Gallup Police Officers were called to Ford Canyon Veterans Memorial Park, 908 E. Buena Vista Ave., Feb. 17 about 4:30 pm after park visitors reported that a person had been shot. Officers found Teagan Morgan, 15, of Gallup, unconscious behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Officers administered CPR and Morgan was transported by emergency medical personnel to a local hospital, where he later died.

Detectives interviewed multiple witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage from the surrounding area. According to a press release published March 2, they determined that Valentino Gutierrez, 18, of Mentmore, N.M., had approached Morgan to allegedly rob him. Morgan was reportedly selling electronic...

Woman arrested for aggravated assault

A Pinedale, N.M., woman named Delphine Whitegoat was arrested for aggravated assault after she came into a local restaurant and started swinging a metal bat at the customers.

Gallup Police Officer Christopher Dawes responded to the  situation at the McDonald’s East, 2300 E. Hwy. 66, Dec. 7 around 1:15 pm. He met with the McDonald’s manager, who said Whitegoat, 33, came into the business and tried to hit a customer with a metal bat that had barbwire wrapped around its tip.

Dawes met with the victim, and the man said he had been ordering food at the register with his family when Whitegoat came up to him asking for money. The man said he told...

Featured DWI



Derrick James Tapaha

Jan. 1, 8:08 pm

Aggravated DWI (Seventh)

Driving without headlights resulted in a Pine Hill man, Derrick Tapaha, 42, being arrested and adding to a lengthy list of DWI charges.

Gallup Officer Vincent Thompson was traveling eastbound on Highway 66 when he saw a silver Ford Hatchback traveling westbound with its headlights turned off. Thompson saw the vehicle turn on its headlights as it passed his unit and he turned around. He caught up to the vehicle near the intersection of Highway 66 and Industry Road and followed it into the lot of West End Deli at 3030 W. Hwy. 66.

Thompson met the driver, Tapaha, and informed him of the reason...

Gallup Police were able to track down a man, Aaron Lay Smith, after witnesses saw him hit a pedestrian with his car and then followed him to a local store.

The incident reportedly happened in the intersection of East Hill Street and South Strong Drive around 9 pm March 13. Callers reported a pedestrian had been struck by a vehicle. The vehicle allegedly left the scene of the crash before the officers arrived.



Witnesses followed the vehicle to Lowe’s Uptown, 1120 E. Hwy. 66. Officers identified the driver as Smith, 23, of Yahtahey.

Smith was arrested and charged with Homicide by Vehicle (a third degree felony), Leaving the Scene of an Accident involving a death (a third degree...