Coppermine man charge in stabbing death

Navajo Nation Police are investigating a homicide that occurred in Tube City on Oct. 15.

It began with a woman calling in saying that a pregnant woman had been stabbed. When police got to the scene, however, they found a man lying on the ground about 15 yards from the residence in a pool of blood, his black T-shirt soaked with blood.

The man, identified as Terrance Williams, no age given, of Tuba City, had a laceration in the back of his neck.

Police learned that Marcus Tsiginnie, 27, of Coppermine, Ariz., and his common-law wife, Raedown Williams, no age given, of Tuba City, had gotten into an argument that had turned physical.

It was at that point that Terrance Williams, who was Raedown Williams brother,  became involved, trying to break up the fight and keep Tsiginnie from hitting her.

Police said Tsiginnie at that point went away and came back with a large kitchen knife and stabbed Terrance Williams in the neck area. Terrance Williams died at the scene and Tsiginnie was arrested.

Fort Defiance man arrested in stabbing death of brother

Another homicide was reported to have occurred on Oct. 15, this one in the Fort Defiance area.

The victim was listed as Victor Belone, 20, of Fort Defiance. The suspect is the victim's brother, Kevin Belone, 18, of Fort Defiance.

Police said the two brothers were drinking liquor with their friends at a home on Old Red Lake Road when Kevin Belone became belligerent and began badgering his brother.

Victor was escorting his brother into the residence when Kevin turned on him and bit him on the right cheek. Victor then reportedly began hitting Kevin in the face area.

At that point, the brothers' mother, Genevieve Watts,  came to the door and told the two to stop fighting. Kevin then ran into the house and locked the door.

Moments later, Kevin opened the door and advanced on Victor  with two knives in his hand and swinging at Victor.

Sedric Peterson, 21, of Fort Defiance, intervened at that point and tried to break up the fight. In the process he was stabbed in the right leg.

Despite the stab wound, Peterson was  able to get Kevin in a bear hug and dragged him into the residence. Kevin still had possession of the knives and his mother was able to get them  away from him.

Kevin broke away and staggered to his car. He got in and drove several feet and stopped, getting out of the car and then collapsing on the road near the car.

In the meantime, family members discovered that Victor had been stabbed in the neck and in the right shoulder. He is pronounced dead at the scene.

Peterson is taken to the Fort Defiance hospital for treatment and Kevin Belone is arrested.

Fruitland home raided for drugs

Navajo police from several districts, along with San Juan Sheriff deputies, the FBI and officers from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency were all involved in a drug raid at a home in Fruitland, N.M., on Oct. 8.

Several persons were arrested but no names were released because this is an ongoing investigation, said police.

Police said they confiscated a large quantity of meth and a variety of weapons.

The raid also included a home in Farmington where more drugs and weapons were seized.

Navajo man killed in car crash

A head-on collision on Oct. 15 on Navajo Route 12 near Rabbit Brush, N.M., resulted in the death of a Navajo, N.M., man.

The victim was identified as Manual Johnson, 50.

Police said he and his wife, Loretta Johnson, 52, of Navajo, were traveling southbound on the road. At the same time, John Tsosie, 39, no address given, was traveling north on the road and his car swung into the other lane.

Tsosie later told police that he had fallen asleep at the wheel, resulting in his car drifting into the other lane.

Johnson died at the scene and his wife was flown to Flagstaff for medical treatment while Tsosie was flown to Phoenix.

Police said there was evidence that liquor was a factor in the accident on the part of Tsosie.

Tohatchi man dies in rollover

A Tohatchi, N.M., man identified as Samual Silversmith, 39, died on Oct. 10 in a one-vehicle rollover accident near Tse Bonito, N.M.

The incident began with a report that a vehicle was driving on Navajo Route 54 and was swerving all over the road.

When police got to the area, they discovered that the car was parked along the roadway but when the officer got out of the car, the driver took off down the road at a high rate of speed.

As the car was approaching State Highway 264, the vehicle was going at a speed approaching 80 mph, according to police.

The driver failed to show down as he went onto a dirt road just off Highway 264 and police reported a large dust cloud being seen.

When the dust cloud dissipated, police discovered that the vehicle had rolled over and that Silversmith was hanging out the driver's side window with his feet entangled in the steering wheel.

Police managed to untangle his feet but he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Alcoholic beverages were found in the area and inside the vehicle.

Shiprock man run over

A Shiprock man was run over by his girlfriend on Oct. 18 in Shiprock.

Police didn't say what caused the incident but said that Samuelson Antonio, 26, was run over by Quanna White, 24, of Shiprock.

When police arrived on the scene, Antonio was breathing but not talking. He was taken to the Shiprock hospital where he was treated for a fractured skull and bleeding to the head.

Police said that attempts to locate the girlfriend were unsuccessful.

Halchita schools vandalized

Police are investigating the break-in sometime in the evening of Oct. 17 at two schools in Halchita, Utah.

Police said that the Rural Utah Child Development Office and the Head Start school were both vandalized.

The only items reported missing were a 19-inch flat screen television and a laptop.

The FBI is also investigating the incident, along with tribal police investigators.

Kaibeto couple detained

FLAGSTAFF - Julius Crank, 41, and Sally Begay, 48, both of Kaibeto, Ariz., were detained by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark E. Aspey pending their trial in Phoenix federal court for felony criminal contempt, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Crank and Begay were charged with criminal contempt by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow for their failure to appear as witnesses on Sept. 22, 2009, in a criminal trial.

Failure to appear as a witness after being served with a subpoena in a federal criminal case is treated as obstructing justice and will result in a jury trial for Crank and Begay.

They will be held in custody as flight risks until their trial which will be set a later date in Phoenix. In detaining the couple, the court noted their previous history of non-appearance in various courts.

Whiteriver man guilty of assault

PHOENIX - Sentencing is scheduled Jan. 11 for Nathan Brooks Manuelito, 29, of Whiteriver, Ariz., who was found guilty last week of assault resulting in serious bodily injury by a federal jury in Prescott, Ariz., according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The evidence at trial showed that on April 22, both the defendant and the victim, as well as two other individuals, were standing around talking in the front yard at a friend's house.

According to the victim and two of the witnesses, Manuelito pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim three times in the right side, right abdomen and right back.

The stabbing was completely unprovoked, and resulted in the victim having to be air evacuated for emergency treatment and surgery to prevent his death from a liver laceration and a collapsed lung. He also had a fractured rib.

A conviction for assault resulting in serious bodily injury carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Rough Rock man sentenced for fatal crash

PHOENIX  - Brooksby Lamar Yazzie, 27, of Rough Rock, Ariz., was sentenced Monday to 31 months in prison for killing a 22-year-old member of the Navajo Nation in 2008, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

 On Aug. 3, Yazzie pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with a Jan. 12, 2008, incident in which Yazzie caused a collision while driving drunk on Navajo Route 59 in Rough Rock.

According to witnesses, Yazzie was driving recklessly and speeding when he lost control of the vehicle, which slid sideways and hit an embankment. The vehicle then flipped onto its side and the victim, a passenger in the vehicle, died of blunt force trauma.

Yazzie's blood alcohol level was in excess of .20 at the time of the crash, more than twice the .08 legal limit in Arizona.

Tonalea man sentenced for burglary

PHOENIX  - Ambrose Bennett, 26, of Tonalea, Ariz., was sentenced Monday to 27 months in federal prison for second degree burglary, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

 On July 29, Bennett pleaded guilty to a Dec. 8, 2008, break-in in Kayenta.

Bennett, co-defendant Eric Kinney and a juvenile broke into a home and threatened the residents with an axe and a knife. Then the trio stole their pickup truck.

Kinney pleaded guilty to robbery in April and was sentenced to 41 months in prison in September.

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