Murder-suicide suspected in Piñon

Navajo Nation Police are investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide that occurred Nov. 1 in Piñon, Ariz.

It began with a report from a Piñon family of violence at the home of Gerald Slim, 39, of Piñon. When police arrived, they were told by family members to go to the kitchen where they found the body of Reginald Tachine, 37, of Piñon.

He was laying facedown in a large pool of blood with multiple signs of blunt force trauma to his head. Police said the body was cold to the touch and there was no pulse.

Police ordered family members to leave the residence and after a preliminary investigation, centered their suspicions on Slim, who was not at the scene and couldn't be located.

That remained the situation until the next day when Verna Benally, who lived nearby, reported finding a body hanging in her shed. The body was identified as Slim.

Benally told police that she went to look into the shed after she noticed that the door was open a little bit. As soon as she saw the body, she said she turned and notified the police.

TC school superintendent attacked

Navajo police and the FBI are looking for a Navajo man who entered the home of the Tuba City school superintendent and attacked him with a knife on Oct. 4.

The police learned of the incident about 7:22 p.m. when neighbors of Bill Higgins called police and told them of the assault. When police arrived on the scene, Higgins was sitting on a chair on his front porch and was bleeding from the head area and his right arm.

Higgins told police that a man had come into his house while he was in the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom, Higgins said, he confronted the intruder and the two started fighting.

The intruder then pulled out a knife and stabbed Higgins with it. Higgins said he ran away and went to his bedroom where he had a pistol. When he tried to fire the pistol, it malfunctioned.

By this time, however, the intruder had managed to crawl out a window and began running away, chased by people who heard the commotion and ran after the intruder, striking him on the body.

The intruder, according to witnesses, didn't slow down and was able to outrun his pursuers. He was last seen running north toward a Navajo Housing Authority complex.

Police got a basic description of the man - about 6 feet tall with short hair, almost balding, but when they search the NHA complex, they could find no one of that description.

A FBI spokesman said that their investigation is ongoing and that they suspect it was a burglary that went bad.

Man sentenced in woman's attack

Michael Whitehorse, 21, of Montezuma Creek, Utah, was sentenced Oct. 27 to 46 months in prison for his involvement in a sexual attack on a Montezuma Creek woman last December.

His prison time will be followed by three years on probation.

Whitehorse is one of three people including his mother, 40-year-old Cynthia Bitsuie Jones, who pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual abuse following the attack. Jones and Johnson Joe, 42, are awaiting sentencing.

According to the court documents, the incident began when the three plus two others were partying near their home. After consuming alcohol, Jones and another woman got into an argument and began fighting.

During the fight Jones punched the other woman in the face and ripped off her clothes, yelling to Whitehorse and Joe to come to her aid.

Jones held the woman down while Whitehouse raped her and Johnson assaulted her. The three then drove away.

The victim put on her clothes, got her car started, and drove to a nearby hospital where she was treated for 42 cuts and abrasions.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Salt Lake City said Joe will be sentenced Nov. 23 and Jones is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 11.

Arson suspected in Sawmill fire

Navajo fire officials suspect arson in the case of a Nov. 3 fire that destroyed two homes belonging to the Billiman family in Sawmill, Ariz.

Fire Chief Larry Chee said the fires were reported to have started in the evening hours and when the first firefighters arrived on the scene, they found their efforts hampered by a lack of water at the site.

Nearby fire departments at Navajo Pine, Navajo Estates and Ganado were called upon for assistance but the two structures were totally destroyed. No injuries were reported.

"The families lost everything, they have it tough," Chee said. "A fund has been set up to help them."

Husband allegedly beaten

Navajo police are investigating a domestic violence case that occurred Nov. 4 in Tóhajiilee, N.M.

The alleged victim, Raymie Hurley, 33, said he was asleep at his sister's home when his wife, Chloe Hurley, no age given, came in. The two separated three years ago but are still married.

They began talking about their relationship but it deteriorated into an argument. Raymie said he decided to leave the bedroom but Chloe trapped him there.

He alleged to police that she tried to take his cell phone and they fought over it, and she struck him in the face with her closed fist and then slapped him twice.

Raymie Hurley told police that he only defended himself and did not strike her. By the time police arrived on the scene, Chloe Hurley had left.

Code talker, 89, dies

Navajo police reported the death of a Navajo Code Talker by natural causes on Nov. 5.

Police were called to the home of Danny Sage, 89, and found his body. There was no sign of foul play.

The police report said Sage fought in Saipan and Guam during World War II.

Utah man stabbed

A Nov. 10 stabbing incident in Shiprock sent a Toadkani, Utah, man to the hospital.

The victim, Romeo B. Maryboy, 36, was stabbed in the right area of his back with penetration to the lung. He also suffered injuries to his left hand and right calf.

Details of the assault were not immediately known to police.

Maryboy said he did not know the exact name of his assailant, saying he met him three years before at a detention center in San Juan County, N.M. Police were able to later identify the man as Samuelson Mahan Antonio, 27, of Shiprock.

The case is still under investigation.

Dilkon death investigated

It's being called an apparent suicide but Navajo police are still investigating an incident that ended with a Dilkon, Ariz., woman shot dead Nov. 4.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Elisha Renee Begaye, 20, lying on her back with her arms out to the side and blood all over her face.

Police also found a .22-caliber single action firearm next to her in the weeds.

A witness described as her boyfriend, Ernest Littlefoot Jr., 24, of Dilkon, told police that he and Begaye had been talking when she began upset over a broken window on the truck.

He said Begaye then walked off with the rifle and a couple of minutes later he heard the rifle go off as she shot herself in the mouth.

Police said they discovered that the two had been drinking before the incident and that Littlefoot had tried to hide a full bottle of liquor from the officers. Littlefoot was detained for public intoxication and tampering with physical evidence.

Crash causes Halloween electrical outage

Residents of Tuba City had no electricity for more than half an hour on Oct. 31 because a suspected drunk driver fell asleep at the wheel and collided with a light pole.

Navajo police said at about 12:54 p.m. they were called to the scene of a traffic accident on U.S. 160 about a mile west of Van's Trading Post.
They found a car driven by Lionel Steven Nez, 25, of Cameron, Ariz., next to a light pole that had fallen down. Police said Nez had apparently fallen asleep and drove off the side of the road, through a right-of-way fence, and into the pole.

The entire community of Tuba City was briefly without electricity, forcing businesses to close, according to the police report. Police sent additional personnel out to provide security to the community as residents prepared to celebrate Halloween.

Nez was charged with DWI, reckless driving and criminal damage.

Nageezi man may face federal charges

The U.S. attorney's office in Albuquerque has agreed to accept a case of domestic violence against a Nageezi Chapter man who reportedly has been abusing his wife for the past 16 years.

Linda Begay, 44, told police with the criminal investigation unit in Window Rock that se has been reporting the abuse to law enforcement officials in Crownpoint, Bloomfield and Farmington for years but no one has ever investigated, even though she suffered injuries.

The Criminal Investigations Department in Window Rock, however, took her allegations against Wallace Begay, 51, seriously and referred the charges to the U.S. attorney's office, which has agreed to take the case.

4 arrested in Torreon fracas

Four Torreon, N.M., residents were sent to the hospital and four others were arrested on assault charges in an incident that occurred Oct. 23 in Torreon.

Police said they responded to a call to a residence in Torreon where they found Jeremy Sandoval, 24, Davey Sandoval, no age listed, and Sandy Castillo, 24, with lacerations to their head and body.

Jeremy Sandoval told police that they were assaulted by four men armed with baseball bats and pipes.

Police later found a fourth victim, identified as Timothy Sandoval, no age given, who also had injuries to his head. Timothy Sandoval was not at the scene when police arrived because he had already been transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque for treatment.

Police said they later found the suspects about a mile away from the scene of the attack.

Arrested were Garrick Bahe, 27; Gabriel Bahe, 30; James Bahe Jr., 23; and Fabian Bahe, 19.

Louisiana man arrested with 21 pounds of pot

Navajo police arrested a Louisiana man who allegedly was trying to drive to Baton Rouge, La., with a luggage case filled with marijuana.

Police said on Oct. 20 they spotted a windshield obstruction in a vehicle heading east on Interstate 40 near Sanders, Ariz., and stopped it. Ronald J. Deacon, 42, of Walker, La., was the driver.

Police said he exhibited signs of criminal activity and was asked if he would allow inspection of his car. When he said yes, police found a bag filled with 21 pounds of high-grade marijuana. Deacon allegedly said he had picked it up in Sacramento, Calif., and was planning to sell it in Louisiana, according to the police report.

5 plead guilty in eagle collection

FLAGSTAFF - Eugene Mansfield, 58; Eldrice Mansfield, 40; Emmett Namoki, 60; and Lucas Namoki, 34, of Mishongnovi Village, Ariz., pleaded guilty and were sentenced to one year probation and $250 in restitution to be paid to the Hopi Tribe's Wildlife and Ecosystems Management Program, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Brendan Mansfield, 37, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 days in jail and restitution. All defendants pleaded guilty to illegally taking golden eaglets in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Act.

Eagles are collected and used in some Hopi religious ceremonies. Eagles are legally collected for these ceremonies by obtaining a permit through the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office that describes the dates, the age of the eaglets and where the eaglets can be collected.

In this case, the defendants collected eaglets that were too young and were from an area on the Navajo Nation where collecting is not allowed, and before they were allowed to collect under the permit.

"These defendants violated Hopi, Navajo and federal laws which protect eagles and the sanctity of the Hopi religious practices. Our office is dedicated to protecting these resources, the wildlife laws of the Navajo Nation and ensuring the integrity of the Hopi permit system," said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke.

Annually, the Hopi Tribe administers the federal eagle-collecting permit program on behalf of at least 20 to 25 clans that go on eagle pilgrimages, according to Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office.

"It is to the credit of the practitioners that the vast majority of the practitioners have complied with all tribal protocols and federal requirements," he said.

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