Two more people have been arrested on various drug charges due to the diligence and hard work of undercover narcotics agents. The agent responsible for the latest arrests, hereby referred to as Agent, was met with in a secure undisclosed location. The Gallup Sun does not disclose the identity of undercover officers.
Traffic stop leads to drug arrest
According to the arrest warrant, filed by Agent, Gallup Police Department Officer Matthew Graham responded to La Cima Dr. Jan. 29 to check on a male who was reportedly “slumped over the steering wheel.”
“Patrol got called out for someone who was down and out in a vehicle, they arrested him for being under the influence,” Agent said.
While Nassar Hamayel, 23, of Gallup was being placed under arrest, Graham noticed that Hamayel’s nose and fingertips were black.
The arrest warrant says that while Graham was getting the vehicle inventoried for a tow, he discovered what appeared to be narcotics in the vehicle. The vehicle was sealed and towed for evidence until a search warrant could be obtained.
Agent secured a search warrant Feb. 2 and various agents searched the vehicle. A pill box labeled “oxycontin,” “green leafy substance” in a white bag and “dark, tar like substance wrapped in white plastic having the appearance of heroin” were located in the vehicle. Known drug paraphernalia was also found in the vehicle. The “oxycontin” held 37 pills with “OP” on them as well as 38 pills with “XANAX” on them. The prescription bottle was not prescribed to Hamayel.
The suspected narcotics were sent to a lab in Santa Fe where a report was returned June 30 confirming that the “oxycontin” pills were oxycodone. The dark tar substance tested positive for heroin and the green leafy substance tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
Based on the lab’s findings, Agent was able to obtain an arrest warrant for Hamayel and he was served at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center Aug. 6.
“He was about to get released and we served him at the jail,” Agent said.
Hamayel had a charge of trafficking Jan. 7, where he went in front of Magistrate Judge April Silversmith. That charge was transferred to District Court March 19 to Judge Robert Aragon. An arraignment was held March 27. Hamayel will be answering to the charge of felony possession Aug. 21 in District Court.
Agents are watching
After undercover agents coordinated a buy from Ruth Garcia, 31, of Gallup, watched the buy and then sent the bought narcotics off to a lab in Santa Fe, they had the evidence that they needed to secure an arrest warrant. The narcotics did test positive for containing methamphetamine. The arrest warrant was signed Aug. 7.
That same day, agents saw Garcia leaving her known residence on North Third Street and driving to Pep Boys, where a traffic stop was made. She admitted to having a “bubble” on her person.
“Based on affiants training and experience a ‘bubble’ is a glass pipe that is round like a bubble at the end which is used for smoking controlled substances,” Agent said in the search warrant.
Garcia was placed under arrest for the warrant, charges of distribution of a controlled substance and a K-9 unit was utilized to check the vehicle.
“K9 Officer T. Peyketewa advised his K9 ‘Jayco’ did show interest on the left front door but did not alert on the vehicle,” Agent said in the warrant.
While preparing the vehicle to be towed, an inventory was being done and Agent located suspected narcotics.
The inventory ceased was secured and taken in as evidence until a search warrant could be secured. The search warrant was signed Aug. 11. In the vehicle, agents located a “white plastic baggie with glass shard like substance” inside the lipstick case of a purse.
“We did a traffic stop on her, we found [possible] meth on her person, got a search warrant for her vehicle and found some more [possible] meth,” Agent said.
The suspected narcotics will be sent to the lab for positive identification.
Garcia has already plead guilty to trafficking stemming from a March 16 charge, which was transferred to District Court. On May 4, Garcia plead guilty in front of Judge Louis DePauli Jr., where she was granted a conditional discharge and given supervised probation for 12 months. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Howard signed an order setting conditions of release Aug. 11. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 19.
