Armed man arrested at TC hospital

The receptionist at the Tuba City hospital listened as the man with the pistol in his hand asked a simple question: What was he going to do about a man with a weapon?

The clerk, Alfred Green Jr., no age given, didn't do anything as the man, later identified as Dewayne Sombrero, 54, kept yelling and pointing his weapon at people in the waiting room.

Sombrero had walked into the hospital at about 1:30 p.m. May 8, demanding to see his doctor. When no one responded, he took out a black pistol and first aimed it at Green and then walked down a hallway, still yelling for his doctor and waving his weapon.

He finally made it to the physical therapy room while continuing to yell and make threats.

The first reports called into police erroneously said the man had a hostage but when they arrived at the scene, Sombrero was without a captive but still yelling and waving his weapon.

He immediately gave police the gun, which turned out to be a BB gun.

Sombrero was charged with unlawful use of a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, threatening and disorderly conduct.

2 killed in Toyei rollover

Two members of a Cañoncito, N.M., family were killed and four others required medical treatment as the result of a one-vehicle accident May 10 near Toyei, Ariz.

The victims were identified as Roberta Jake, 59, and Sabrina Jake, 12. Three other children, ranging in age from 4 to 11, and an adult, Brenda Jake, 31, also were in the car and were taken to Sage Memorial Hospital in Ganado, Ariz.

Police said the accident occurred late in the evening as four vehicles headed east on State Route 264. All were carrying people who had been at a revival that night in White Cone, Ariz.

All of a sudden, the second vehicle in the caravan swerved off the highway, apparently because the driver, who was not identified, fell asleep, police said. The driver returned to the blacktop but then lost control, rolling the car.

None of the occupants was wearing a seatbelt, and several were ejected as the vehicle rolled, according to the police report.

Police seek Dilkon man

Navajo police are looking for a Dilkon, Ariz., man who threatened to burn down the home of his grandparents and then fled the scene.

The incident began about 10:30 a.m. May 8 when Samuel Tsosie Sr., 85, of Dilkon, called police and reported that his grandson - Jonathan Tsosie, 28, of Dilkon - was drinking and had become belligerent, threatening to burn down his house.

By the time police arrived at the scene, Jonathan Tsosie was not there and neither were his grandparents, who had fled the area because they were afraid to be near him.

Police said it's not the first time Jonathan Tsosie has been accused of threatening a family member. In April 2004, tribal police were called to the Tsosie residence because of reports that Jonathan was threatening his father with a rifle.

He fled the scene that time as well but police were able to locate him, at which time the suspect threatened police officers with the knife and axe he was carrying.

Jonathan Tsosie then charged at the officers, who shot him.

In the newest incident, the grandparents told police Tsosie left the scene driving recklessly in a pickup truck. Before he left, they said, he went into their house and took clothing, furniture and food, which he threw into the dirt outside.

Police began a search but a little later Tsosie returned to the house in the pickup. When they were able to stop his vehicle, he jumped out and fled on foot.

Police tracked him for four hours without success. Jonathan Tsosie's current whereabouts are unknown and anyone with information is asked to contact the tribal police.

DWI suspect arrested after chase

A May 7 vehicle pursuit ended in the arrest of DWI suspect Brent Wallace Mosbarger, 25, of Dilkon, Ariz.

Police were called to the area just after noon in response to a telephone tip that Mosbarger appeared to be intoxicated and was driving recklessly.

When police arrived, they located the suspect and saw his vehicle drift into their lane. Police turned on their emergency lights and began a pursuit, but Mossbarger did not stop.

It appeared at first that he was heading for his family home in Dilkon but he passed his home and headed toward Navajo Route 60, the police report said.

For more than an hour, police followed Mossbarger's vehicle on numerous dirt roads leading toward Indian Wells, Ariz.

Several times during the pursuit, police said, it appeared that Mosbarger was headed into gullies along the road but each time, he was able to get his vehicle back under control.

Police also reported that on three occasions, Mosbarger tried to ram his vehicle into a police vehicle, one time trying to force a head-on collision.

Mosbarger was getting close to Teesto, Ariz., when he made his third attempt to ram a police vehicle. Police were able to box him in and bring him to a stop.

Mosbarger still refused to surrender quietly and police said they had to use force and pepper spray to get him into custody.

Not your usual DWI

It was a case involving the arrest of a man for driving while intoxicated, a fairly common entry in the police notes of local newspapers.

But this was not your usual DWI case.

On April 28, police received a report from a Vanderwagen, N.M., man that he had been sexually assaulted by another man.

When police arrived at the scene on Cousins Road in Vanderwagen, they found Titus Smith, 34, without any clothes on. Nearby was his car, disabled after hitting a tree.

Smith was taken to the Gallup Indian Medical Center where police asked him to undergo the usual evidence collection and exam given to rape victims. He refused.

After a short investigation, police arrived at the conclusion that there was no sexual assault and that Smith had made it up to explain his accident.

He was charged with DWI, reckless driving and filing a false report.

Alcohol involved in infant injury

A 6-month-old boy was injured May 2 when his mother, whom police say had been drinking, accidentally ran over him at their home in Continental Divide, N.M.

Angela Yazzie, 37, is facing multiple charges in connection with the incident. The victim, Derrick Yazzie, was airlifted to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque where officials said he had a broken ankle.

When police first received a report of the accident, they were told by Yazzie family members that Derrick had fallen off a truck and might have a broken back. But when they responded to the call and started interviewing the mother, they suspected that she had been drinking and that the original report was wrong.

Eventually police discovered that Yazzie had run over her baby and then had taken him to her aunt's house in Smith Lake, N.M., before reporting the accident.

Yazzie told police she had no idea that Derrick had followed her into the yard and was in a position to be run over. When police performed a blood alcohol test, she registered .19 percent, more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent.

Angela Yazzie has been charged with DWI, endangering the welfare of a minor, aggravated battery, failure to render aid, and failure to report an accident.

Sundance man sought for assault

Charges are pending against a Sundance, N.M., man for battering his girlfriend and his mother.

Police said the incident occurred about 12:25 a.m. on May 5 near their Sundance home. It began as a fight between Teashia Begay, 32, and Otis Livingston, 30, while the two were in a car driven by his mother, Sadie Livingston, no age given, near their home in Sundance.

Police said Sadie Livingston was forced to stop the car when her son shifted the gears into "park" while she was driving. As the car slowed down, Begay reportedly jumped out of the vehicle.

Otis Livingston followed and began dragging her along the road while battering her. Sadie Livingston tried to stop the fight, police said, but her son then assaulted her as well.

Sadie Livingston fled to get help and returned a few minutes later with her father, Lester Livingston, no age given. They found Begay laying beside the road, her face severely injured by the dragging and the blows she had received. Otis Livingston had fled.

Begay subsequently was transported to Gallup Indian Medical Center and police began an unsuccessful search for Otis Livingston. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call tribal police in Crownpoint.

Accused batterer attempts suicide

A Black Mesa, Ariz., man attempted to commit suicide May 8 after a night of violence that left both his live-in girlfriend and his father with injuries, according to police.

Police said they received a report about 2:43 a.m. that Edward White Jr., no age given, had battered Jennifer Young, 34, and threatened to burn down the hogan they lived in.

Police later learned the suspect had also assaulted his father, Edward White Sr. By the time police arrived on the scene, however, he was gone.

Edward White Jr. was found about 7 a.m. near his home by police, who said he had apparently tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrist with what looked to be a small box cutter.

White Jr. was taken to the Kayenta clinic for treatment and Kayenta police are continuing their investigation.

Fire damages TC mobile home

A late-night fire May 7 caused extensive damage to a mobile home in Tuba City.

After receiving a fire report at around 11:30 p.m., police sped to the scene at the corner of Kerley and Jensen streets. There they found Darenna Lynn Dennison, Delaine Dennison and Michael Bighorse, no ages given, trying to put out the fire using small buckets of water.

Firefighters arrived shortly thereafter and managed to put the fire out, but not before extensive damage was done to most of the trailer. No injuries were reported.

Woodie gets 2 years for assault

PHOENIX - Darrick Layne Woodie, 28, of Window Rock, was sentenced May 11 to two years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Woodie pleaded guilty Jan. 12 to assaulting a man last June on the Navajo Nation. During the assault, Woodie struck the victim in the head, resulting in serious bodily injury.

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