Couple lead police on chase over a hat
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, Sept. 24, 2009
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It was a hostage situation where the victim wasn't aware she was a hostage or that Navajo Nation police had been searching for her and the suspected kidnapper for more than an hour.
It all began about 11:13 a.m. on Sept. 13 at the home of Claudina Yazzie's parents in the Navajo Housing Authority complex in Jeddito, Ariz.
Tribal police had already been informed that Julian Mahkewa, 24, of Jeddito, had committed domestic violence on his girlfriend, who had fled his house and ran to her parents' house.
When police arrived at the scene, they were told that Mahkewa had dragged Yazzie, 20, out of the house and taken her to a nearby forest. The victim's father as well as the suspect's father had both tried to follow but both had lost them.
The police then took up the chase and police officers soon discovered something interesting. Tracks indicated that the victim was not struggling and was, in fact, walking and running along with the suspect as they headed in a southwestern direction.
About 2:20 p.m., police discovered the victim, who appeared to be exhausted, sitting on the front porch of a vacant homestead. Nine minutes later, police apprehended Mahkewa.
It turned out that the fight had started over a missing hat that belonged to the suspect. Before dragging her outside her parent's home, the two had fought over the hat and Yazzie was scratched the suspect in the face while defending herself.
The flight turned out not to be a flight but a journey by the two to a friend's house where the hat was found. Yazzie said she left Mahkewa at that time and went to a nearby friend's house, unaware that police were looking for her.
The situation turned out to be beneficial to police because when they ran Mahkewa through their records, they found two outstanding warrants on him, one dealing with a request by the FBI to pick up for questioning in a sexual assault.
Yazzie had no apparent physical injuries and Mahkewa was taken into custody.
Two suffer minor injuries on ferris wheel
Police issued a report on an accident that occurred on the ferris wheel on Sept. 13 at the Navajo Nation Fair.
The victims were identified as Clothilda Nez, 44, and Casey Martin, 11, both of Houck, Ariz.
The two were riding on the ferris wheel about 4:37 p.m. when the machine had a failure, according to police.
An investigation found that two safety snap rings were damaged and bent and as a result, they caught onto the framework of the ride, forcing the two Houck residents to hang onto the middle pole until they could be taken off.
The two were taken to the Fort Defiance hospital with minor injuries.
No bomb threat at Kayenta school
Officials at the Kayenta Intermediate School had to deal with a bomb threat on Sept. 13.
Police were called to the school after officials said a bomb threat was found in the 5th grade girls restroom.
One of the teachers found the threat in the restroom when she entered at 7:50 a.m. It read, "This is a bomb threat."
A quick inspection of the school grounds found no such threat and school went on.
Red Mesa man dies in rollover
A one-vehicle accident near Red Mesa, Ariz., claimed the life of a Monument Valley man on Sept. 12.
The victim was identified as Harry Black, 45. He was a passenger in a car being driven by Keith Black, 52, of Kayenta.
According to police, Keith Black was driving on U.S. 160 approaching mile marker 484 when the car went off the side of the roadway.
He tried to overcorrect but lost control, causing the vehicle to roll over and eject Harry Black, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
7 flown by helicopter to Flagstaff hospital
A three-vehicle accident with many injuries was reported on Sept. 14 at the junction of Navajo Route 15 and Star Route 87 near Dilkon, Ariz.
The car driven by Steve Womble, 22, no address given, ran a stop sign, causing two cars, one driven by Perez Mondoza Perez, to collide into him.
A total of 7 people were injured in the accident and all had to be transported to the Flagstaff Medical Center on four helicopters.
Fugitive captured in Sanders
Tribal police helped out the U.S. Marshall's Office on Sept. 15 to arrest a person who had been sought since 2006.
Federal authorities were looking for Robert W. Dickson Sr., no age given, of Sanders, Ariz., ever since 2006 when he skipped out after being convicted on meth charges in federal court.
He was eventually found in Sanders where he had been living out of a 1962 Ford Bronco that was disabled and was parking in a community lot.
He was apprehended without incident and turned over to the U.S. Marshall's Office.
Assault nets Hopi man 4 years in prison
PHOENIX - Christopher Ray Elliot, 28, of Bacavi, Ariz., was sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty June 16 to assault with a deadly weapon, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
On Feb. 23, Elliot assaulted another person with a pool stick during an alcohol-related argument in Kykotsmovi, Ariz.
His prison term will be followed by six months in an inpatient alcohol rehabilitation program while on three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Long sentenced for robbing elder
PHOENIX - Stanton Eric Long, 22, of Kayenta, was sentenced to three years in federal prison followed by nine months in an inpatient alcohol rehabilitation program while on three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Long pleaded guilty Jan. 20 to robbing an elderly woman in her home in Kayenta. He was apprehended shortly after the robbery by Navajo Nation police, who recovered all the woman's stolen property.
