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Public Safety

FBI fights hate crime using the Navajo language

Friday, 29 October 2021 22:15 gallupsun

Staff Reports

The FBI kicked off a three-month campaign on Facebook using a color photo of the Window Rock arch with a message in Navajo encouraging victims and witnesses of hate crimes to contact the FBI.

"Our message is clear and simple: Hate has no place on the Navajo Nation or anywhere else," Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the Albuquerque FBI Division said. "For those more comfortable communicating in Navajo, we hope this outreach encourages them to call us or go online if they are aware of a hate crime."

The ad is expected to run through the end of the year.

The FBI has also posted anti-hate crime messages in the Navajo language on Twitter and gave a radio interview on...

Man shoots companion in car

Friday, 29 October 2021 22:08 gallupsun

A woman who showed up to the Cibola General Hospital in Grants with a gunshot wound brought out officers from the New Mexico State Police.

The New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau was called and took over the investigation, which revealed that a man identified as Deandre Mirabal, 23, of Grants, and the female victim, Raquel Morales, 21, of Grants, were traveling west in a Ford Mustang on Interstate 40 when they got into an argument and Mirabal produced a firearm.

Near Milepost 85, the woman, who was driving, tried to grab the weapon from Mirabal and then the altercation became physical.

During the struggle for the gun, it went off and hit the woman in the head. Mirabal...

WEEKLY DWI REPORT

Friday, 29 October 2021 05:44 Staff Reports

Tyler Robeson
Aug. 12, 7:52 pm
DWI

Calls came into Metro Dispatch about a blue Honda SUV rolling over on Hogback Road. One caller said there were several teenagers trying to push the car back on its wheels, and they had been drinking.

Gallup Officer Warren Bowannie responded to the scene, arriving at the site and meeting with Sgt. Neil Yazzie, who was speaking with one of the vehicle occupants. He was identified as Tyler Robeson, 21, of Rehoboth. When Bowannie asked Robeson to come toward him, he noted Robeson staggered as he walked.

Robeson said he had rolled the vehicle because of bad tires. He said it had been recently purchased and had no registration. As he spoke, Bowannie...

Fire damages local auto repair shop

Friday, 29 October 2021 05:44 Staff Reports

FASSCO Auto Repair suffered a fire that caused significant damage at its 105 Mine Run St. location Oct. 18.

Firefighters were called out at approximately 3:11 pm and off-duty firefighters joined all the stations in Gallup at the shop.

Smoke was thick and the nearby Burger King shut down for a time.

Fire Deputy Chief Nathan Emerson said there was an explosion at the repair shop and it took more than three hours to extinguish all the hotspots. He estimated the firefighters didn’t leave the scene until sometime between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm.

Two vehicles that were in bays inside the shop were pushed out of the building. One had smoke and water damage and the other had smoke, water, and...

Chinle man gets 18 years for domestic violence murder

Friday, 29 October 2021 05:43 Staff Reports

An enrolled member of the Navajo Nation was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison for second degree murder in a domestic violence case.

U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes sentenced Roderrell Boyd Charley, 33, of Chinle, Ariz. to 222 months of imprisonment on Oct. 13. Charley previously pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder.

Charley’s mother called police, when she found the victim lying on the road.

According to the FBI statement, Charley beat the victim to death with his fists and feet between Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, 2019. Family members heard him screaming and arguing with the victim on the night of Oct. 7. The next morning, Charley told his sister that the victim was no longer...