A man from Ganado, Ariz., is facing charges after he reportedly waved a gun around in the Sports Page Lounge parking lot.
On July 15, around 11:15 pm, Gallup Police Officers Patrick Largo and Jerald Watchman were dispatched to the bar at 1400 S. Second St. after callers reported a man waving a gun around.
When the officers arrived at the scene, they met a Tribe Security officer in front of the bar. The guard said a man approached him and said another man was waving a gun around in the parking lot. The man, who was later identified as Randy Yazzie, was allegedly shouting and saying that if anybody came near his vehicle, he would shoot them.
The security guard pointed the two officers in the direction of a couple of silver Dodge pickup trucks, saying that the man was reportedly in that area. The three men then saw a man in a cowboy hat, and the security guard said that may be the suspect.
As the two officers walked up to the silver pickup trucks, a witness approached them and cautiously pointed behind him, as if he did not want to make it obvious, and then he reportedly made a hand gesture as if he was holding a gun.
The witness identified the suspect as a man wearing a gray tank top and a cowboy hat.
Watchman began speaking to the man, who was later identified as Yazzie, 42. Watchman reportedly told Yazzie to put his hands behind his back. As Largo was doing a pat search on Yazzie, he allegedly smelled alcohol on his breath. He was also reportedly slurring his words.
The officers struggled to put handcuffs on Yazzie because he kept tensing up his arms. They eventually had to take him down to the ground, where they then put the handcuffs on him.
While the officers were trying to handcuff Yazzie, he reportedly got a hold of Watchman’s right hand and dug his fingers into his skin. He also reportedly pinched the officer’s sleeves and wouldn’t let go.
The gun was found in Yazzie’s front left pocket. According to Largo’s report, it was a 10mm semi-automatic pistol. Largo carefully removed the magazine from the weapon. He found a single bullet inside the gun, and he removed it.
Yazzie was placed in a patrol vehicle while the officers spoke to witnesses.
They spoke to the previous witness they talked to, and he said he’d been getting out of his girlfriend’s truck when he noticed Yazzie arguing with “his ‘lady.’” The witness allegedly quoted Yazzie, saying, “I got a gun and I want to shoot some motherf***ers up.”
The witness told Yazzie he needed to “chill out” and to put his gun away. He said that Yazzie never pointed the gun at him, but was just waving it around.
A man who had been standing next to Yazzie when the officers approached him said he had walked up to Yazzie to say “what’s up” to him. They reportedly talked for a while, but the man never said he saw the gun because “it was too dark.”
Yazzie was transported to a local hospital where he was cleared for booking. He was charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm in a licensed liquor establishment, battery upon a police officer, negligent use of a deadly weapon (intoxication), unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon, and two counts of resisting arrest.
Yazzie’s hearing was scheduled for July 19, where he would be meeting with 11th District Court Judge Virginia Yazzie via Google Meet.
Staff Reports
