(Times photo – Donovan Quintero)

The Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division, conducts a roadblock April 29 at the port of entry in Tse Bonito, N.M. Officials were stopping diesel-powered vehicles and checking for illegal fuel.

With graduations and graduation parties on the horizon, Navajo Nation police officials have issued warnings of saturation patrols throughout the reservation for the next three weeks.

Lt. Tulley Jim, head of the Selective Traffic Enforcement Team, said his unit will be setting up roadblocks and doing extra patrols beginning May 6 in areas where graduations are happening.

The patrols are being done in an effort to reduce drunk driving on reservation roads.

Jim said that police will also be in the Alamo, N.M., area at the request of chapter officials in that area.

Toyei man may have died in car fire

Police are investigating the death of a Toyei, Ariz., man who apparently died in a car fire on April 23.

The burning car was discovered by an off-duty police officer who was leaving Toyei. He came upon the vehicle engulfed in flames in a ditch.

Because of the flames and a series of explosions that were in the engine area, he wasn't able to determine if anyone was in the car but when firefighters arrived on the scene and put out the fire, a body was discovered in the driver's seat.

The victim was identified as Wesley Tsosie, 58. Police said he was on his way to the hospital when the accident occurred. No foul play was suspected.

Kayenta girls injured in apparent fight

Police are investigating a fight that occurred in the Kayenta area at 2:32 a.m. that sent three females to the Kayenta hospital for injuries to their faces and bodies.

It began with a report that Erin Edwards, 19, had been taken to the Kayenta emergency room for her injuries. When questioned by police, she said she was jumped by someone named Megan.

Police identified two other Kayenta residents, Meghan Yellow and Doreen Smith, both 18, as possible suspects.

When they were located, they were found to have injuries that resulted in them being sent to the hospital for treatment as well.

The case is still under investigation.

Ganado man killed in car crash

A vehicle crash near Ganado, Ariz., on May 1 claimed the life of a Ganado man.

According to police, Kevin Stevens, 22, of Ganado, was traveling north on Route 27 about 5:30 p.m. when his vehicle left the highway on the right side. He then overcorrected, causing the vehicle to roll over three times before landing on its wheels.

A passenger in the car, identified as Lowery Tsosie, 21, was ejected and died at the scene.

Stevens and another occupant in the vehicle, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital and then airlifted to Flagstaff for treatment.

Fight sends 2 men to hospital

Residents in the Pigeon Springs Housing area in Fort Defiance called police about 9:51 p.m. on April 21 to report a fight going on near Residential Unit No. 31.

The fight, which included several individuals, sent two men to the hospital.

The victims were identified as Sandin Jim and Shawn Anderson, both 19 and both from Fort Defiance.

A police investigation revealed that the two had met up with Eric W. Toledo, 25, of Fort Defiance, earlier in the evening and they all went to the housing unit No. 31 to drink alcohol beverages.

Eventually, a fight began between Jim and Toledo and Anderson stepped in trying to help Jim by pulling Toledo off of him. However, Toledo then began fighting Anderson.

Police said Anderson was stabbed with a sharp object - probably a broken bottle - in his back. Jim had deep cuts as well and found himself in the intensive care unit at the Fort Defiance Hospital.

Man points rifle at wife

A Ganado, Ariz., woman called police on April 15 to report that her husband had pointed a rifle at her head and accused her of cheating on him.

The woman - Lorne Tsosie, no age given - said that her husband, Herbert Lee Begaye, no age given, had come home drunk and put the rifle to her head.

With the help of family members, she was able to get the rifle away from him and call the police. By the time police arrived, however, he had fled the scene.

Police said charges were filed against him ranging from disorderly conduct to threatening to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Human bones found in Lupton

Human remains have been sent to Albuquerque to determine whose bones were discovered about a quarter mile west of the rest area in Lupton, Ariz.

The bones were found by Nik Sharp who told police that he was hiking along the trail near the rest stop when he discovered the human remains in the rocks.

Police said they could not determine if the remains were from a male or female but suspect that that they were of recent origin.

Milan woman found in valley

Police are reporting what appears to be an exposure death seven miles northeast of the Kinlichee Chapter House on the Fluted Rock Road near Ganado, Ariz.

The victim was listed as Mary T. Vandever, 54, of Milan, N.M.

Police said the body was discovered by two men who were out looking for their cattle and came upon the body lying face down in a valley.

The Ganado Fire Department was called and the body was sent to Albuquerque for a determination of the cause of death.

Woman sentenced in death of man in a wheelchair

PHOENIX - Mary Anne Fernandez, 31, of Mohave Valley, Ariz., a member of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, was sentenced May 4 to 36 months in prison for killing a 53-year-old member of the Colorado River Indian Tribe, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

On March 4, Fernandez pleaded guilty in federal court to involuntary manslaughter.

On July 7, 2008, Fernandez was speeding erratically in a neighborhood on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, going 50 mph in a 15 mph zone.

While trying to pass a stopped car, she struck a man in a wheelchair. The crash severed the victim's leg and he was killed instantly.

After striking the man, Fernandez kept driving. Her car bottomed out in a dip in the road and became disabled about a quarter-mile from the site of the crash. She then fled on foot.

Officers caught up to her shortly thereafter, and tested her blood alcohol concentration. The test registered .229, above the Arizona legal limit of .08.

Sacaton woman sentenced in child's death

PHOENIX - Mercedes Howard, 29, of Sacaton, Ariz., was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison on April 29, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Howard had pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2008, to involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

The facts showed that on Sept. 17, 2007, Howard was living with her girlfriend, Alicia Manuel, who is the mother of the child. The child woke with phlegm in his throat.

Howard became upset with the child because he spit up on her. She began pushing the child into the shower where she and the child eventually began a shower.

Howard was using the showerhead to wash out the child's mouth and the child was uncooperative. Howard then angrily pushed the child, who fell and hit his head on the bath tub. The child became unresponsive, limp, and died a short time later from the injury.

An autopsy showed evidence of a significant injury to the child's genital area. Howard first told law enforcement that the victim had "done the splits" and caused his own injury. She later admitted that about a week before the child's death, she kneed the child in the groin because he was not brushing his teeth properly.

The autopsy also showed evidence of multiple bruises over the child's body and bruises to his head and face. Howard indicated that she would sometimes hit the child with a slipper shoe on his back. She would also hit him in the head when he would not eat.

The child's mother was indicted on March 3, 2009, for her involvement in this offense to include her conduct in failing to protect the child (felony child abuse), assault of the child (assault of a child under age 16), and trying to cover up the conduct of Howard (misprision of a felony). Manuel is pending trial.

Peach Springs man pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder

PHOENIX - Jonathan Bennie Yazzie Jr., 20, of Peach Springs, Ariz., and a member of the Gila River Indian Community, pleaded guilty on April 30 to second-degree murder for killing a 47-year-old member of the Hualapai Indian Tribe, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

On Nov. 11, 2008, Yazzie came home intoxicated to his mother's trailer and kicked open the door while people inside were sleeping. After forcing himself in, Yazzie started fighting with his stepfather.

The victim stepped in to stop Yazzie from hurting his stepfather, and Yazzie turned on him. Yazzie assaulted the victim, got him to the ground, and kicked the victim in the head and body.

Yazzie grabbed a wood-splitting maul and struck the victim in the back of the head, killing the victim instantly. Agents recovered the murder weapon outside the trailer, and defendant's bloody handprint was found on the maul.

The crime of second-degree murder carries a maximum of life in federal prison and five years of supervised release. Sentencing is set for Aug. 3, 2009.

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