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Weekly Police Activity Reports

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TIGHT LIPPED

9/9, Ya-ta-hey

The most the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office could say about what happened to a man on Sept. 9 is that he was injured. How and by whom is still a mystery, as the victim wouldn’t say.

He was found walking along U.S. Highway 491, just south of Yah-ta-hey, at about 2:30 am by MCSO Deputy Jasmine Jaramillo, who noticed his face was covered with lacerations.

When Jaramillo asked what happened, the victim said he came to on the highway after he was beaten by several people he did not know. He refused to say anything more, so Jaramillo called for an ambulance.

Later that day, she called the Gallup Indian Medical Center to do a follow-up interview and learned the victim had checked out. No one knew his whereabouts.

 

DUCKING FROM DIXON

9/9, Thoreau

Darius David Dixon, 18, of Thoreau, was arrested for aggravated battery Sept. 9 after allegedly firing a B.B. gun and hitting another Thoreau resident in the eye.

There were a couple differing stories about what happened the day before, when a 19-year-old was injured while visiting Dixon’s neighbor.

According to one version, Dixon was sitting on the steps in front of his house when the neighbor and the young man walked by. Words were exchanged between them, and Dixon reportedly pulled out the B.B. gun and shot the neighbor several times, hitting him in the eye.

Dixon was not there when deputies arrived to take the report, but an arrest warrant was issued and he was taken into custody the next day.

As for the victim, according to the report, he was released from the hospital shortly after he was treated. His right eye was intact and the eyeball was not hit. There was a contusion on the eyelid and a minor puncture wound. He had injuries to his right shoulder and left lower back.

 

DITCHED

9/4, Gallup

A Gallup woman was placed under arrest Sept. 4 when police arrived at her apartment and found her passed out and unaware.

Valerie Ayze, 33, was charged with three counts of abandonment of a child.

Management and residents of the Chuska Apartments who said they were concerned about the welfare of Ayze’s children notified the Gallup Police Department at about 4 pm. They said they were concerned because the mother was too intoxicated to look after her children.

GPD Officer Douglas Hoffman said he found Ayze in the backyard with two men, surrounded by several empty beer and vodka bottles. As he walked away to call for backup, he said the three walked into the apartment and locked the door.

Officials for the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department arrived at about the same time as other officers, and the management of the complex opened the door to Ayze’s apartment.

According to the report, Ayze was passed out on a bed with one of the men.

Hoffman said when he managed to wake Ayze up, he asked about the whereabouts of her children, ages 9 through 12, and she said she didn’t know. At that point she was arrested.

The children were later found in another apartment, in the care of a family member, who said they had been watching over them for the past two days because their mother was drinking. According to the report, the children were turned over to the CYFD.

 

IN THE WEEDS

9/3, Gallup

It began as a report of a stolen vehicle from which the occupants managed to escape into a motel room.

Just after 3 pm on Sept. 3, one of the suspects, identified as Monique Lopez, 26, of Gallup, was seen escaping from the room through a back window and heading for the nearby fields and bushes. A few minutes after she escaped the room, however, she was reportedly found hiding out in the weeds.

Later, when she was searched, GPD officers found drug paraphernalia in one of her pockets.

She was charged with evading arrest and possession if drug paraphernalia. It was also discovered that she had an outstanding warrant for her arrest from an outside county.

PUNCHES NEAR PANDA

9/6, Gallup

Charles Paul Murphy was taken into custody Sept. 6 when an off-duty Gallup Police Department officer said saw him hitting his girlfriend as they drove by.

GPD Officer Douglass Hoffman said he was at the Panda Express when he saw the Murphy vehicle head north on 11th Street. He said he could see Murphy hitting the female passenger with a closed fist.

According to the report, he followed the car and saw Murphy hit the woman again. The woman reportedly tried to get out if the car but was pulled back into her seat.

Hoffman followed them as they went into Smokey’s parking lot, where police responding to Hoffman’s call arrived.

Murphy 27, of Gallup, was taken into custody.

His girlfriend was uncooperative, police said, and denied anything happened, but she had red marks in her chest area and on her right arm.

Murphy was charged with battery on a household member.

STATION STRIKE

9/3, Gallup

Nathaniel Avery, 33, of Lupton, Ariz. is facing assault charges after he reportedly struck a clerk in the face at a gas station convenience store.

The clerk, who worked at Giant North, 701 U.S. Highway 491, said Avery came into the store the first time about 4 pm on Sept. 3. He walked around for a few minutes and then had to be escorted out of the store. He returned a little later, and when told to leave, he reportedly hit the clerk in the nose and upper lip area and then left the store.

When police arrived, he could not be found in the area, but the clerk gave the police a description of what the suspect was wearing.

About four hours later, police were notified of a man “down and out” on the 500 block of Highway 491.

The man matched the description of the person who was being sought for the attack at the gas station, so he was taken into custody and then transported back to the gas station where the clerk confirmed his identity.

When Avery was arrested, he reportedly told police his name was Nathaniel Cleveland and gave them the wrong social security number. He refused to give his real name, but was recognized when he was transported to the county jail.

According to the report, police found Avery had an out-of-county warrant out for his arrest.

SHOOTING SHOPS

9/2, Gallup

A Gallup man and woman have been charged with gun violations after reportedly shooting at businesses Sept. 2.

Russell Frye, 55, and Taura Ramirez, 44, have been charged with shooting at a building, unlawful carrying of a firearm and negligent use of a deadly weapon.

At about 7 pm, a witness  said he saw the two on a motorcycle in front of Good Fellas on East Highway 66. He was at the Miyamura overpass waiting for a light when he said he saw Frye take out a handgun and fire at the business. He then gave the gun to Ramirez, who also fired.

As they were driving away, a security guard came out and watched them leave. He found six cartridge shells where they had been parked, according to the report.

The witness said he followed the two as they traveled to the Shop n’ Save, where they shot at the building and the ground. They got back on their motorcycle and returned  to Good Fellas.

When police arrived, according to the report, they found Frye and made an arrest. Ramirez had left before police arrived. By this time, police had seen a video taken  from outside of the Shop n’ Save that confirmed Ramirez as a suspect, too. They went to her home address and arrested her.

HIT BY HALL

9/3, Gallup

A fight between a Gallup woman and her boyfriend ended with a woman being charged with battery on a household member.

GPD Officer Daniel Brown was dispatched to a house on Henrietta Street at about 6:30 pm in reference to a domestic dispute.

There, he met Precious Hall, 31, who told him she was with her husband and another friend when she and her husband began arguing and fighting. Hall said he struck struck her in the temple.

The husband admitted there was a fight, but said Hall was the aggressor, scratching him and then striking him on his head with her hand. He said he was trying to leave when he called the police.

Police spoke to the other person in the room who told them Hall tried to convince her to lie to the police about what happened. Given this, police arrested Hall and charged her with battery on a household member.

 

STATION STRIKE

9/3, Gallup

Nathaniel Avery, 33, of Lipton is facing assault charges after he reportedly struck a clerk in the face at a gas station convenience store.

The clerk, who worked at Giant North, 701 U.S. Highway 491, said Avery came into the store the first time about 4 pm on Sept. 3. He walked around for a few minutes and then had to be escorted out of the store. He returned a little later, and when told to leave, he reportedly hit the clerk in the nose and upper lip area and then left the store.

When police arrived, he could not be found in the area, but the clerk gave the police a description of what the suspect was wearing.

About four hours later, police were notified of a man “down and out” on the 500 block of Hwy. 491.

The man matched the description of the person who was being sought for the attack at the gas station, so he was taken into custody and then transported back to the gas station where the clerk confirmed his identity.

When he was arrested, he reportedly told police his name was Nathaniel Cleveland and gave them the wrong social security number. He refused to give his real name, but was recognized when he was transported to the county jail.

According to the report, police found Avery had an out-of-county warrant out for his arrest.

HAMMER AND KNIFE

9/1 Gallup

A dispute between neighbors who live on West Princeton Avenue resulted in the arrest of Erika Henderson, 36, on aggravated assault charges.

A man said he was outside using a weed whacker when his neighbor approached him and said to him, “What did you say about me?” According to the report, the man said he didn’t know what she was talking about but he noticed she had a knife in one hand and a hammer in the other.

The man said Henderson then got into a fighting pose, and he told his daughter to call police. He advised Henderson to leave, and she did, saying she would take care of it.

When police arrived, Henderson was not at home and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was arrested later that day.

The victim showed police a video he took with his cell phone, in which Henderson left and went back to her place. The video, according to police, showed she was carrying a hammer in one hand and what appeared to be a butcher’s knife in the other.

SHOOTING SHOPS

9/2, Gallup

A Gallup man and woman have been charged with gun violations after reportedly shooting at businesses Sept. 2.

Russell Frye, 55, and Taura Ramirez, 44, have been charged with shooting at a building, unlawful carrying of a firearm and negligent use of a deadly weapon.

This all began about 7 pm. A witness said he saw the two on a motorcycle in front of Good Fellas on East Highway 66. He was at the Miyamura overpass waiting for a light when he said he saw Frye take out a handgun and fire at the business. He then gave the gun to Ramirez, who also fired.

As they were driving away, a security guard came out and watched them leave. He found six cartridge shells where they’d been parked, according to the report.

The witness said he followed the two as they traveled to the Shop n’ Save, where they shot at the building and the ground. They got back on their motorcycle returned to Good Fellas.

When police arrived, according to the report, they found Frye and made an arrest. Ramirez had left before police arrived. By this time, police had seen a video take from outside Shop n’ Save, and they knew Ramirez was a suspect, too. They went to her home address and arrested her.

COVERED BUT CAUGHT

9/2, Gallup

A Wyoming woman was arrested Sept. 2 when a GPD officer became curious about why a car was covered with blankets and discovered it had been reported stolen in Utah.

Officer Iris Pinero said she was on routine patrol when she saw the vehicle at the Navajo Travel Center on west Highway 66.

Catherine Marcum, 42, of Robertson, WY, was sitting in the driver’s seat. She said she had placed blankets over the windows because it was too bright inside the car and she had two little dogs.

When Pinero did a check on the car, she found it had been listed as stolen in Utah on Aug. 31, but Marcum showed Pinero a bill of sale and registration, all of which matched the vehicle. Pinero, however, said the bill of sale was not notarized.

Marcum was charged with receiving stolen property and her two dogs were picked up by the city’s animal control office.

 

GUNS ON THE GO

8/27, Gallup

GPD officers are in investigating a burglary that took place at a Gallup home on the 600 block of West Fifth Street on Aug. 27.

The homeowners said someone had broken in to their home and stolen a Star Wars bag and some food. Also stolen were an old Remington rifle and a B.B. gun, both of which reportedly did not work.

Police said they have no suspects.

ESCALADE ESCAPADE

8/30, Gallup

A Gallup man said he was scammed out of $50,000 by an online car company that took his money but never delivered the automobile.

The man said he found the car he wanted on carhurus.com and talked to a salesman at Principal Auto Sales after he went online and found some good customer comments about the business. He then forwarded $16,000 of his own money and borrowed the rest from a bank. He was told by the salesman his Cadillac Escalade would arrive in six or seven days.

When the car did not arrive in that time frame, the man called the company back and was told there was a slight delay but it would be there in a few days.

A few days later, it still had not arrived, and when he checked the company out again, he discovered online that someone said the business was a scam and had gone out of business the previous year.

He said the FBI is also investigating the matter.

BACK AND BROKEN IN

9/2, Gallup

The Gallup Police Department is investigating a break-in that occurred in the 1900 block of Barbara Avenue.

The homeowners returned to their home on Sept. 2, after being away for the weekend, and discovered someone had made entry through a bathroom window that has been left slightly ajar.

When the family got home, they reportedly discovered their back door wide open. Their clothing was rummaged through and several pieces of electronic gear, including a Play Station and a laptop, had been taken, along with watches and jewelry.

Police say they have no suspects.

BUSTED BURGLAR

8/28, Gallup

GPD officers arrested a serial burglar Aug. 28 at a local trailer park.

Tyler Wauneka, 24, of Edgewood, was charged with aggravated burglary, breaking and entering, possession of a firearm by a felon, possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest.

Police were dispatched to the Desert West on Aztec Avenue after the manager reported finding a man in one of the abandoned trailers. He told the man to leave.

According to the report, the man told police he’d heard the intruder was a suspect in a stolen car case, so when he found the man’s bag outside another of his trailers, he called the police.

The police surrounded the trailer, went inside and found Wauneka hiding in a cabinet. He was told to come out and after refusing several commands, he eventually exited and was arrested.

It turned out, Wauneka had a long history of burglary arrests going back to 2011. Police said they also found jewelry and guns in his bag.

SKATE TRICKS

8/25, Gallup

A Gallup man was arrested after he reportedly tried to rob a skate shop only to be discovered by the shop’s owners when they chased him down.

Rikki Daniels, 25, was arrested for burglary. Another man who was with him was able to escape and is still sought by police.

The owners of the Enchantment Skate Shop, located in the Gallup Cultural Building, said they were out skating about 11:30 am on Aug. 25. When they went back to their shop, they found the front door open and two men running away with skates and equipment.

They were able to stop one but the other jumped over a fence and escaped.

Police reportedly found skateboards and equipment in an empty trashcan that had been taken from the skate shop.

They also found an iPad Pro that was suspected to have been stolen from somewhere else.