] straws on the bed used to inhale narcotics into the body,” the search warrant states.

In the bathroom, agents found more sheets of aluminum foil, a spoon to cook heroin, and a scale likely used to weigh drugs for sale.

An undisclosed amount of what appeared to be heroin was found during the raid.

A 9mm Taurus semiautomatic pistol was found tucked in between the bed mattress and box spring. Garcia, Paradise and Baca “are all known felons and are not allowed to have a firearm in their possession,” the warrant states.

The room was rented to Jordan Strain, who was not present during the raid. Wright said charges against him are pending.

Baca was released from jail Feb. 15 on a canceled warrant; Garcia is being held on a no bond hold from District Court and his probation officer; Gonzales was held on a $1,000 cash/surety bond and was released the same day he was arrested; and Paradise was held on a $1,000 cash/surety and released Feb. 4.

“More drug raids will be done in the future,” Capt. White said. “They are not slowing down.”

He also explained that all drugs confiscated are sent to a crime lab in Santa Fe for testing. Once testing is completed, and the results comes back positive, arrest warrants will be issued.

By Babette Herrmann
Sun Editor

First-come, first-served hurts the underserved

Staff Reports

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tom Udall, D-NM and Martin Heinrich, D-NM and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján, D-NM, Deb Haaland, D-NM, and Xochitl Torres Small, D-NM are raising concerns with the U.S. Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration’s implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan process. The delegation is urging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza to improve the guidance for these programs so that struggling small businesses and nonprofits in New Mexico can receive desperately needed federal assistance and support.

SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program is intended to inject $349 billion into struggling small businesses and nonprofits across the nation. Businesses across New Mexico are in desperate need of the forgivable, low-interest PPP loans to pay employees and other expenses during this unprecedented crisis. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, that the entire New Mexico delegation voted to pass, also created a new SBA disaster grant available as a part of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan process. The purpose of this grant is to quickly provide capital to small businesses that are waiting for loan approval.

“Neither of these programs is fully serving the needs of businesses and nonprofits in New Mexico as Congress intended,” the delegation wrote. “The first-come, first-served distribution of the $349 billion in the PPP has strongly disadvantaged community banks and mission-based nonprofit lenders in New Mexico that serve the majority of our small businesses. We recommend that a portion of available PPP funding be reserved for those borrowers who do not have relationships with the traditional lenders that will dominate delivery of PPP Loans. Without proactive and sustained outreach, we can expect that underserved communities will be disproportionately harmed - just as they were during the Great Recession when minority business enterprises suffered a steep decline in the proportion of SBA-backed loan approvals. These lenders are struggling to follow the frequently changing guidance from the SBA and cannot process loans with the speed of large, nationwide banks.”

The delegation continued, “We are concerned about the limited ability for the SBA’s district office in New Mexico to serve our constituents. Reportedly, local SBA offices do not have access to the Administration’s loan or emergency systems. As such, they are unable to assist businesses with specific questions related to their applications. And they are unable to answer general question about PPP and EIDL’s performance in our state. We urge you to authorize SBA’s district offices to have access to critical information and be able to address problems raised by New Mexico businesses.”

“We are also deeply concerned with both the loan and grant parts of the EIDL program. Businesses in New Mexico that applied for these programs weeks ago have still not received EIDL approval. The EIDL grants that Congress directed to be provided within three days of application have yet to be distributed. New Mexico businesses are in desperate need of these funds and are frustrated - as are we - with the repeated delays in the approval and distribution of these funds,” the delegation added.

According to figures released by the Small Business Association on April 14, more than 5,300 loans to New Mexico small businesses, totaling more than $1.1 billion, have been approved by the SBA under the Paycheck Protection Plan. Obligated loans do not necessarily represent funds that have actually been disbursed, and the New Mexico delegation is fighting to ensure these funds are expeditiously distributed and to ensure that all eligible New Mexico businesses get their fair share of funding through PPP, as Congress considers increasing funds for the program.

In the letter, the delegation addressed Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Administrator Carranza on the topic of tranparency and asked these three questions.

How many loans have been approved in New Mexico?

How many loans have been disbursed in New Mexico?

What is the zip code for each loan distributed and for what amount?

The letter requests that Mnuchin provide a way for Congress to access all of these loan program metrics daily.