When pit bulls go bad

 

Navajo Police put down two pit bulls near the Cameron Trading Post on Nov. 27 at the request of the owner.

Police said they first received a report from Ashley Colorado, 19, of Cameron, Ariz., that her pit bull was becoming very aggressive and had attacked another dog.

The dog also reportedly almost charged at a group of children in the area. She told police she was afraid of the dog.

Police then contacted the owner of the dog, Ulinda Colorado, 50, who said she was afraid of the two canines in her charge and feared for the family's safety.

At her request, police put down both dogs.

Alcohol-related accident claims 1 life

A Littlewater, N.M., man died Nov. 29 when a car he was chasing ran over him.

The victim was identified by police as Leonard Barber, 40.

According to police, Barber was in a car consuming alcoholic beverages with Marilyn Smiley, Sharon Barber and Rudy Bylilly when just after midnight, they stopped the car on a dirt road near U.S. 491, milepost 70.

Bylilly, 50, of Littlewater, then began driving off, abandoning his three passengers. Leonard Barber gave chase and caught up with the car, attempting to jump into the passenger side. He failed to make it and instead fell under the wheels of the moving vehicle.

Police said Bylilly fled the scene and was later found at his residence at which time he was placed under arrest.

Fire damages Ganado house

Firefighters in the Ganado, Ariz., area spent more than four hours putting out a structure fire near the Old Sunrise Trading Post on Nov. 24.

The house belonged to Marie Shirley, 79, and Mary Shirley, 68, both of Ganado.

Police said the first report of the fire came from a passing motorist who not only called police but also stayed and tried to help contain the flames before firefighters arrived.

Extensive damage was done to the house but no injuries were reported.

Traffic stop yields cash stash

Police report finding $32,000 hidden inside the center console of a car that was stopped Nov. 19 for a routine traffic citation near Cameron, Ariz.

Police said the car, which had Iowa plates, was stopped and the officer was giving the driver, no name or age given in the police report, a warning when several signs of criminal activity were observed.

The driver signed a written consent allowing for a search of the car and four bundles of U.S. currency were found. The driver disclaimed any knowledge of the money being there.

The money was confiscated by the FBI and the driver was taken into custody by federal authorities as well.

Ganado man stabbed in face

A Ganado, Ariz., man was stabbed in the face Nov. 25 in an incident that occurred near Cross Canyon, Ariz.

Police were called by emergency officials at Sage Memorial Hospital and told that a man had been delivered to the hospital with wounds to his left facial area.

The man, identified as Warren Sampson Todacheenie, 29, was brought to the hospital by a friend.

No details were available as to what happened but police said that later that day Marshall Owens, no age or address given, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery.

Shiprock man accused in throat cutting

An aggravated battery occurred Nov. 23 in the Shiprock area on Navajo Route 364 near the Second Lane Junction.

Officials at the Northern Navajo Medical Center called police to report that a man - Lynel Jim, 28, of Shiprock - had come in with his throat cut.

Before police arrived to interview the victim, another officer stopped a car driven by Billy McGarrett, 38, of Shiprock, on suspicion of DWI.

As the officer was talking to McGarrett, one of the passengers, identified as Effie Peters, no age or address given, blurted out that he had cut someone's throat.

McGarrett then ran into the nearby Dollar Store in an attempt to elude arrest.

Police said Peters and another passenger in the car, identified as Harrison Jim Jr., 43, of Hogback, N.M., were arrested for public intoxication.

By the time police arrived at the hospital to interview Lynel Jim, he had been treated and released. Police were later able to find him walking in the low-rent housing area of Shiprock.

Fatal DWI driver gets 6 years

PHOENIX - Carolee Bourke, 33, of Whiteriver, Ariz., was sentenced Dec. 1 to six years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Bourke pleaded guilty July 23 to involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in bodily injury for causing a vehicle crash in which one person died.

On Oct. 27, 2007, Bourke was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when she drove her vehicle in Canyon Day, Ariz., on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation. In the car with Bourke was her infant daughter.

Bourke crossed the centerline and struck another vehicle, causing severe injury to the other driver and fatal injuries to the passenger, who was the other driver's mother.

At sentencing, Judge Susan Bolton cited Bourke's 10-year history of tribal convictions for public intoxication, DUI, assault, interference with an officer and domestic violence. She sentenced Bourke to the maximum penalty allowed under federal law for involuntary manslaughter - six years in federal prison. Bourke was also sentenced to six years for assault resulting in serious bodily injury, to run concurrently with the manslaughter sentence.

Upon release from prison, Bourke will be on supervised release for three years during which she must abstain from all use of alcohol and participate in substance abuse counseling.

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