No jail time in illegal feather sale

Cedric E. Salabye of Dilkon, Ariz., was sentenced Aug. 28 in U.S. District Court in Phoenix for selling 11 bald eagle feathers between 2004 and 2007, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

He pleaded guilty April 23 to one count of selling eagle feathers and was given a sentence of five years probation, six months of home confinement, and 150 hours of community service.

Officials with the U.S. Justice Department said the illegal sale took place in 2006 when the bald eagle was listed as a threatened species.

According to testimony from a 2007 hearing, Salabye claimed that he received the feathers in the mail and then resold them. At one point, Salabye reportedly told federal agents that he also sold legal feathers over eBay.

California pot haulers caught

Navajo Nation police seized 187 pounds of marijuana and arrested two Anza, Calif., men during a routine traffic stop Aug. 28 near Sanders, Ariz.

The suspects, Albert Santilla and Daniel Flowers, no age given on either, were traveling eastbound on Interstate 40 when their car was stopped and the police officer noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car.

He also noticed marijuana residue on the belly and clothing of the passenger and was told that the passenger had been smoking marijuana earlier.

The police then conducted a search of the car and found 187 pounds of marijuana in the trunk and behind the rear seat. The marijuana was purchased in California and was meant for distribution in Albuquerque.

Man arrested in Leupp stabbing

Late on Aug. 28, police were called to the home of Tom Foster in Leupp, Ariz., in response to respond to a reported fight involving a stabbing.

As police were en route to the scene, several other phone calls about the fight came in to police dispatch. When they arrived at the house, officers found four individuals being detained at gunpoint.

According to witnesses, one of those detained, Emery Joe, 20, of Leupp, started the fight.

Police said when they tried to talk to Joe, he began yelling profanities and kicking at the door of the patrol car. He was "belligerent, uncooperative and kept giving police a hard time," the report said.

One of his alleged victims, identified as Michael Anthony Rodriquez, 19, of Winslow, Ariz., had fled the scene and was found about a quarter mile away with lacerations on his fingers and a puncture wound to his right arm.

The case was referred to the Criminal Investigations Department.

Alcohol involved in fatal rollover

A 20-year-old LeChee, Ariz., man died Aug. 26 in a one-vehicle rollover that occurred on Navajo Route 20 near LeChee.

Tyler Lane suffered head trauma and died at the scene, according to police.

Another occupant in the car, Myron Lester, had multiple contusions and possible internal injuries due to being ejected from the vehicle and then pinned underneath it.

Lester was flown to Flagstaff. Police said alcohol abuse was a contributing factor to the accident.

Cause of fatal rollover probed

A fatal vehicle accident occurred Aug. 27 near Crownpoint. The victim was identified as Becilia Talayuntewa, 39, no address given.

When police arrived at the scene near milepost 20 on State Route 371, they found two cars, one of which was on fire.

The people in the other car were not identified in the police report, which also did not include details of what caused the accident.

The report said the victim's body was found on the road. Attempts are being made to reconstruct the accident to determine what happened.

Man investigated for gun threat

An Inscription House, Ariz., man is under investigation for aggravated battery in connection with an incident that took place near Inscription House on Aug. 24.

The suspect is listed as Gregory Nez, 43.

According to police, Nez allegedly pulled out a .22-caliber gun and pointed it at Lucille Williams, 43, of Inscription House, while she was at the Crossroads Store.

When store employees tried to intervene, Nez reportedly turned the gun on them and yelled, "Get back!"

Just then another employee jumped Nez and wrestled the gun away from him.

Police said Nez suffered a number of cuts and scratches to his body during the scuffle but refused medical treatment.

Baby killed in Rocky Ridge

Police are investigating the Aug. 22 death of a 15-month-old baby who reportedly was run over and killed in Rocky Ridge, Ariz.

Details of the incident are still sketchy and the case is still being investigated. Because of the age of the child, the name was not released.

Drinking party turns violent

Police are also still trying to sort out what happened in Dilkon, Ariz., on the night of Aug. 21, when a drinking party turned violent at a local residence.

Several people were listed as both victim and suspect, including Nolan Chase Jr., 29, Pamela Chase, 28, and Nelson chase Jr., 35. All are from Dilkon. Police also said a 16-year-old girl was involved in the incident.

According to police, Nolan Chase and Nelson Chase got into a fistfight during the party, followed by Pamela Chase and the 16-year-old girl.

During the fight, Pamela Chase and Nelson Chase went into the kitchen and got knives and a couple of minutes later, Nolan Chase was stabbed in the back, receiving a 4-inch laceration and a possible skull fracture.

Police said Nelson Chase was found with swollen lips and his face covered with blood.

Police said one person was arrested for disorderly conduct but the name of that person was not listed. This case is still under investigation.

4 police laptops missing

Police officials report that four police laptops are missing, mostly as a result of people breaking into police vehicles while they were off the reservation.

Samson Cowboy, director of the Division of Public Safety, said one of the break-ins occurred when police were in Phoenix and two in Albuquerque.

All of the cases are under investigation but Cowboy pointed out that the department has several hundred laptops in use, especially by officers who can use them to write up incident reports during slow periods on patrol.

He also stressed that stealing a police laptop would not give someone access to the police network, which requires a password that is not kept on the laptops.

Cowboy said a weapon was also taken during one of the police car break-ins.

Kayenta IHS employee charged with bribery

PHOENIX - A Kayenta Health Center emergency room employee has been indicted by a federal grand jury for accepting a bribe, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Ella Babbitt, 46, is alleged to have taken the bribe in exchange for directing business to a local medical air transport service.

The one-count indictment alleges that on May 13, while working as a medical support assistant at the Indian Health Service facility in Kayenta, Babbitt accepted $6,000 to make sure AeroCare Medical Transport got the job when an air ambulance was needed.

In February the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began investigating allegations of possible bribery and kickbacks being paid in connection with medical air transport from the IHS facility at Kayenta.

The allegation against Babbitt is not related to complaints made last year by an Aerocare competitor, Eagle Air, that it was not getting its fair share of business on the Navajo Nation, Eagle Air officials said this week.

The indictment states that an employee of AeroCare cooperated with investigators from Office of Inspector General. Conversations between the AeroCare employee and Babbitt were monitored and recorded, culminating in a meeting held May 13 at a hotel in Kayenta at which $6,000 was allegedly paid to Babbitt. The meeting was recorded on audio and videotape, according to the indictment.

In a statement released this week, Aerocare President Russ Newman said all transactions between the Aerocare employee and Babbitt were carried out with the full knowledge of the federal investigator.

"Aerocare prides itself on conducting operations in a fair and ethical manner and when approached by federal law enforcement, we agreed to help," Newman said. "We believe an honest system based upon fair competition benefits the patients, the community and the taxpayers."

If convicted, Babbitt faces up to 15 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

18-year sentence in Gila River attack

PHOENIX - Anthony Wapeta, 22, of Phoenix, and a member of the Gila River Indian Tribe, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Wapeta pleaded guilty April 9 to assault of a minor while using a dangerous weapon, a handgun, resulting in serious bodily injury.

On June 15, 2008, Wapeta and a 21-year-old male friend entered the residence of the teenage victim on the Gila River Indian Reservation without permission from the victim or his family. During an ensuing physical altercation, Wapeta shot and seriously wounded the victim.

During the altercation, the minor victim shot and fatally wounded the other adult male, who died at the scene. The victim's younger sister was also shot and wounded during the altercation.

Wapeta initially fled the area, disposing of the handgun used in the shooting before returning to the scene to check on his friend, where he was arrested.

Mesa mans pleads guilty in Gila River murder

PHOENIX - Joshua Phillips, 33, of Mesa, Ariz., was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Phillips pleaded guilty April 28 to second-degree murder, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Phillips and co-defendant Augustine Thomas were involved with the homicide of an adult male on the Gila River Indian Reservation.

The victim had allegedly been spreading rumors that he was intimate with co-defendant Thomas' girlfriend. Those rumors caused Thomas to become upset and to enlist the assistance of Phillips to "watch his back."

Prior to traveling to the scene, Phillips allegedly called a fellow "brother" of the Warrior Society and asked for permission to assist Thomas in the assault.

The pair went to the victim's home, and the victim came outside with a garden hoe, which he used to hit Thomas' vehicle.

Thomas got out and began stabbing the victim. Phillips got involved when it appeared that, despite stabbing the victim, Thomas was losing the fight. The two men overpowered the victim and repeatedly stabbed, beat and kicked him. The victim died at the scene as a result of multiple stab wounds.

Thomas pleaded guilty to the same offense and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 23.

Gang member sentenced in fatal shooting

PHOENIX - George Villareal, 19, of Laveen, Ariz., has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Villareal pleaded guilty May 22 in the death of a young, pregnant female on the Gila Indian Reservation in Laveen, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Villareal, a gang member, was walking through the neighborhood on May 7, 2008, firing a 9mm pistol into residences. One round went through the wall of a residence, killing the victim as she got up to see what the shooting was about.

Man gets 39 years for child sexual abuse

PHOENIX  - Titus Case, 31, of San Carlos, Ariz., has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Case pleaded guilty June 10 to three counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor and one count of abusive sexual contact, which took place on both the Gila River and San Carlos Indian reservations, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The charges involved the sexual abuse of four children under the age of 10.

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