STRONG-ARMED ROBBER

12/16, GALLUP

An 18-year-old man possibly came within inches of losing his life when Isiah Torrez, 17, wrapped his left arm around his neck and used his right hand to hold a knife to his throat, demanding him to hand over all of his valuables.

According to Gallup Police Department Officer Douglas Hoffman’s report, the victim, who was walking down the street, was ambushed in the area of Stagecoach and Camino Del Sol, by Torrez, the police report states.

The victim said that Torrez told him “to give him everything he had or he was going to cut him and kill him,” the report states.

He handed Torrez his cellphone and wallet. Torrez gave him back the cell...

Restaurant also vandalized

McKinley County Sheriff’s Department Inv. Joey Guillen said investigators are seeking information about the burglary and vandalizing of the Wagon Wheel Café in Thoreau.

Guillen said sometime between Nov. 23-30, a burglar broke into the business. He didn’t disclose whether any items or money was taken. Also that same week, in a separate incident, the café was vandalized.

Anybody with information on possible suspects are asked to call the Sheriff’s Office and ask for the investigations Division. Phone number is (505) 722-8514.

A Yatahey man is dead after an apparent suicide last week at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center, records show.

Sgt. Elreno Henio of the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a police report that on Dec. 9 Thomas Yazzie-Joe, 28, was discovered dead by a jail booking officer who was making routine rounds.

Henio recorded that Yazzie-Joe was booked earlier in the day on aggravated battery and aggravated assault charges. The police report states that Yazzie-Joe was “aggressive and disorderly” during the booking process.

Yazzie-Joe was placed in a single cell without another inmate to avoid fighting and confrontations with other inmates, the police report states. Steve...

The body of a man found deceased near the Dead Horse Giant along New Mexico 566 has been identified as Jones Irving, 61, according to a police report.

Deputy Garylle James of the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office recorded that passersby and some people hanging around the area reported that the body was motionless in the early morning of Dec. 8.

“I arrived on the scene and saw a male standing near the entrance of the Dead Horse Giant,” James recorded in the report. “I saw four people standing around what appeared to be a body laying on the ground.” The deceased was a relative of someone who happened to be frequenting the gas station at the time of the discovery, the police...