Police Blotter: Officer on leave for allegedly disturbing the peace

WINDOW ROCK

A Navajo Nation Police officer with the Crownpoint District, Michael Peshlakai, was arrested for allegedly disturbing the peace.

According to a July 28 police report, Peshlakai was intoxicated at the time of the incident, which occurred at his father’s residence in Sheepsprings, New Mexico.

The police report stated Peshlakai was ” pushing his brother” and his father inside the home. The report said the intoxicated off-duty police officer said “he was going to kill (the father).”

Chief of Police Phillip Francisco said an internal investigation into the incident is ongoing and added Peshlakai is on administrative leave.

“An internal investigation is being conducted. Disciplinary action is pending. In these kind of cases, most likely it’ll be termination,” Francisco said.

Peshlakai has been a Navajo police officer for 12 years.

Fire at Chinle residence

Around 6:30 p.m. on July 26, officers with the Chinle District responded to a report of a fire at the residence of Anna Davis, who lives an eighth of a mile north of the Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility.

Smoke and flames were coming from the home when the officer arrived, as Davis’s neighbors were “throwing water into the house.”

According to Davis, the police report stated, she last saw a “Timothy Blackhorse at her house before it caught fire.”

Officers responded to another report of a possible house fire and found the alleged arsonist and arrested him. He was identified by the victim as being the last person she saw at her home.

It is not known if Davis’s home was destroyed or if anyone was injured.

Altercation at ‘Ghost Town’

An altercation, possibly over a woman, occurred at the area known as “Ghost Town” in Alamo, New Mexico, on the morning of July 29.

According to a police report, Alamo EMS called police and said a male subject, identified as Hulbert J. Apachito, 36, was stabbed.

Apachito was stabbed on the left side of his chest, stated the report.

Witnesses told police the alleged stabbing suspect, Zane Becenti, 25, got into a fight with Apachito “possibly over Norna Apachito.”

After the incident, witnesses said Becenti fled the area.

Apachito was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital for his injuries.

Becenti remains at large. Police are asking the public to contact law enforcement if he is located.

To’hajiilee star dies

A popular To’hajiilee Warrior basketball player died in a one-vehicle accident on the night of July 28.

Police say Darryl Apachito, 20, was found by an unknown female caller who told police Apachito was found “laying about 20 yards east” of his vehicle on Navajo Route 56, at milepost 5, in Tohajiilee, New Mexico.

The report said EMT Leonard Begay with EMS of To’hajiilee was the first on scene and found Apachito “face up no pulse, unresponsive, and not breathing.”

According to MaxPreps, the Tohajiilee Warriors, with which Apachito was a team member, made it to the Class 1A quarterfinals and played the McCurdy Bobcats. They were knocked out of the playoffs, 56-50.

Apachito was driving a 2001 yellow Ford Mustang at the time and was the only occupant.

Man dies at Navajo Mine

Navajo police from the Shiprock District responded to “Zone 3 Dragline worksite of Navajo Mine” in Upper Fruitland, New Mexico, on the evening of July 13.

According to the report, Navajo Mine employee Ronald Sandoval,, 63, “collapsed while working at the Zone 3 Dragline worksite.”

He was taken to an open area by the mine’s rescue unit where medical personnel “rendered aid” to Sandoval, who died at the scene.

Sandoval’s case was referred to criminal investigations.

Car crashes into Canyon de Chelly

Navajo police with the Chinle District responded to a July 26 vehicle crash, west of the Junction Overlook in Chinle.

According to the police report, officers responded to a call by a Herbert Gilmore, who told police he was following his sister’s vehicle “that was stolen” on South Rim Route 7, east of the community of Chinle.

The report stated officers waited for the vehicle at Junction Overlook, a popular tourist site that overlooks the south side of Canyon de Chelly.

When the vehicle arrived, police attempted to stop it. A pursuit began. The vehicle went off the highway and continued on a dirt road heading northbound towards the rim of the canyon, which towers hundreds of feet.

After a short pursuit, police stopped their pursuit when the terrain became too rough for the patrol vehicles, and began on foot.

Officers lost sight of the vehicle and its tire tracks. After awhile, police located the vehicle, which was “at the bottom of the Junction Overlook.”

Police said they did not find anyone inside the crashed vehicle.

Man shoots self at Red Mesa

A July 16 afternoon altercation in Red Mesa, Arizona, ended with one man dead, Francisco said.

According to the chief of police, Navajo police with the Shiprock District reported an intoxicated 44-year-old male subject got into an altercation with another subject at a home.

“The intoxicated subject started shooting back at the direction of the house,” Francisco said. “Then shoots himself.”

The alleged shooter died at the scene and no one else was injured.

Chinle woman sentenced to 20 years

PHOENIX — On Tuesday, Ashley Attson, 23, of Chinle, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Campbell to 20 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for killing her 17-month-old daughter, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Attson previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The facts showed that she put her child in a stroller, pushed her into the desert, and left the child for four days and nights.

Over the next few days, she met friends for ice cream and posted pictures of herself on Facebook.

When she returned, the child was dead. Two days after finding her deceased child, Attson returned for the body, put it into a trash bag, and buried it in an animal hole.

The child was born with methamphetamine in her system and had been in the custody of tribal social services throughout most of her life. Attson regained custody of her child approximately two months before the homicide.

When announcing the 20-year sentence, Campbell said that this was an “intentional, cold-hearted, horrendous killing of an innocent child.”

The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI and Navajo Nation Department of Law Enforcement.

Iyanbito man hit by SUV

A man who died in a pedestrian/auto accident in Gallup on Thursday was identified as Nelson Scott, 58, of Iyanbito, New Mexico.

According to police, Scott was walking with a woman along the road near 1310 E. U.S. Highway 66 about 9 p.m. when he walked onto the road for some unknown reason and was hit by a woman driving a white SUV.

The driver was tested and posted a 0.0 breath alcohol test. Police said it was undetermined at this time if the victim was intoxicated.

The driver, who appeared to have no injuries, was transported to a local hospital as a precaution, police said.

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