Municipal Election set for March 1

The election for Gallup City Council will be held on March 1, with candidates for Districts 1 and 3 up for election. Voters can cast their ballots at any of the voting convenience centers located at the Southside Fire Station #1, Northside Fire Station #2, Larry Brian Mitchell Recreation Center and McKinley County Courthouse Rotunda.

For Dist. 1, Linda Garcia is running for her third term. Garcia was born and raised in Gallup. She worked in various positions for the police department and courts for 25 years. Garcia has served on the City Council for nearly eight years, and in that time is proud of what she and her fellow council members have been...

GPD detectives on the hunt for a suspect

Details are still emerging as Gallup police investigate the shooting death of Lane Ortiz, 32, of Fort Wingate.

According to a GPD news release, Metro Dispatch received the emergency call at about 9:14 pm Feb. 7. The caller reported hearing shots fired, and seeing a man, later identified as Ortiz, lying on the ground in the vicinity of the 500 block area of Clark Street in Gallup.

Ortiz had been shot multiple times, and was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.

GPD detectives are seeking information and witnesses, as no suspect(s) have been positively identified.

If you have any information on this incident...

Reports of a speeding vehicle west of Gallup came into Metro Dispatch Jan. 29. McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Villa traveled to the shoulder of Highway 118 to locate the vehicle shortly before midnight.

Shortly afterward, a vehicle passed by going over 80 mph and Villa began to follow it.

The vehicle pulled over near the shoulder of the highway, and Villa saw a man exit it, and start running towards a black Chevrolet Malibu that had pulled in front of him. After telling him to stop, the man told Villa the Malibu belonged to him and it had been stolen from his house and he was chasing after the thief.

That thief, Jilena Livingston, is the victim’s close relative, who...

A call for a welfare check turned tragic after two deceased persons were discovered in a Mentmore residence by Gallup Police.

GPD Officer Clarissa Morgan was dispatched to the Love’s Truck Stop at 3306 W. Hwy. 66 in the afternoon of Feb. 2 after being advised of a calling party trying to reach their daughter.

Morgan met the calling party and was told he was looking for his stepdaughter, Erica Platero, who had not been seen or heard from since Jan. 31. The caller stated he had gone to Platero’s residence, and despite the vehicles being in the driveway there was no answer at the door.

If Platero was not located, the family said they wanted to register Platero as a missing person...