SANTA FE — Courts and the Department of Public Safety are streamlining the exchange of warrant information through a new electronic process, the Administrative Office of the Courts and the New Mexico State Police announced on Jan. 29.

Automating the electronic delivery of warrants allows law enforcement to know that a person is subject to arrest within minutes after a court issues a warrant. Any changes to warrants will be shared on a real-time basis with DPS, enabling officers to immediately know when a person has cleared a warrant or a court has canceled the warrant authorizing an arrest. The real-time updates lessen the possibility that a person is arrested mistakenly because of...

A man from Pinehill, New Mexico has been charged with murder and assault after he allegedly shot three of his family members.

According to the criminal complaint, on the morning of Dec. 22, the Ramah Navajo Police Department received an emergency call from a witness who stated that Ellery Brent Yazzie shot his father, sister, and brother at a residence in Pinehill following a verbal argument.

When officers arrived at the residence, they found the two men dead at the scene and Yazzie, 36, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, alive with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The witness had attempted to drive the third victim to the hospital but linked up with an...

A woman is facing both assault and battery charges after she allegedly attacked her boyfriend with a baseball bat.

Gallup Police Officer Ryan Boucher was dispatched to the house at 202 Church Rock Pl. after a woman who was later identified as Sunshine Krouth punched her boyfriend in the face.

According to Boucher’s report, the calling party told Metro Dispatch that she let her son and his girlfriend Krouth, 30, stay at her home sometimes, and they had gotten into an argument.

When Boucher arrived at the scene, he met with the victim, who had blood on his face and lips. He was also reportedly holding a blood-stained cloth to his nose.

The victim said the fight began when he was...

Featured DWI

Darold Johnson

Jan. 22, 3:43 pm

Aggravated DWI (Third)

A McKinley County Sheriff’s Officer stopped to assist Darold Johnson, 33, of Rehoboth, with vehicle trouble but ended up arresting him for DWI.

Deputy Savannah Benally was driving near mile marker 2 on Hassler Valley Road when she saw a blue Nissan passenger car parked in the westbound lane. Benally pulled behind the vehicle and stopped, suspecting the vehicle was having mechanical problems.

Benally met the driver, Johnson, who said he was trying to push his vehicle off the road to the side. Johnson reportedly showed signs of intoxication including slurred speech and smelling of alcohol. His answers...