Police Blotter | Police chase, arrest 3 who stole sheriff office van

GALLUP

On Monday, the New Mexico State Police was notified that three prisoners had stolen a McKinley County Sheriff’s transport van around the Route 66 Casino on Interstate 40.

The three prisoners were identified as Josh Hall, 35, of Milan, New Mexico, Rickie Billie, 36, of Albuquerque, and LaCosta Reeves, 45, of Gallup.

Authorities released updated information Tuesday about the incident.

New Mexico State Police officials had said Monday that the inmates were being transported by a sheriff’s deputy who apparently had a medical episode and had to stop the van.

But county Undersheriff James Maiorano said Tuesday that it was one of the two male inmates — 35-year-old Josh Hall — who slipped out of his handcuffs, faked a heart attack and overpowered the deputy when he opened the van’s door.

Maiorano said Hall then drove away in the van with the other inmates still shackled in the back.

The inmates were from the Bernalillo County jail and were being transported back to Gallup at the time.

New Mexico State Police officers located the van near To’hajiilee on I-40. A pursuit began and headed west on I-40.

After a lengthy pursuit, officers successfully deployed tire deflation devices.

Hall, Billie, and Reeves were taken into custody without further incident on State Road 124 east of Grants, just off I-40.

Missouri man arrested, charged with multiple felonies

TUSAYAN, Ariz. – Kaspar Ahrens, 44, from Genevieve, Missouri, was arrested and booked into the Coconino County Jail for seven counts of felony endangerment, seven counts of threatening and intimidating, four counts of kidnapping, criminal damage, and one count of unlawful imprisonment.

Ahrens is being held on $75,000 cash bond.

On March 18, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received a call requesting a welfare check on a family from Missouri.

It was later found that this family had also been involved with a hit and run at the Grand Canyon Airport as well as a gate blocking access to the Supai Reservation.

The caller requesting the welfare check, also from Missouri, stated her boyfriend was in the area of Grand Canyon and the Supai Reservation and his father was holding him and the rest of their family, including an infant, against their will with a firearm.

The deputy receiving the call recognized this to be the same group that had been involved in a hit and run incident earlier in the day at the Grand Canyon Airport.

The report at the airport was that a white truck had rammed through the gate and then left the scene.

Deputies, park rangers with the National Park Service, and members of the Northern Arizona Tactical Team conducted an extensive search of Tusayan and the Grand Canyon National Park on the evening of the March 18 but could not locate the family or the vehicles.

At approximately 10 a.m. on March 19, a call from the Supai Rangers stated that a white truck had rammed a gate along the reservation line approximately 21 miles west of Tusayan. The description matched the vehicle involved in the earlier incidents.

There was a Jeep with the truck as well. After crashing through the gate, the vehicles continued west onto the Supai Reservation and stopped in an area a few miles from the reservation line. Supai Rangers maintained visual contact while a response was coordinated.

Officers from CCSO, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, Flagstaff Police Department, and the Northern Arizona Tactical Team responded.

Shortly thereafter, Supai Rangers reported that the male had walked a considerable distance from the rest of the party and that the rest of the party had left toward Tusayan in both the vehicles.

The suspect was taken into custody without incident by the officers transported by helicopter.

The family was contacted by officers along Forest Road 328. No injuries were sustained by any parties.

Flagstaff man shot, killed outside bar

FLAGSTAFF – A Flagstaff man was killed when a fight outside a downtown bar early Sunday morning turned into a shooting.

Police say the fight broke out outside “Collins Irish Pub and Grill” at around 1 a.m. When officers arrived, they located 26-year-old Frankie James Jackson, of Flagstaff, who had been shot.

Jackson was taken to Flagstaff Medical Center and was pronounced dead later.

The shooter was identified as 26-year-old Treysean Michael Anthony Ware, also of Flagstaff, who was taken into custody.

As the two were fighting, police say Ware reportedly pulled a gun on Jackson and shot him twice.

Ware has been booked on second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, disorderly conduct with a weapon, and drug charges.

The investigation is ongoing, but police say they are not actively seeking additional suspects. There were no other injuries reported from the incident.

Fire on train suppressed, no injuries

FLAGSTAFF – Summit Fire and Medical dispatch received a report of a train on fire just east of Flagstaff on the morning of March 13.

Crews arrived at the scene between Cosnino Road and the Walnut Canyon Overpass at about 1:48 a.m. to see a small amount of smoke and fire coming from the engine compartment of the lead locomotive of a cargo train.

Crews accessed the fire area and prevented the further spread of the fire.

Everyone on board exited quickly, and there were no reported injuries.

Navajo Co. sheriff’s report – March 6 through 19

HOLBROOK – The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office reports the following activity from Sunday, March 6, through Saturday, March 12.

On March 6, during a traffic stop in Pinetop, a K-9 was deployed and alerted. Gregory James Osborne, 33, of Pinetop, was arrested and booked into Navajo County Annex for possession of drug paraphernalia.

On March 6, Santos Majella Gonzales, 32, of Show Low, was arrested and booked into Navajo County Annex for DUI-related charges.

On March 7, during a traffic stop on Interstate 40, Valerio Almaraz-Martinez, 22, of Phoenix, was arrested and booked into Navajo County Jail for taking the identity of another person.

On March 7, in Taylor, Jacob Lee Cates, 38, of Snowflake, was arrested and booked into Navajo County Annex for aggravated DUI and endangerment.

On March 9, during a traffic stop at the Senior Center in Overgaard, Bruno Magallanes Corrales, 54, of Overgaard, was arrested for DUI-related charges and an opened container in a motor vehicle on a public roadway.

On March 9, during a traffic stop at Chevron in Heber, Timothy John Melchisedech, 56, of Overgaard, was arrested and booked into Navajo County Jail for possession of a narcotic drug and paraphernalia.

On March 10, deputies responded to the Navajo County Jail about an inmate damaging jail property. Logan Gould, 23, of Show Low, was rebooked for the destruction of or injury to a public jail.

On March 10, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office was contacted about a missing juvenile out of the Phoenix area. Deputies learned the juvenile was at a residence in White Mountain Lakes. Jacob Alexander Gallegos, 26, of White Mountain Lakes, was arrested and booked into Navajo County Jail for custodial interference and interfering with judicial proceedings.

On March 11, in response to a domestic violence call, Darian Lanee Reidhead, 30, of Lakeside, was arrested and booked into the Navajo County Jail for disorderly conduct and assault.

On March 12, Gaje Lukas Martin, 30, of Lakeside, was arrested for DUI.

On March 14, a report of an assault in Overgaard resulted in the arrest of Nathaniel Portee, 19, of Snowflake, for assault.

On March 16, Rachelle Arthur, 30, of Heber, was arrested for a warrant. During a search, she was found to have a prescription drug that was not prescribed to her. She was booked into Navajo County Jail for the warrant and possession of a prescription drug.

On March 17, deputies were dispatched to Pinetop and arrested Sean Michael Gray, 43, of Phoenix, for disorderly conduct and criminal damage.

On March 17, an assault call in Lakeside resulted in deputies arresting Austin Trujill, 29, of Lakeside, for assault.

On March 18, an assault was reported in Lakeside, and Shadow Robert Williams, 35, of Lakeside, was arrested and booked into Navajo County Annex for assault and criminal damage.

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