Store worker injured in attack

Working the overnight shift at a convenience store on the Navajo Reservation can be hazardous to your health.

Norman Silargo, 47, of Standing Rock, N.M., learned that first-hand May 23 when he and a fellow worker at the Crownpoint Mustang Store had to cope with four men who rushed into the store about 4:30 a.m. and proceeded to beat him up and steal merchandise.

It was the fifth robbery of a convenience store on the reservation since January - all occurring during the late shift - but was the first in which someone was seriously hurt.

Silargo and another worker, identified by police as Elaine Thompson, 43, were in the back preparing food for later sale when the four men rushed in, wearing bandanas and hooded jackets to conceal their identities.

They were in the store for less than a minute but during that time three of them managed to grab a lot of merchandise, including candy, donuts, chips, burritos and lighters. They also tried to open the cash register, but without success.

The fourth man assaulted Silargo, hitting him in the head with rocks that he carried in his hands. Silargo managed to fight back and set off the alarm.

Meanwhile, police said, Thompson hid in the cooler and remained there until the thieves left and Silargo gave her the all-clear signal.

Police said they responded to the call within a minute of getting it but by the time they got to the store, the suspects were gone, having fled the area on foot.

Largo was taken to the Crownpoint hospital and treated for his injuries.

Utah man charged in stabbing

A Halchita, Utah, man received several knife wounds in a May 19 incident near Gouldings, Utah.

Police said the victim, Nathan Morgan 23, was taken to the Kayenta Clinic with three stab wounds.

He later told police he had gotten into a fight on County Road 421 with a guy he knew only as "Shawn." Morgan was transported to Flagstaff for further treatment.

Police said they conducted a search and later arrested Shawn Harrison, 20, of Gouldings, and charged him with aggravated assault.

Checkpoint nets pot, alcohol

Officers in the Select Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) found marijuana and alcohol in a vehicle they stopped north of Shiprock on May 30.

Navajo Nation Police were operating traffic checkpoints at the request of the Ute Mountain Utes, who sought to keep drugs and alcohol away from their annual Bear Dance ceremony, which took place last weekend in southern Colorado.

Police said they stopped a car near milepost 106 on U.S. 491 and spotted several open alcoholic beverage containers inside the car. Police also reported a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

A search of the vehicle turned up 14 grams of marijuana in the car's console and another 300 grams in the glove department.

Police also found 17 cans of Budweiser beer and three 50 ml. (miniature) bottles of Tequila Rose liquor in the car.

The occupants of the vehicle, none of whom were Navajo, were taken to the Shiprock jail. The one non-Native among them was later turned over to San Juan County law enforcement.

100 days of summer

Motorists on the Navajo Reservation should be aware that the tribal police department's "100 days of summer" program began Monday.

The Navajo Department of Law Enforcement has received a $600,000 grant from the BIA to pay for overtime so police can conduct saturation patrols and other efforts to reduce drunk driving and make the roads safer.

While many of the roadblocks and extra patrols will be on weekends and holidays, when liquor consumption is up, the grant allows the police to do roadblocks at any time during the summer as they wish.

On Monday, Gov. Bill Richardson announced that the same 100-day program is in force statewide in New Mexico, which has one of the nation's highest rates of DWI.

Alcohol cited in N.M. fatalities

A Pinedale, N.M., man died May 26 in a one-vehicle accident near his home.

Police identified the victim as Jim Arnold Davis, 36.

According to witnesses, Davis was driving at a high rate of speed about 8:30 a.m. when he lost control of his car, which then slid sideways, went into the eastbound lane and rolled over several times.

Davis was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Police said alcohol was a contributing factor to the accident.

On the same day in Gallup, a Toadlena, N.M., man died and a Toadlena woman was in critical condition from a one-car accident that also involved alcohol.

Police identified the fatality as Kee Manygoats, 46. Elizabeth Manygoats, 36, was taken to the Gallup Indian Medical Center with a number of serious injuries to the head and upper chest area. She was later flow to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque for further treatment.

About 20 minutes before the accident, the two attempted to enter Fire Rock Navajo Casino but were turned away by security there because they appeared to be drunk.

They then drove off and security called the McKinley County Sheriff's Department to report a possible DWI. Sheriff's deputies went out to look for the car, but it was too late.

At about 5:40 p.m., Elizabeth Manygoats, the driver, lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a cement wall while westbound on state Route 118 west of town.

Neither person was wearing a seatbelt. Police said alcohol was a contributing factor to the accident.

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