Pedestrian hit and killed

A decision by a Tonalea, Ariz., woman to get out of the car she was in and walk down the road proved to be a fatal one.

Navajo Nation Police said Shara Daveen Coolie, 25, died on U.S. 460 east of Tuba City about 10:29 p.m. on Nov. 3 when she was struck by a car driven by Jathon Reuben Ray, 22, of Tuba City.

Coolie was in another car before the accident and had told the driver, whose name was not listed, that she was going to jump out of the vehicle. The driver told police that Coolie appeared to be intoxicated.

The driver then pulled to the side of the road at about milepost 333 and let Coolie out and watched as Coolie began walking eastbound along the highway.

"The witness said that she then heard a loud noise and went to check on the victim," the police report said.

Ray later told police that the victim jumped in front of his car and was almost invisible because she was all dressed in black.

Bull on highway causes fatal accident

Another traffic accident claimed the life of a Gallup area woman on Nov. 8 near Church Rock, N.M.

The victim was identified as Regina Benally, 36, who lived in Williams Acre just west of Gallup.

Benally was driving along State Road 566 near Church Rock with Cedric Lewis, 37, and Colleen Brown, 44, both of Church Rock, when they reportedly came upon a bull in the road.

Benally made a sharp right turn in an effort to avoid the animal. She then overcorrected and the vehicle rolled over twice, ejecting Benally.

The vehicle landed on its four tires and smashed into a fence.

Police said when they came upon the scene, they could smell the odor of intoxicating liquor.

Police make marijuana busts

Tribal police made two traffic stops recently along Interstate 40 near Sanders, Ariz., confiscating large quantities of marijuana.

The first occurred on Oct. 23 when a Tulsa, Okla., man, Dennis Eugene McCoy, 40, was stopped on a routine traffic stop. After finding indications of criminal activity, the officer asked for permission to search the vehicle.

After it was denied, a drug dog was used on the outside of the vehicle and the dog alerted police that drugs were located in the vehicle.

When the vehicle was searched, police discovered two pounds of hydroponics marijuana. McCoy was arrested.

The next one occurred on Nov. 5 in the same general area and this time the people who were arrested were from Redding, Calif., (Lewis Robinson, 33) and Welling, Texas, (Jennifer Marie Rowlin, 24.

The two were going from Texas to California when they were stopped for a routine traffic violation. When the police officer came up to the car, he noticed an overwhelming odor of marijuana and the driver admitted to personal use of marijuana.

When police searched the trunk of the car, they discovered 10 pounds of marijuana inside.

Motorcycle driver killed

A collision between a car and a motorcycle resulted in the death of a Milan, N.M., man on Nov. 4.

Police gave no details about how the collision occurred but said that Garnett Bohannon, 40, who was driving the motorcycle, died at the scene of his injuries.

A passenger on the motorcycle, whose name was not given, and the driver of the car, Alice Pete, 71, of Fruitland, N.M., were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The accident occurred at the junction of Route 371 and Route 3003.

Tolani Lake man charged with assault

A Tolani Lake, Ariz., man was charged with aggravated assault with a vehicle in connection with an incident that occurred in the Tolani Lake area on Nov. 5.

Police said that they received several phone calls that evening about a car being driven recklessly and when they got to the area, they stopped a car being driven by Rodney Dixon, 30.

Investigating the situation, police got into contact with witnesses who said that Dixon got in a fight with his family and started driving while he was still mad.

The witnesses said they could see him driving recklessly as he left the area and tried to run down Lauratte Uhlin, 31, and Sarah Nez, 45, both of Tolani Lake.

Neither were injured but Dixon did damage Nez's fence, according to police.

Pedestrian struck and killed

A collision between a car and a pedestrian resulted in the death of a Kinlichee, Ariz., man.

Police said the victim, Chee Carl Curtis, 73, died on Nov. 6 about 10:30 p.m. in St. Michaels, Ariz.

The driver of the vehicle, Terren Rae Nieto, no age given, of Chinle, said the victim appeared in front of the car and there was no time to take evasive action.

Curtis was pronounced dead at the scene.

2 men sentenced in shooting

PHOENIX - Angel Fulwilder, 19, a member of the Salt River Indian Community, and Carlton Justin, 21, a member of the Gila River Indian Community, were sentenced last week, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Fulwilder was sentenced Nov. 2 to one year in federal prison and Justin was sentenced Nov. 3 to six years in federal prison. Both defendants pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon.

On Feb. 17, 2009, the victim was standing outside of a house on the Gila River Indian Reservation with his girlfriend, their 2-year-old son, and his girlfriend's sister. The women were wearing red shirts.

Occupants of the car driven by Fulwilder, front seat passenger Carlton Justin and a third man in the back seat, yelled out gang references. Fulwilder drove the car slowly by the victim's location.

Justin, who was wearing a blue bandana on his face, shot one time with a .22 rifle. The round went through the victim's shirt and lodged in the front of the house.

After he fired the shot, the car took off a few houses away to the end of the block, turned the corner and stopped. Justin then fired another round from the passenger-side front window. This round struck the victim in the foot, and the car again took off.

The victim recovered from his injuries.

San Carlos man sentenced for 2nd degree murder

PHOENIX  - Melvin Pascal Nash, 23, of San Carlos, Ariz., a member of the San Carlos Apache Indian Tribe, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Nash pleaded guilty Aug. 4, 2009, to second degree murder.

On Aug. 28, 2008, near San Carlos Lake on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Nash, with the aid and assistance of co-defendant Mason James Henry, shot and killed a Phoenix man.

The victim had been temporarily in the area working as a security guard for a construction project and had no prior association with either of the defendants.

On Aug. 5, 2009, co-defendant Henry pleaded guilty to second degree murder and is set for sentencing on Dec. 22.

Back to top ^