Navajo police snare bootleggers
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
LUKACHUKAI, Ariz. — Seven people are facing bootlegging-related
charges following a raid by Navajo police on New Year's Eve.
The operation was the 12th mounted by the Chinle Police District since
September.
A team of more than a dozen officers hit three homes early in the
evening in raids that were modeled after big-city anti-drug attacks.
Two of the homes were in the same camp and the third was nearby.
Police believe the team, which was riding in standard Navajo police
vehicles, was spotted when some of the vehicles got lost and stopped
near two of the homes while on their way to the first.
The three homes were off Navajo Route 13 and within sight of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs' Lukachukai Boarding School.
The officers used a battering ram, nicknamed the "master key,"
to splinter the wood above and below the lock of the door at the first
home they searched. Police had a search warrant issued by a Navajo
district court judge following buys and attempted buys by undercover
officers the previous Sunday.
A man inside the house, who said he was housesitting while the owners
were in Albuquerque, refused to open the lock to accept the search
warrant.
Officers identified the man as Leo McKinley and said he will be issued
a summons on a charge of possession of alcohol. Police found a compressed
air-powered pellet gun and two bottles of Tokay wine as they searched
the three-room house.
Police also found a notebook in the house they said allegedly listed
who purchased the alcohol, what kind was purchased and the date and
time of the purchase.
In a large shed on the property, police found 66 bottles of 40-oz.
Budweiser beer and 42 bottles of Garden DeLuxe wine crammed into cardboard
boxes. Also found was a radio scanner and a combination brass knuckle-knife.
Police also arrested Leon F. Allen of Farmington on
a charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol and possession
of liquor when he arrived at the residence. Augustine Allen of Lukachukai
was arrested on a charge of presenting false identification.
The second home police raided contained no contraband. At the third
home watched over by several dogs that gave no problem to police officers
picked up a keg; two rifles; a num-chuck, a small baseball cut into
a club with a wrist strap; a radio scanner; a bunch of fireworks,
and two 40-ounce bottles of beer.
During the operation, officers found an outstanding warrant for Martha
J. Shirley of the Tsaile-Wheatfields Chapter. Shirley A. Begay of
Lukachukai Chapter was charged with delivery of liquor, the technical
name for bootlegging within the boundaries of the reservation, which
prohibits any alcohol within its boundaries.
Others facing charges are John Joe and Juanita Begay. Officers said
a warrant will be issued for them on charges of delivery of liquor.
Because bootleggers are known to monitor regular police radio frequencies,
the team maintained radio silence, which partially accounted for a
portion of the team getting lost.
The district's commander, Lt. Ronnie Wauneka, who is
an acting captain, accompanied the team on the raid, as did a member
of the Diné College Police Department.
Also along were four wives of married officers and girlfriends of
bachelor officers, plus a young man whose relatives are certified
officers and who wants to become a policeman.
With undercover buys being used to gain evidence for search warrants,
officers said they believe some people are beginning to have second
thoughts about selling liquor.
Some of those apprehended have asked for and received counseling from
officers, with many inquiring how they could make money legally, officers
said during the debriefing.
Currently, Navajo judges can give only short sentences and light fines
to bootlegging offenders. However, members of the Navajo Nation Council
plan to consider a revision of the tribe's criminal code later this
month. The proposed changes could allow confiscation of property involved
in the illegal transactions, as well as the stiffest sentences and
fines that the U.S. government allows Indian courts to impose.
Judges in the Chinle District Court also have ordered offenders to
put up and keep up large 4-by-8-foot signs saying they are out of
the illegal liquor business. So far the signs have gone up in Chinle,
Round Rock, Tachee-Blue Gap and the Smoke Signal neighborhoods, officers
said.
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New year starts with a whimper
All's quiet for tribe, city
Jim Maniaci and Bill Donovan
Staff Writers
GALLUP — Both Gallup and the Navajo Reservation experienced a
quiet end to the century Friday night.
Subdued, but obviously joyful, applause filled the emergency command
center at the Navajo Nation's Window Rock fire station as 2000 began
at the stroke of midnight.
That's because the Navajo Nation encountered no Y2K problems as the
year rolled over from 1999 to 2000 or 99 to 00, which older non-Y2K
compliant computers would have read as 1999 going into 1900 instead
of 2000.
In Gallup, Mayor John Pena observed the end of the century at the
Southside Fire Station, where police and firefighters were on hand
to handle the emergencies which did not occur.
Instead, they watched fireworks set off at the University
of New Mexico-Gallup campus a short distance away.
In Window Rock, Tico Charlee, the tribal Y2K coordinator,
admitted he expected to run into some problems today when everyone
returns from the second long holiday weekend in two weeks and lights
up their monitors.
Charlee promised as quick-as-possible response and repair for those
who do encounter problems among the 6,000 tribal employees and their
approximately 4,000 computers.
As an example of precautions taken, the Chinle Police District one
of seven in the Division of Public Safety shut down its computers
about 8 p.m. Friday and the staff returned to the old days. The only
computer equipment operated during the rollover time was tied to radios.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs had supplied more than 1,000 new computers
for two-thirds of the tribal employees whose program funds come from
Public Law 93-638 contracts, and this was a major help to the Navajo
Nation.
Tribal police and Gallup police both commented on the fact that, as
the time got to be near midnight Friday, traffic on city and reservation
roads was sparse.
In Gallup, almost every other car seen on the roads
belonged to the police. Thirty cars were out on the road that night
patrolling.
A few minutes into the new century, Pena said he suspected most people
were at home that night because of fears caused by the Y2K talk and
the effect it would have on services such as water and electricity.
"This shows, however, what can be done when we
all cooperate," he said, adding that he felt the city did a good
job in planning for any possibility that could have occurred.
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Gunman holds up waitress
Sekai K. Mutunhu
Staff Writer
GALLUP — A waitress was held up at gunpoint after a masked man
entered the Roadrunner cafe Friday night and emptied the cash register.
Pita Garcia, co-owner of the cafe on 3014 E. Highway 66, declined
to disclose how much was taken during the robbery but said she was
grateful that the waitress was not injured.
"This was the first time in 15 years that we have been robbed,"
Garcia said. "We were in a state of shock. It could have been
worse. My waitress could have been hurt."
Other staff members were in the kitchen when the robbery
occurred around 6 p.m. New Year's Eve. The waitress said she was alone
in the dining area when she saw a man sitting at a table.
"He had a ski mask on and he said 'you know what I want,'"
she said.
The waitress said the man threatened her with a gun he had stuffed
into a brown paper bag and then forced her to give him the contents
of the cash register. The man was in the restaurant for about five
minutes before fleeing.
"As soon as he started going out the door I went back into the
kitchen to call 911," she said. "I guess he was somebody
who just needed some extra bucks for Christmas."
The waitress, who has been employed at the cafe for two years, returned
to work the day after the robbery.
Garcia praised the Gallup Police Department for its quick response.
"They were right here on the double," she said.
Gallup Police Lt. Robert Silva said the case is under investigation.
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Traveler dies in crash
Sekai K. Mutunhu
Staff Writer
GALLUP — A Las Vegas, Nev., woman and her two young children
are without a husband and father this morning after an accident claimed
the life of Jose Ramon Payan late Sunday afternoon.
Payan, 41, and his family were headed west on Interstate Highway 40
when the 1998 Ford Sports Utility Vehicle they were traveling slid
off the road and flipped over several times. Payan was thrown from
the car and pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 5:30 p.m.,
said State Police Capt. Glenn Thomas.
Payan's 15-month-old daughter and 4-year old son, who were also thrown
from the car, sustained head injuries. Payan's wife, Ana Payan, 38,
escaped with minor injuries...
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Busy weekend for county, state cops
Sekai K. Mutunhu
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Local law enforcement officials reported
a busy three-day holiday weekend but say Y2K predictions of gloom
and doom and the ringing in of the new millennium brought no major
incidents.
"There were lots of party calls and disturbance calls and that
was about it," said Captain Donna Goodrich of the McKinley County
Sheriff's Department.
Deputies responded to a total of 62 calls over the holiday weekend
compared to the usual 34 they receive in a three-day weekend. An estimated
40 citations were issued and 18 arrests were made. Three of the arrests
involved driving while intoxicated and six of the arrests were related
to underage drinking, Goodrich said...
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No money, no firewood in HPL lands
Nancy Watson
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Some Navajo families living on Hopi Partitioned Lands
are having a tough time staying warm this winter.
Providing fuel for Navajo families who did not sign
the accommodation agreement last year has been a goal of the Navajo
Hopi Land Commission, but cold weather has arrived and the project
has been stalled due to lack of money.
Enough money to rent a two-ton truck and hire a few workers for one
week would do the job, according to Marie Gladue, community involvement
specialist for NHLC. But the money isn't there...
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Gallup group warns of gambling ills
Bill Donovan
Staff Writer
GALLUP — A man who helped defeat gaming on the Navajo reservation
in 1997 is now working with a group in Gallup that doesn't want to
see casino-type gambling here.
Richard Kontz said Wednesday that he is part of a group called "Citizens
for Integrity in Government" that is going to be working in the
next year to educate Gallup area residents about the negative aspects
of gambling.
"We have a core group of about 30 to 35 people from Gallup, the
county and the Navajo Nation that meets on a regular basis right now,"
Kontz said...
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Gallup area, Navajo reservation clobbered
by snowstorm
The Associated Press
GALLUP — Dozens of vehicles slid off icy roads in northwestern
New Mexico as a winter storm crossed into Colorado, and three major
highways had to be closed Sunday night, including sections of Interstate
40, U.S. 64 and N.M. 44.
Traffic-snarling snow packed roads in western and southwestern New
Mexico, including a closed stretch of I-40 between Gallup and Holbrook,
Ariz., said Walt Gray of the Arizona Department of Transportation.
He said the road had to be closed in both directions possibly until
dawn because of a rash of accidents.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, dispatch operators said...
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