Firefighter charged with drunken driving

Y es, it is unusual for the Navajo Nation police to issue an apology - but for something that was not their fault?

It happened in a police report issued this past week in connection with a driver who was intoxicated and driving on the road erratically. What may have caused the apology was that the driver was a Navajo firefighter and he was driving a fire truck at the time.

It all began about 10:24 p.m. when dispatchers in the Dilkon District began hearing a transmission from Nathan Darrel Guy, 33, from Ganado, Ariz.

Guy was in Fire Engine 71 and in a slurred, almost unrecognizable voice, he began asking the dispatcher if there were any calls for him. He told the dispatcher that he was on his way to the fire station in Indian Wells, Ariz., from the station in Leupp, Ariz., and he was driving Fire Engine 71.

When the dispatcher asked how he was, he admitted that he was swerving all over the road and that he was "f--ked up, dude."

This got the dispatcher concerned and he immediately called for the police to intercept the fire truck. But before they could, Guy made it to the Indian Wells Fire Station.

That's where the first police officers on the scene found him - seated behind the wheel of the fire truck with the engine still running and a half filled bottle of Corona Extra in the cup holder beside him. On the other side of the cup holder was a volunteer fire fighter, Linda Anne Hoskie, 29, of Indian Wells.

Hoskie was charged with public intoxication while Guy was charge with DWI.

At the end of the police report was this apology:

"Dilkon Police Department on behalf of the Navajo Nation apologizes to all who have been in contact with this truck while it made its way through the southwest region of the Navajo reservation while being operated by an intoxicated person."

Crownpoint gas station robbed

Navajo Nation police are looking for a Native American man who robbed the Mustang Station in Crownpoint, taking three cartons of cigarettes and $22 in cash.

The clerk at the store told police that the man came into the store about 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 30.

The man was wearing dark blue clothing and had the lower half of his face covered with a dark blue and white bandanna. He was also carrying a handgun.

After he made the clerk hand over the cigarettes and the cash, he was seen heading east toward the Crownpoint Elementary School but the report doesn't say whether he was driving or was on foot.

Man strikes neighbor with fire poker

A Window Rock man has been charged with aggravated battery after getting involved in a fight with two other Window Rock residents.

Police said they were called to a house on Lagoon Road about 8 p.m. on Feb. 3.

When they arrived at the scene, they found Ryan Chee, 46, and Jennifer Chee, 44, at the house complaining of being attacked by Eric Attson, 41.

A verbal argument fueled by liquor consumption escalated into a physical fight in which Attson reportedly struck Ryan Chee several times with a fire poker rod.

Jennifer Chee was reportedly also injured when she got between the two and tried to break up the fight.

Ryan Chee was taken to the hospital in Fort Defiance for treatment while Jennifer Chee was charged with public intoxication.

Car rolls on man

Alcohol is also being listed as a contributing factor in a vehicular homicide that occurred in Witch Wells, Ariz., on Feb. 4.

The victim, J. Alern, 32, had gotten into an argument with Amanda Benally, 30, both of Witch Wells, about 2:57 a.m.

Both were outside of Benally's vehicle when Benally decide to end the argument by stepping inside the vehicle. The victim then got onto the hood.

"The suspect started driving erratically towards U.S. Highway 61 from the house on Black Barton Lane," the police report read.

Once on Highway 61, Benally lost control of the car and it rolled over once.

Alern fell under the car and died at the scene. Benally was also injured and was airlifted to the Scottsdale Medical Center.

Driver falls asleep

A Polacca, Ariz., man was charged with reckless driving after he reportedly fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed into another vehicle on Feb. 8.

Police said Melvin Travis Secakuku, 23, was driving on Navajo Route 2 north of Tolani Lake about 1:19 p.m. after attending a ceremony when he fell asleep and weaved into the other lane, striking a mini-van driven by Tanya Nelwood, 32, of Pinon, Ariz.

Nelwood and three children in the van all were injured and were treated at a nearby hospital.

15-year-old killed in accident

A Red Mesa, Ariz., youth was killed on Jan. 31 when the vehicle in which he was a passenger rolled over.

The accident occurred about 2:30 p.m. on Navajo Route 35 near Red Mesa.

The vehicle, driven by Leander Begay, no age or address given, lost control of the car and it rolled over two and a half times.

The passenger, 15-year-old Christian Benally, died at the scene.   Begay was taken to the San Juan Regional Medical center for her injuries. Another passenger, Nahshon Black, was taken to the Shiprock hospital for treatment.

Police said alcohol and speed were contributing factors to the accident.

Meth confiscated at Lupton

Police confiscated 6.9 pounds of methamphetamine during a routine traffic stop on Jan.. 30 on Interstate 40 near Lupton, Ariz.

Police became suspicious after the two people in the car, both from Albuquerque, gave indications of criminal activity during the stop.

After getting verbal permission to search the vehicle, a K9 drug dog alerted police to a hidden compartment where the drugs were found.

Both Laura E. Cera-Parkinson, 35, and Beatriz Sanchez-Media, 26, were turned over to federal authorities on charges of possession of illegal drugs.

Tuba City man sentenced for assault

PHOENIX - Pearson Yazzie, 26, of Tuba City, was sentenced Feb. 9 to 63 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

 Yazzie pleaded guilty on June 18, 2008, to the domestic assault of his victim on the Navajo Nation.

On March 3, 2007, Yazzie assaulted his female victim with an axe handle, breaking her finger. He received credit for one year already served in the Navajo Nation tribal jail.

Shonto soldier dies in car crash

PHOENIX - Spec. Thomas Dallas Whitehead, 25, an Arizona Army National Guard soldier from Shonto Chapter, was killed in a car accident Feb. 6 near Casa Grande, Ariz.

He died at the scene of the accident, according to a release from Army command at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Whitehead was assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Huachuca as a result of injuries suffered while home on leave from a deployment to Afghanistan with the ANG 158th Infantry Battalion, nicknamed the "Bushmasters."

He enlisted in January 2002 and is survived by his wife Andrea, their son Tobias, and twin daughters Kaliyah and Kylah.

"Our thoughts are with Spec. Whitehead's family, loved ones, and unit members during this time," said Maj. Gen. Hugo E. Salazar, adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard. "He was a selfless soldier who served his country and state well. We, the Arizona National Guard, have lost a valued member."

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Pot trafficker sentenced

PHOENIX - Eric M. Ruiz, 23, of Casa Grande, Ariz., was sentenced Feb. 5 to 46 months in federal prison. Ruiz pleaded guilty Nov. 19 to possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more but less than 100 kilograms of marijuana, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

In February 2007, Ruiz was driving a vehicle that failed to yield to a Tohono O'odham police officer on Federal Route 15 in Arizona. A pursuit of Ruiz's vehicle ensued and the pursuit was joined by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Due to his speed and driving, Ruiz ultimately lost control of the vehicle and it flipped and rolled over several times. Ruiz was ejected from the vehicle and was seriously injured. Also ejected from the vehicle were seven bundles of marijuana with a total weight of 147.9 pounds.

Houck man gets 40 months for meat cleaver attack

PHOENIX - Nelson Wesley, 23, of Houck, Ariz., was sentenced on Feb. 2 to 40 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Wesley pleaded guilty Oct. 21 to assaulting his mother with a meat cleaver on the Navajo Nation in May 2007.

No jail time for light-fingered postmaster

PHOENIX - Carol Sekayumptewa, 41, of Kykotsmovi, Ariz., and a former U.S. postmaster, was sentenced Jan. 28 to six months of probation, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

She was also ordered to pay $1,000 restitution to the U.S. Postal Service after pleading guilty to misappropriation of postal funds.

On Feb. 11, 2008, Sekayumptewa issued a USPS money order for her personal use without paying for it or reporting it as sold. Sekayumptewa had served as Kykotsmovi postmaster for three years and resigned July 2.

Man gets 2 years for failing to report crime

PHOENIX - Raymond Paul Garcia, 29, of Scottsdale, Ariz., and a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Tribe, was sentenced Feb. 9 to two years in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Garcia pleaded guilty on Oct. 8, 2008 to misprision of a felony, assault with a dangerous weapon.

On Nov. 23, 2007, on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation, Garcia was present with, and witnessed, James Spotted Hawk Miles, 32, and the 34-year-old victim when they argued over the quality of methamphetamine purchased from the victim.

During an ensuing struggle, Miles shot the victim with a handgun. Garcia, knowing the crime had occurred, concealed the crime by fleeing the area and did not report the crime to the authorities as soon as possible. The victim was hospitalized but recovered from his wounds.

Miles was previously sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Man sentenced to 12 years for meth

PHOENIX - Secundino Favela, 51, of Bapuchle, Ariz., located on the Gila River Indian Reservation, was sentenced Feb. 9 to 12 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Favela pleaded guilty on Aug. 27, 2008, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.

In February and April 2008, several purchases of methamphetamine were monitored by special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and provided the basis for a search warrant.

On April 28, 2008, a federal search warrant was executed and the search of Favela's residence yielded, among other things, multiple assault rifles, handguns, and $76,523 in U.S. currency.

A search of a car on the property yielded approximately four pounds of methamphetamine.

Felon sentenced for waving pistol

PHOENIX - Dewayne Parrish, 24, of Shiprock, and Albuquerque, was sentenced Feb. 9 to 51 months in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Parrish pleaded guilty on Nov. 14, 2008, to being a felon who possessed a firearm. The incident occurred on the Navajo Nation.

On March 24, 2008, Parrish waved a pistol at some boys who reported the incident to tribal police. The tribal police in Kayenta, Ariz., arrested Parrish, who has a prior conviction for burglary and cannot legally possess a firearm.

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