A man is facing aggravated battery charges after he stabbed his nephew during a fight.
On Jan. 16, around 5:30 pm, Gallup Police Officer Kyle Delgai was dispatched to the Hillcrest Trailer Park at 2410 E. Aztec Ave.
When Delgai arrived at the scene, he found the victim, a man who had been stabbed in the back. The man said his uncle, who was later identified as Robby Yazza, was the one who stabbed him.
After placing the victim in his patrol car, Delgai helped Officers Francis Collins and Gilbert Gonzales detain Yazza, 44.
The victim explained that he’d had some friends over and that Yazza was about to take his dog on a walk. But suddenly, while the group of friends was standing outside, Yazza punched one of the victim’s friends out of nowhere. A fight broke out, and the victim said he tried to break it up.
According Delgai’s report, the victim’s friends left in a black SUV before he arrived at the scene.
The victim was transported to Gallup Indian Medical Hospital.
When the officers questioned Yazza, he explained that he’d come over to buy groceries, and the group of men jumped him, allegedly beating him with pipes and stomping on his face. Yazza said he tried calling the victim’s mother and her boyfriend for help, but he was barely off the steps of the residence before the group jumped him.
He said that the victim’s friends had told him to leave. He reportedly responded by telling them they needed to leave.
Five men reportedly attacked Yazza. He said in response to the attack he pulled out a knife and stabbed someone in the leg. The men allegedly took the knife, and Yazza said he didn’t know where it was.
When Delgai asked Yazza what happened to the victim’s back, the man didn’t answer. He said he never lost consciousness during the alleged attack.
Yazza was transported to the Gallup Police Department so that officers could gather DNA evidence from his hands and sweater. According to the affidavit, Yazza was compliant at the police department, but when he was taken to NCI, he became upset and said he didn’t want to go.
According to Delgai’s report, Yazza was taken to the detox center for his safety and well-being for the night.
After dropping Yazza off at NCI, Delgai drove to the Gallup Indian Medical Hospital to check on the victim’s condition. A nurse said that the victim had been stabbed twice in the back. The upper wound had four stitches and the bottom one had three. The bottom stab wound reportedly punctured the victim’s lungs.
The next day, Yazza was brought back to GPD for an interview. According to the affidavit, he had injuries to his hands, face, and elbows. He told the officers he was feeling very sore.
During the interview, Yazza admitted he’d been drinking before the stabbing. He said he let the victim stay at his house, but when he caught the victim and his friends smoking meth on the front porch, he asked them to leave. Yazza said he tried calling the police multiple times before the situation escalated.
Yazza said he started fighting and arguing with one of the victim’s friends, and then two other men joined in. He said that when he was being “jumped” he was on the ground looking up at the sky watching everyone kick and punch him.
When Yazza was asked about the knife, he said it was a small folding knife that had a push-to-open button on the side. He said he usually has it in his pockets, which are usually zipped up. However, he did admit to using it to hit the men during the attack, but he said he thought it was closed up.
Yazza said he didn’t know who he swung the knife at.
During this second interview Yazza didn’t mention any pipes, saying the men only used their fists and feet to beat him up.
A judge signed a warrant for Yazza’s arrest on Jan. 18, and he was arrested later that day. He is facing the aforementioned charge, and his preliminary examination is scheduled for Feb.
Staff Reports
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