McKinley County Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a BNSF train that had reportedly derailed and caught fire off Interstate 40 near the New Mexico/Arizona state line around 12:45 pm on April 26.

When they arrived at the scene, they discovered that approximately 35 rail cars carrying mixed freight derailed, six of which contained Liquified Petroleum Gas, otherwise known as propane.

Multiple agencies responded to the incident, including McKinley County Fire & Rescue, McKinley County Office of Emergency Management, Gallup Fire Department, New Mexico State Police and BNSF Railway Police. There were no injuries reported.

To mitigate existing conditions and for the safety of the surrounding...

PASSING OUT IN STARBUCKS

Gallup, April 5

A man was caught with meth after he passed out at a local Starbucks.

On April 9, around 4:45 pm, Public Service Officers were dispatched to the Starbucks at 840 U.S. Hwy. 491 after a man, who was later identified as Warshaw Suazo, passed out in the store’s lobby.

When officers arrived at the scene, Starbucks employees told him that Suazo, 45, was becoming disorderly. Suazo was handcuffed and paced in the backseat of a public safety officer’s van, and the officers requested that a Gallup Police Officer meet them at NCI at 2201 Boyd Ave. because Suazo had a hypodermic syringe.

GPD Officer Gilbert Gonzales arrived at the detox center...

Featured DWI

Henry Bia

March 11, 4:39 pm

Aggravated DWI (Third)

A vehicle collision in a motel parking lot led to a Fort Defiance man, Henry Bia, 65, being arrested and charged with his third DWI.

Gallup Officer Ryan Boucher was dispatched to the Golden Desert Motel, 1205 W. Hwy. 66, after Metro Dispatch advised a white pickup truck had been driving slowly in the middle of the roadway from South Woodrow Street and Coal Avenue and then pulled into the motel’s lot before striking another vehicle.

Officers had already pulled over a vehicle matching the caller’s description when Boucher arrived at the scene. Boucher assessed the damage to the vehicle before getting the...

Other suspect trial pending

One man recently received a prison sentence for his involvement in a shooting that occurred at the McDonald’s at 2009 W. Hwy. 66 on March 6, 2023.

On April 5, Rodger Martinez Jr. was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Martinez, 25, pled guilty to 20 fourth-degree felonies, including 17 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The other charges are shooting from a motor vehicle, shooting at an occupied dwelling, and property damage.

The charges were found to be Serious Violent Offenses, requiring that Martinez serve 85% of his prison sentence. After he has finished his sentence, Martinez will be on parole for one year and supervised probation...