Two arrested on federal warrants

The McKinley County Sheriff’s Office, the Gallup Police Department, the Probation and Parole Security Threat and Intelligence Unit, and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted a warrant roundup in McKinley County Aug. 30, officials said.

A total of 31 law-enforcement personnel participated in the warrant sweep, MCSO Lt. Pat Salazar said. All arrests were for felony warrants.

“It was very successful,” Salazar said. “We got a lot of people off the street and we are thankful that the other agencies helped in this.”

The McKinley County Emergency Response Team also assisted in the roundup.

Salazar said 52 warrants were screened, and...

Act left three holes in victim’s head

A Twin Lakes man arrested by the Gallup Police Department remained jailed Sept. 7 on an aggravated battery charge. Jail records indicate that Barney’s bond was set at $15,000.

In referencing the incident, GPD Officer Douglas Hoffman wrote in a report that Donavan Barney, 21, hit a female victim in the back of the head three times with a hammer in the parking lot of Kentucky Fried Chicken off U.S. 491.

“…I asked the male [suspect] if this was his backpack and he said it was his girlfriend’s,” Hoffman recorded. “I asked if I could look inside and he said yes. I opened the backpack and located a hammer with blood on the head.”

The...

BAD KNIGHT

9/4, GALLUP

Gallup Police Department Officer Douglas Hoffman responded to an early evening call  the Knights Inn at 1601 W. Hwy. 66 in reference to a burglary. At the scene, motel staff told Hoffman the male and female suspects had left the premises, traveling eastbound on Aztec Avenue.

At Aztec Avenue and Dean Street, Hoffman noticed two males fighting. Eric J. Martinez, 29, ran east into a parking lot. The other male shouted that he’d been stabbed. Hoffman ran after Martinez, who went to the ground and had blood on his hands and clothes.

The victim and a motel employee pointed out the woman, Shannon Etcitty, 29, who had been involved in the...

Suspects are natives of Dominican Republic

Two Florida men originally from the Dominican Republic were jailed Sept. 2 after they were arrested by deputies with the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office.

MCSO Lt. Pat Salazar said Jean Carlos Rodriguez-Williams, 26, of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., and Cleto Dominguez-Reyes, 35, of Tampa, Fla., were taken into custody after 29 pounds of marijuana was found in the vehicle in which the two were traveling. Salazar said the pair was charged with trafficking a controlled substance and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

The arrests were made by MCSO undercover agents who recently underwent special training to handle roadway drug busts. Both...