CHINLE, Ariz. — Four dogs joined the Navajo Police Department K-9 program on June 28.

Orcan, Rakky, Gecko, and Xensi have all completed their first training course at the Adlerhorst International LLC Police K-9 Academy in Jurupa Valley, Calif. and made their first trip to Chinle, Ariz. June 24, with a stop at Canyon de Chelly, Ariz. to get their department photos taken.

The department’s K-9 Unit experienced a temporary hiatus after two dogs retired from police services.

The dogs are originally from Europe and were selected by the Adlerhorst International, LLC trainers, where they were brought to the California training facility.

In May, the K-9 Unit officers traveled to the...

Three people dead

A five-vehicle collision took the lives of three people.

On June 25, around 10:30 pm, the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office dispatched deputies to Mile Marker 63 on Interstate 40 westbound, about 40 miles east of Gallup after a caller reported a multiple vehicle collision with injuries and possible fatalities.

According to the Undersheriff James Maiorano III, two semi-trucks and three cars were involved in the crash.

The investigation is still ongoing, but deputies believe the driver of one of the tractor-trailers, who is not being identified at this time, was approaching a traffic backup due to a collision being handled in the construction zone in the roadway...

VANDALISM AT SPEEDWAY

Vanderwagen, June 5

When a Speedway employee arrived at work she walked in on a broken surveillance system and a mess around the store.

On June 5, around 6:21 am, McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Cecil Sanders was dispatched to the Speedway at 1068 State Hwy. 602 in Vanderwagen.

When Sanders arrived, he met with the store’s assistant manager, who said when she got to work around 5:55 am, she found trash had been thrown into the parking lot.

She said that the telephone wire had been ripped from the wall above the main entrance.

She also noticed the conduit pipes that insulate the electrical wires connecting the video surveillance camera to the main office...

ALBUQUERQUE — Kirby Cleveland was sentenced in federal court for the shooting death of Navajo Police Officer Houston James Largo in March 2017. Largo was shot on March 11. He died on March 12.

Largo responded to a domestic violence call in Prewitt. He was 27 years old at the time.

Officer Largo was with the Navajo Police Department for five years and was a recipient of the Lifesaving Award and the 2016 Indian Country Officer of the Year. He was also employed with the Gallup Police Department where he received the City Officer of the Year in 2011. Officer Largo served with the Crownpoint Police District.

Cleveland pleaded guilty in 2019 to the second degree murder of Largo. He...