Woman found with injuries

Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK, Oct. 8, 2010

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A Dilkon, Ariz., woman received numerous injuries in an incident that occurred on Oct. 5.

Navajo Nation police were called to the area by reports that Darron Gaddy, 31, of Dilkon, was chasing another vehicle north of Naahteeh Canyon toward White Cone, Ariz. When they got to his house, they discovered that the windows had been shattered and that furniture had been thrown out of the building.

When they got inside, they discovered Mary Ellen Rose Gaddy, 28, lying on the floor. Her face was covered with blood, her right eye was swollen and she was complaining of pain in her right arm and shoulder.

She also had abrasions and was bleeding. Police said she was also highly intoxicated. She was transported to the Winslow hospital for treatment.

No arrests were cited on the police report. The case has been turned over to CID and the FBI for investigation.

Kayenta man injured by police vehicle

SHIPROCK - A Kayenta man received minor injuries when struck by a Navajo Nation police car during an investigation into "suspicious" persons lurking in front of a building.

The report was received by the police district at about 3:11 a.m., stating that there were suspicious people lurking in front of the Boys & Girls Club in Shiprock.

When police arrived at the scene, they saw several individuals at the site. All of them scattered when the police cars arrived at the building. One police officer, while chasing individuals in his car, lost control and the vehicle went into a shallow ditch.

As the officers continued their search for the individuals, a police officer heard moaning near the ditch and discovered that there was an individual face down under the front part of the vehicle.

The officer tried to use his four-wheel drive to back the vehicle up but that didn't succeed. Police finally had to use another vehicle to tow the car away.

Police listed the victim as Joshua Pettigrew, 22.

The victim, who was reported to be intoxicated, was taken to the local hospital for observation.

Police said they also gathered a quantity of a green leafy substance that was left at the scene.

Police officer arrested for DWI

New Mexico State Police reported the arrest of a Navajo Nation police officer for DWI during a recent sobriety roadblock.

The officer was identified as Frederick Bitsoi, 37, of Tohatchi, N.M. His vehicle was discovered with the engine running in the roadway near North Chino Loop north of Gallup about 2 a.m. on Sept. 23.

Bitsoi was not on duty at the time.



Burnside man under investigation

Details are sketchy but a Burnside, N.M., man is under investigation for aggravated battery in connection with an incident that occurred in Sanders, Ariz., on Aug. 2.

The report was delayed because it had originally been reported to the Apache County Sheriff's Department, which did the original report.

When Navajo Nation police arrived at the home of Jelinda Little-Watchman, 47, that night, Apache County deputies were already on the scene and were investigating the incident.

The suspect was listed as Denison Watchman, 30. The case was turned over to the FBI for investigation.

Navajo police to be certified as federal officers

WINDOW ROCK - Navajo Nation police officers went back to class last week to learn how federal courts operate so they could be certified as federal officers.

This is part of a program created by a new Indian law enforcement bill passed earlier this year that substantially expands the authority of tribal police officers, said Joe Lodge, a deputy assistant in the U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix.

Lodge and several other attorneys in the office came to the reservation to give instruction to 66 police officers at the Navajo Nation Museum. The officers are preparing to take a BIA test that will determine if an officer can be certified under the program.

Getting certified provides the tribal officer with the authority to request federal subpoenas and to work on federal cases involving crimes such as rapes, homicides and felony assaults, Lodge said.

Once certified, the officer is under the protection of the federal government and any suspect who attempts to harm or interfere with him is subject to being charged with assaulting a federal officer, he said.

Tribal police officials report an increase in the number of persons who have been charged with resisting arrest, resulting in officers receiving everything from abrasions to a broken wrist.

The two-day training consisted primarily of federal procedures and the proper way to prepare reports.

Lodge said another training session is scheduled in Window Rock in November for officers who were on duty and could not take part in the first training.

He said he isn't worried about the first trainees passing the tests.

"They asked the right questions," he noted, adding that everyone seemed to have no problem learning the procedures.

Blue Gap man pleads guilty to murder

PHOENIX - Derek Donald Chee, 24, of Blue Gap, Ariz., pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Oct. 4 in U.S. District Court, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Chee was charged with second-degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for killing a relative and assaulting a family friend Oct. 19, 2009, near the Blue Gap Chapter House. He admitted to striking his relative repeatedly in the head with a blunt object, which caused the man's death.

Chee faces up to life in prison, a $250,000.00 fine or both. Sentencing is set for Jan. 10, 2011.

Man killed, 2 women injured at Grand Canyon

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - A Burbank, Calif., man fell to his death Oct. 1 at Grand Canyon National Park.

An eyewitness report indicated the man was trying to jump from one rock outcrop to another, just off the Rim Trail, when he fell at around 1 p.m. The incident occurred between Pipe Creek Vista and the visitor center on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

Park rangers responded and with the help from a Park Service helicopter crew returning from a flight below the rim, found his body located approximately 500 feet below the rim.

The man has been identified as 42-year-old Andrew N. Stires.

Because of high winds and lightning in the area, park rangers were not able to recover his body until the following day.

Also on Friday, two women were struck by lightning on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The women, both from Seoul, South Korea, were standing on the rim east of the visitor center at approximately 2:45 p.m. when they were struck. Park rangers believe both women were hit by a secondary strike.

One woman, age 45, was taken by air transport to Flagstaff Medical Center where she was treated and released, according to a spokesperson there. The other woman, also 45, was taken to the Northland Community Health Center in Grand Canyon National Park, where she too was treated and released.

San Carlos man faces life for arson

PHOENIX - Marty Charles Randall, 20, of San Carlos, Ariz., pleaded guilty to arson in federal district court in Phoenix, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

On Oct. 30, 2009, Randall, while intoxicated, intentionally set fire to a Pontiac Grand Prix automobile and a residence located on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. The residence was occupied by Randall's father and sisters.

While the Pontiac and a portion of the residence were destroyed by the fire, no one was injured.

A conviction for arson carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine or both. Sentencing is set on Jan. 10, 2011.

Jemez man indicted for murder

ALBUQUERQUE - Lucas Michael Ray Steven Toledo, 22, of Jemez Pueblo, has been charged with first-degree murder of Matthew Panana, 21, also of Jemez, according to a Sept. 30 news release from the U.S. attorney's office.

According to the criminal complaint, Toledo murdered Panana in the early hours of Sept. 29 outside Toledo's residence on the Jemez Reservation.

The complaint alleges that Toledo acknowledged murdering Panana after Panana repeatedly disrupted Toledo as he was attempting to sleep. Toledo used a box-cutter razor, two knives and shovel in the course of the attack, eventually slashing Panana's throat and disemboweling him.

According to the complaint, Toledo then went into his residence where he applied black and white paint to his face. Returning to his victim, Toledo repeatedly struck him in the head with the shovel.

If convicted of this offense, Toledo faces up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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