Screaming and arguing
3/21, Gallup
An arguing couple attracted the attention of Gallup Police Department officers, and led them to solve a robbery from the day before.
GPD Officer Adrian Quetawki was dispatched to the area of Grandview Avenue and Junker bridge after someone reported a woman screaming in the area.
After arriving he met another patrolman, Douglas Hoffman, who had also been dispatched to the scene. As they approached the couple on the bridge, they saw a woman, Vanessa Lee, 31, of Red Rock and a man, Richard Gantar, 31, of Albuquerque who was seen fumbling with something in his pocket.
Hoffman went and picked it up and discovered it was a social security card that had been reported stolen the day before in a vehicle burglary. Gantar was placed in Hoffman’s unit while the two turned their attention to Lee, who was found to have in her possession some of the other items that had been stolen the day before.
It turned out that Lee was wanted in connection with another incident from the day before when she threatened a man with a knife and stole his phone, while he was waiting in his car while his daughter did her laundry.
At the time officers caught her, Lee was still in possession of that cell phone.
She confessed to stealing the cell phone, said Hoffman, claiming she planned to trade it for some marijuana. Also found in her possession were three checks stolen the day before from Ernie’s Fire Extinguishers.
She was charged with robbery, tampering with evidence, and being in possession of stolen property. Gantar was charged with being in possession of stolen property.
You should have shot me
3/18, Gallup
It began as an investigation of two reported shoplifters and ended up with police having to tase a Church Rock man who refused to follow commands to get out of a van.
GPD Officer Luke Martin said he was dispatched to Walmart in response to a call from a security guard there asking for assistance. When he got there, he was told that two women had walked out of the building to a van in the parking lot. The two were suspected of stealing merchandise.
The owner of the van, who claimed not to know the suspects, gave officers permission to search his van for any items stolen from Walmart. Another man was sitting in the van, and officers told him to get out of the van, but he refused, telling officers not to touch him as he reached for something in his pocket.
The officers then grabbed him and forcibly removed him from the van as he said the object in his pocket was not a gun but a knife. As he was removed, a number of objects fell out of his pocket, including a knife and a smoking pipe.
Once he was removed from the van, he continued to struggle and tried to escape. Martin said he was forced to use his taser to get him under control. Martin said he then looked at the pipe and found a residue of what appeared to be marijuana.
The man originally told officers his name was Kyle Johnson but it was later determined to be Jacoby Garcia, 30, of Gallup. He was charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also found to have three outstanding bench warrants for his arrest.
A deadly threat
3/19, Gallup
A Gallup man is facing multiple charges after what began as a domestic violence case eventually ended up being something entirely different.
Anthony Rios has been charged with trafficking a controlled substance, a felon being found in possession of a firearm, aggravated battery on a household member, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Gallup Patrolman Justin Benally said he was dispatched to a motel at 1007 West Coal Ave. in connection with a report of a domestic dispute. When he got there, he met a local bail bondsman, who said he was asked to come to the motel by Petunia Hernandez, a woman from Las Vegas.
He added that when he got there, Hernandez said her boyfriend, Rios, threatened to kill him and any police officer who showed up.
Benally saw Rios walk out of a motel room, go back inside and come out again. Rios at that point was placed in handcuffs while Benally continued talking to witnesses.
After taking to several witnesses, Benally learned that Rios had punched her in the back of the head and attempted to choke her.
Police had heard that Rios had a weapon but a search of the motel room came up empty. Rios asked to speak to the bondsman and he came later and told police that the gun was buried in dirty laundry in the restroom.
During the search, police did find to small plastic bags containing methamphetamine and a scale.
A bar fight
3/16, Gallup
Jeremiah Tsosie, 21, of Bread Springs, is facing battery on a police officer charges after he reportedly hit a Gallup patrolman in the parking lot of a local bar.
GPD Officer Anthony Thayer was sent to the Sports Page about 7:30 pm to deal with Tsosie, who was causing a disturbance at the bar.
Thayer said Tsosie appeared to be highly intoxicated and placed him in the back seat of his unit. Thayer had picked up another man who was also in the back seat so Thayer told Tsosie to leave him alone.
No sooner had he said this, Tsosie began yelling at the man and insulting him. To make matters worse, security guards at the bar came up to him and told him there was another man they wanted removed from the premises.
As he was talking to the security guard, Thayer said Tsosie came up from behind him and hit him on the right side of his face with his fist. He performed a takedown move to get him to the ground and a security guard helped place handcuffs on him.
Once he was placed in the unit, Tsosie reportedly began hitting his head on the window and had to be restrained to keep him from hurting himself. He was then transported to jail, complaining all the way. Once at the jail, he continued to yell and complain, said Thayer.
A familiar face
3/14, Gallup
It was a simple case of a snatch and run.
GPD Officer Cindy Romancito said she was dispatched to the Del Norte Elementary School on Wilson Avenue about 3:30 pm in connection with the capture of a man who was accused of stealing watches from a nearby pawnshop.
When she got there, she saw two men standing over a third man who was seated on the pavement. The man was Darrell Johnson, 41, of Yah-Ta-Hay, who, upon seeing Romancito, began yelling at her and calling her names.
Romancito said she felt threatened by him because she had an encounter with him in the past. Once he was placed in a police unit, she went to the Andy’s Trading Post, which was located near the school and talked to one of the clerks.
The clerk said she knew Johnson because he had done some business with the pawnshop in the past but because of an incidence he had been barred from the premises for some time. He was recently allowed to come back.
Earlier that day he came in with another man and apparently grabbed some watches and ran out the door. The other man was caught with nine of the watches. The clerk said she felt he might have been a diversion to confuse them.
Johnson caught up with the rest of the watches near the school and the manager of the pawnshop said he didn’t want Johnson to come back ever again.
He was taken to a local hospital for a medical clearance. From there he was transported to the jail where he was booked for larceny, assault on a peace officer (for threatening Romancito), and criminal damage to property.
Road rage made me do it
3/22, Gallup
At first, it appeared to be a bad case of road rage. But whatever it was, it got Casey Piaz Jr. in serious trouble with the law.
When it was finally over, Piaz, 28, of Gallup was facing charges of battery on a peace officer, possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
GPD Officer John Gonzales said it was about 12:48 am when he learned that another officer was attempting to pull two vehicles over that were apparently involved in a road rage incident.
Gonzales caught up with the vehicles as they stopped, with the two drivers getting outside of their vehicles yelling at each other. Gonzales said he got between the two and was trying to calm things down when Piaz, one of the drivers, grabbed his uniform shirt.
He told Piaz to let go but he refused to follow his commands. The two fell to the ground in front of Gonzales’ police unit with Gonzales on top. Gonzales said he continued to tell Piaz to let go of his shirt but he refused to do so, pulling off his radio and nametag.
With the help of another police officer, they were able to get Piaz under control and placed handcuffs on him.
When they patted him down looking for concealed weapons, they found red baggies and a clear baggie, both with suspected illegal drugs inside. They also found a glass pipe with a white substance inside.
When he was booked, officers also found a small bag of a green leafy substance in one of his shoes.
Don’t keep your friends that close
3/22, Gallup
Even the victim had no idea why his friend pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
It happened, said Ramon Silverfox, about 1:30 am in a house on Scott Drive.
Silverfox told police he was drinking in a back bedroom with two of his friends, Brent Bennett, 21, of Thoreau, and Kyle Francisco, 18, of Mentmore, when Bennett, for no reason, pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the leg.
His father, carrying a bat, then chased him out of the house, said Silverfox. They had not even been arguing, he added. They had been “just chilling” and since Bennett had no place to stay, he had been at the Silverfox’s residence all night until the stabbing occurred.
Gallup Patrolman Victor Rodriguez said he saw blood droplets leading to the bedroom. He said he also found a knife under a chair as well as several miniature liquor bottles in the bedroom.
Bennett was found and had been taken into custody. He was charged with aggravated battery.
