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Gallup Sun

Saturday, May 04th

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Local man booked for alleged murder staged as suicide

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A Gallup man was booked for first degree murder and tampering with evidence April 20 for the murder of Gallup resident 57-year-old Jami Nechero.

Randolph “Randy” Schmaltz reportedly left plenty of clues for police to arrest him for the murder, as revealed in the arrest warrant.

When Gallup Police Department officers...

FBI Seeking Credit Card Fraud/Burglary Victims

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PHOENIX —The Phoenix Division of the FBI is conducting an investigation into the activities of the now closed Mamma Mia’s Pizza restaurants located at 3937 E. Indian School Road and 809 E. Indian School Road in Phoenix, AZ.

If you were a customer of Mamma Mia’s Pizza between January 2012 and July 2015 and were a victim of credit card fraud and/or your home was burglarized, we would like your assistance in obtaining more information that will aid in the investigation.

Due to the large number of people potentially affected, a dedicated complaint e-mail address has been established for this investigation.

If you have been to Mamma Mia’s Pizza between January 2012 and July 2015 and...

Female child abuser out on $40K bond

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5-year-old girl kicked in the butt, 8-year-old boy fed bologna sandwiches

A Gallup female, charged with two counts of child abuse, has been released from the Gallup-McKinley County Adult Detention Center on a $40,000 bond amount, officials confirmed.

Shannon Begay, 32, was jailed on April 3 and let out April 5, according to jail records. According to an arrest warrant, Gallup police began investigating Begay after one of her kids, a 5-year-old, identified in the arrest warrant as A.B., came into the Gallup Indian Medical Center at least once looking malnourished and with body bruises.

The same physical situation appeared to be happening to an 8-year-old boy, identified in the warrant...

Defendants sentenced to 25 years for murder of Sanders man

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PHOENIX – Earlier this month, Vaughn Paul James, 24, of Sanders, Ariz., was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton to 300 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

James had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder-aid and abet. James’s co-defendant, Nolan Lewis, 30, of Kykotsmovi, Ariz., had also previously pleaded guilty to the same crime and received the same sentence.

On Sept. 10, 2013, James and Lewis assaulted the victim near Sanders, Ariz. While the victim was still alive, he was placed in the trunk of his own car. The victim was later found deceased inside the trunk of the car, which had burn marks near the gas...

Weekly Crime Blotter

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CHECK BANDIT BUSTED

4/18, Gallup

James Vinson remained incarcerated at the Gallup-McKinley County Adult Detention Center on a probation-related violation, officials said. Vinson was on probation for larceny and burglary charges. He’s being held on a $3,000 bond.

Vinson was taken into custody April 18 for not checking in with his Gallup probation officer, according to jail records. Vinson was a suspect in recent incidents regarding the cashing of forged checks. He’s is also listed as an accomplice to Josh Cucciardi, who is currently wanted by local police for forgery and identity theft.

In one instance of Vinson’s past wrongdoing, he attempted to cash a bogus $685.78 check...

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