DRUNK AND DISORDERLY
10/28, GALLUP
At about 1:35 am, Randy C. Chee, 23, allegedly tried to fight with people and punch a security guard at the Sports Page, 1400 S. Second St., according to GPD Officer Douglas Hoffman’s report on the matter.
Hoffman wrote that, at the scene, Chee walked toward police, angry at the female who was helping him walk, as he was very drunk. Chee cursed profanities at the officers, according to the report, and made verbal threats.
Apparently, around this time, Chee got into his car and continued to threaten officers, who tried to get him out of the vehicle. According to Hoffman’s report, Chee became “more and more violent” and was taken to the ground where he hit and cut his face.
Chee was taken to the hospital, where he continued to act belligerently toward staff. He blew .148 on the breath test, was given stitches, and was booked in jail for battery upon a peace officer, assault upon a peace officer, and disorderly conduct.
STREET RACE
10/28, GALLUP
At about 10:10 pm, GPD Officer Dominic Molina was traveling westbound near the 1200 block of Highway 66 when he noticed two vehicles street racing in the opposite direction. According to the report, one of the vehicles, a Cadillac, was traveling 65 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Molina eventually made contact with the driver between Aztec Avenue and Luis Street. According to his report, Molina could smell marijuana coming from the car. The driver, Jed Shebala, 21, seemed nervous and claimed he was not racing, but rather the other car was racing with him.
Molina told Shebala he was under arrest for reckless driving. Molina wrote that Shebala kept trying to reach into the vehicle as Molina detained him.
There was a prescription bottle in the car with the label scratched off, along with a knife. GPD Sergeant Terrance Peyketewa joined Molina at the scene with his K9, and the dog alerted the officers to the trunk. Narcotics agents were contacted and the evidence was logged. Shebala was booked for reckless driving and racing on streets.
LEFT ALONE
10/27, GALLUP
At about 10:45 am, GPD Officer Nicola Martinez was dispatched to the TA Motel at 3404 W. Hwy. 66 in reference to child abandonment, called in by the maternal grandmother.
At the scene, Martinez was told the grandmother was in the room with the kids. According to the report, Martinez found five children (ages 2, 5, 7, 1, and less than a year old) inside a two-bedroom motel room. Martinez wrote that the 7-year-old told her she was in charge of taking care of the kids all night, as her mother left yesterday.
According to the report, the children’s diapers were soiled, and Martinez was told Amber Begay, 26, the mother, leaves the children alone like this often.
Martinez wrote that the motel manager said there were several complaints about the children being left alone, and that he had seen them alone before, about two weeks prior.
The paternal and maternal grandparents took the children to the GPD to meet a social worker and write a statement on the incidents. At the department, Martinez learned that Begay was in detox, where she blew .06 on the breath test.
Begay was arrested and booked on four counts of child abandonment and one count of child abuse. Begay’s mother said Begay does not have a job “and pays more attention to her phone than her kids,” according to the report.
DEATH FOLLOWING DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE
10/25, GALLUP
At 3:58 pm, GDP Officer Ryan Blackgoat was dispatched to 3508 Ciniza Dr. in reference to a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, the officer was notified by dispatch of an additional call from that location about a person who was not breathing.
According to Blackgoat’s report, he was flagged by a female at the location yelling for help. A male, Erick Lee, 34, was found lying on the dirt. Lee was not breathing and the officer states he could not identify a pulse. The officer began CPR until medical assistance arrived.
Once EMS arrived on the scene, Blackgoat began to question the female. She stated that she and Lee had been released from Detox earlier that day, and that Lee was upset as he had “not got his fix.” After asking several people for money, Lee obtained heroin and a fifth of Captain Morgan, which he shared with the female. Soon after, he collapsed and was not breathing.
Lee was transported to GIMC, where he was pronounced dead.
AGGRAVATED BATTERY
10/17, GALLUP
At 8:07 pm, GDP Officer Douglas Hoffman arrived at the scene of a reported assault in the parking lot of Wendy’s North on N. Hwy. 491. Upon arrival, he found Julian Watchman, 32, in handcuffs, detained by an off-duty police officer, and a male victim standing with Wendy’s employees.
According to Hoffman’s report, witnesses saw Watchman chasing the victim with a crowbar. A Wendy’s employee also stated that she had seen the two men fighting in the parking lot.
Watchman told the officer at the scene that he had witnessed the male victim fighting with a female in his vehicle, so he approached the vehicle in order to stop the fight. According to the victim, Watchman approached his vehicle and attempted to remove a bag from the bed of the pickup. When the victim exited the vehicle to confront him, Watchman reportedly began to hit him four times with the crowbar. He reportedly avoided serious injury.
Officer Hoffman located the weapon at the scene in the back of Watchman’s truck.
NEGLECT WHILE INTOXICATED
10/14, GALLUP
GDP Officer Jeremy Shirley was dispatched to East Aztec Baptist Church, 310 East Aztec Ave., in reference to an intoxicated male individual with two young children.
Upon arrival, Shirley found Ernest Begay, 63, lying on the ground face up with his eyes closed. Two children, ages 3 and 6, were playing on the church steps nearby. Upon waking, Begay stated that he had hit his head, and EMTs were dispatched to the scene. The officer’s report notes that alcohol odor could be detected from the suspect.
A witness stated that she called the police after finding Begay and the children, who were trying to help him get up. The children stated that their “papa bumped his head.”
When EMTs arrived, they got Begay to stand, but the report states that the suspect became agitated and kept pulling away from medics. He was cuffed and detained in the police vehicle, then transported to MCDC. Where he was booked on charges of abandonment and neglect.
The children were taken to Roosevelt Elementary School and left with staff, who would contact a family member to pick them up.
