ALBUQUERQUE — A Vanderwagen man pleaded guilty in federal court on Oct. 31 to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a fatal drunk driving crash that occurred on the Navajo Nation reservation in 2022.

According to court documents, on Oct. 2, 2022, Sheldon Carlton Daye, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, drove while impaired by alcohol. He knew that driving drunk would pose a risk to others on the road. While driving on Highway 602 near Bread Springs, N.M., within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation reservation, Daye struck and killed two motorists who were stopped on the side of the highway changing a tire.

Daye will remain on conditions of release...

HIDING UNDER A BLANKET

Gallup, Oct. 21

A Church Rock man is facing charges after a Gallup police officer found him trying to hide narcotics under a blanket.

On Oct. 21, around 3:45 pm, Gallup Police Officer Ryan Boucher was on duty when he noticed a man who was later identified as Deron Yazzie sitting outside of the Silver Stallion Saloon located 2604 E. Hwy. 66. Yazzie, 30, was allegedly sitting on the northside of the business with a red blanket over his head.

According to Boucher’s report, he believed Yazzie was smoking narcotics under that blanket.

As Boucher approached him, Yazzie allegedly pulled the blanket off his head and began frantically shoving items into his...

ALBUQUERQUE  — A Shiprock man was sentenced to 46 months in prison on Oct. 16 for a 2020 assault with the intent to steal a motor vehicle within the Navajo Nation.

According to court documents, on May 17, 2020, Daryl Levi, 41, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, and others assaulted a man in Shiprock, N.M., with the intent of taking his motor vehicle. As a result of the assault, the victim was wounded.

Upon his release from prison, Levi will be subject to three years of supervised release.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations...

Featured DWI

Stephanie Long

September 27, 11:15 pm

Aggravated DWI, speeding

The McKinley County DWI Task Force stopped a Fort Defiance woman for speeding and eventually arrested her for DWI.

New Mexico State Police Officer Christian Roman was on a task force patrol on U.S. Highway 491 near mile marker 4 when he saw a black passenger car driving north at a high speed. His unit’s radar clocked the vehicle going nearly 70 mph in a 55-mph safety corridor. Roman turned to follow the vehicle north, after which the vehicle pulled off at the Gas Max station at 516 U.S. Hwy. 491.

Roman met the driver, Long, 51, who said she was driving back home but did not specify from where. She...