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A local Gallup man, Ryan “Bama” Westman, is wanted for allegedly beating a man on the head with a blunt object, according to McKinley County Sheriff’s Department investigators.

At press time Jan. 25, MCSO Inv. Merle Bates said police caught up with Westman in Gamerco Jan. 24 and pursued him on northbound U.S. 491 to the Shiprock, N.M. area. New Mexico State Police and San Juan County law enforcement took charge from that point.

As of 3:45 pm, Jan. 25, Bates said Westman is still “at large.”

The reported assault to 57-year-old Mitchell Chavez occurred at #15 Zeta St. around 8:30 pm, Jan...

Reports of a burglary on #800 Draco St. Jan. 23, brought McKinley County Sheriff’s Officers to the scene shortly after 1 pm, where a number of people were found crowding in front of the house. Dep. Jonathan Todachine Jr. witnessed as one woman, the daughter of the victim, began yelling at a man and accusing him of breaking into her mother’s home and stealing money from a safe, along with medication and jewelry, according to the police report.

The money in the safe totaled $3,000.

The woman, 37, pointed officers to the suspect’s shoes, which matched prints in the snow leading up to the window of the residence.

The suspect, Andrew Falcon, 41, was allegedly standing in the front...

DRUG BUST

1/23, Gallup

McKinley County Sheriff’s Dep. Ivan Tsethlikai Jr. was dispatched to 300 West Nizhoni Blvd. after reports of a man in the area with meth in his possession. After arriving, Tsethlikai met Justin Pemberton, 32. There were no other drugs on Pemberton, according to the police report. He was booked for possession and an outstanding bench warrant.

DOUBLE-TAKE TASER

1/18, Gallup

As Gallup Police Department Officer Terrance Peyketewa responded to a call of a male drunk driver that was donning a checkered shirt and staggering into the 49er Lounge, he found only the dark pickup truck matching dispatch’s description.

But it wasn’t long before the man...

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. –Judge Stephen M. McNamee has sentenced Gary Cody Francis, 55, of Chinle, Ariz., to 156 months in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release. Francis had previously pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact with a minor.

On Sept. 8, 2016, Francis, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, knowingly engaged in sexual contact with the minor victim, who is also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Division of Public Safety Criminal Investigations. The prosecution was handled by Christina Covault, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of...