Israel Saldivar

Aug. 11, 2:30 am

DWI (refusal)

McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Frank Villa Jr. said he was dispatched to be on the lookout for an intoxicated driver.

He found the suspect vehicle and followed it to a house on Crystal Avenue where the car went into a driveway. He said he recognized the driver as Israel Saldivar, 27, of Gallup. Saldivar went into the house.

Villa said he was walked up to the door and knocked and identified himself, but there was no answer. After several minutes more, then was still no answer so Villa called out his name, and he finally answered the door.

Villa said Salvador was agitated and said this was private property. By this time, another...

Two Navajo Interagency Hotshot Crew members were injured Aug. 14 while conducting fire suppression activities on the Rattlesnake Creek Fire, burning near Pollock, Idaho, in the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest.

The firefighters were removed from the fire line and transported to a hospital in McCall, Idaho. One firefighter was released to go home while the other was taken to a burn facility in Salt Lake City for additional care.

“The bravery of our Navajo Interagency Hotshot Crew impacts communities far beyond the Navajo Nation. In this instance, the hotshot crew was fighting a fire in Idaho when two members were injured,” President Russell Begaye said. “Our prayers go out to...

McKinley County officials said Aug. 9 that they still do not know the cause of a fire that razed two large structures near the Gas Max business on U.S. Highway 491, north of Gallup last week

County Attorney Doug Decker said the county is still waiting for a report from the state fire marshal’s office which is investigating who or what caused the fire.

“Arson has not been ruled out,” he said, adding that he understands that electrical problems have been ruled out.

The fire, the biggest in the county in many years, took until the morning hours for county, city and surrounding area firefighters to put out because the structures housed everything from fireworks to hay.

Decker...

Gallup Police Department detectives identified the Native American man found dead on the west side of Silvermine Manufacturing, 303 E. Highway 66 on Aug. 8, as Nelson Thompson, 66 of Lower Greasewood, Ariz.

He was homeless, GPD Capt. Marinda Spencer said.

As a result of his injuries, police are asking for the public’s help with any information that may lead to a suspect, and are investigating the case as a homicide. Spencer said detectives are also investigating whether Thompson was assaulted at the scene or dumped there.

An autopsy will be performed, and police are combing the Second Street corridor for clues in to the man’s death.

Contact: Det. Kelvin Akeson (505) 722-2003 or...