1 dead, 1 injured in Crownpoint shooting

Navajo Times

WINDOW ROCK, Sept. 9, 2010

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Navajo Nation Police and the FBI are investigating a shooting last weekend that left a Littlewater, N.M., man dead.

The victim was identified as Vinton Wally, 42.

Police said the incident began about 1:17 a.m. on Sept. 4 when Brian Thompson, 20, of Standing Rock, N.M., and Presley Shorty, 21, of Littlewater, drove up to the Wally residence with three other men "wanting to fight the people at the residence" who included Vinton and Nathanial Wally, 24.

Shorty, according to police, approached the residence with a shovel and was confronted by Vinton Wally, who managed to get the shovel away from him. As Shorty was being chased, he yelled at Thompson to shoot.

At that point, according to police, Thompson shot Nathanial Wally in the left side of the chest, the bullet lodging in one of his ribs. Vinton Wally "was then shot in the chest which resulted in death."

Both men were transported to the Crownpoint Hospital by a relative. Vinton Wally was pronounced dead by a physician at the hospital.

Police apprehended Shorty and Thompson, as well as the three other people in the vehicle - Byron Pahe, 20, of Crownpoint, and Kelvin Augustine and Calvie Delgarito, no ages or address given.



Black Mesa student killed in accident

Several students at Black Mesa School were injured and one was killed in a vehicle/pedestrian accident Sept. 3.

Police were called to the school at 1:01 p.m. because of reports of a car accident that ended with several children being injured.

When police arrived, they found one child lying on the ground. That child was identified as Tracy Canuto, no age given. Also at the scene was the driver of the vehicle, Rudy Greyeagle, no age given, of Piñon, Ariz.

Police said the other children who were injured were being treated by bystanders.

No details were given as to what caused the accident and whether any charges were filed against the driver. The case is still under investigation.

Accident fatal to Fort Defiance man

A Fort Defiance man was killed Sept. 2 in a vehicle/pedestrian accident near milepost 1 on Navajo Route 7 near Fort Defiance.

Police said a pickup driven by Dana Roy Velasquez, 23, of Houck, Ariz., was traveling eastbound on the road when the front end of the truck hit a pedestrian who was walking in the travel lane.

The pedestrian, identified as Richard Yazzie, 43, was thrown onto the shoulder of the road. He was taken to Fort Defiance Indian Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The case is still under investigation.

Alcohol involved in Ganado assault

A Cornfields Chapter man is facing aggravated battery charges in connection with an incident that occurred Sept. 5 in Ganado, Ariz.

Police said they were called to Sage Memorial Hospital because of reports that two men were being treated after being assaulted with a metal pipe and a length of 2-by-4 lumber.

Joshua Manuelito, 30, and Roderick Manuelito, 26, were both drinking alcohol with two other men when one of the men, identified as Frederick Shirley, no age given, "snapped," according to the police report.

Shirley picked up a wooden board and hit the Manuelitos with it.

Joshua Manuelito sustained blunt force trauma to his head and was airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center for treatment. Shirley was put under arrest.

Shiprock man arrested after car chase

A police pursuit that began in Kirtland, N.M., and ended on the Navajo Reservation resulted in a crash and the arrest of a Shiprock man on Aug. 28.

Kirtland police were called to the local Sonic Drive-In after two young women complained that they had been "hit upon" by an individual whose advances were not wanted.

When police went over to question the occupants of a light green Ford Escort, the driver peeled out backwards and started to leave the parking lot onto U.S. 491.

Police then observed that the driver, later identified as Brian Roe, 28, had problems staying on the road. He was zigzagging and speeding, while at the same time his passengers were throwing beer cans and cartons out the window.

Roe also had turned off his headlights, the police report said. Police also said that during the pursuit, it seemed that he was intentionally trying to ram into other vehicles going in the same direction.

In fact, Roe's vehicle did rear-end two vehicles, one just before reaching the reservation line and one right after crossing it. The second rear-ending caused both cars to go out of control and crash.

Police said that when he was finally removed from the car, Roe "was laughing about the whole incident and saying it was fun." The driver of the vehicle he had rear-ended was not identified in the report. Police said she appeared to be in a daze after the crash.

Navajo police turned over the suspect to the San Juan County Sheriff's Department for booking.

Cove man sentenced to 2 years

PHOENIX - Delwyn Aaron Randall, 26, of Cove, Ariz., was sentenced Aug. 31 to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty March 24 to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

On Jan. 23, 2009, the defendant, who in 2004 had been convicted in New Mexico of conspiring to distribute marijuana, possessed a revolver outside his home in Cove. This led to an eight-hour standoff with Navajo Nation Police officers, which ultimately ended peacefully.

Whiteriver man sentenced for arson, assault

PHOENIX - Lindbert Johnson Jr., 45, of Whiteriver, Ariz., was sentenced Sept. 2 to eight years in federal prison for arson and assault with a dangerous weapon after pleading guilty May 25, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

On Jan. 28, 2009, Johnson lured another man out of a house in Whiteriver and stabbed him with a knife in a completely unprovoked attack. The victim sustained serious bodily injury as a result of the stabbing.

In a separate incident Sept. 4, 2009, Johnson burned down a residence in Whiteriver over an ongoing dispute regarding ownership of the house.

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