Yazzie murder trial is May 7
Andrea Egger
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Trial will be held May 7 for Rocky Yazzie, a man
accused of strangling a woman to death, hitting her in the head,
then stuffing her under her bed, robbing her and leaving town
in her vehicle in August.
Yazzie, 25, of Chinle, Ariz., will face court March 8 for a pre-trial
hearing in the death of Lola Yazzie of Alto Street in Red Hills
Mobile Home Park. His attorney, Joseph Campbell of Albuquerque,
who works for the Public Defender's Office, couldn't be
reached for comment Thursday or Friday.
Gallup Police Lt. John Allen, department spokesman, said District
Attorney Karl Gillson's prosecution awaits evidence to return
from the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory.
Police found nunchuks with blood on them. The martial arts weapon
is being tested to see if the blood is Lola Yazzie's. The lab
also is testing clothing Rocky Yazzie burned that is believed
to be what he was wearing the day of the murder.
"The trial time obviously hinges on the expediency of getting
the items back," Allen said.
It wasn't a neat, cut-and-dry case. In a sense, the case was like
a 1000-piece puzzle someone threw to the ground, shattering it
and leaving Gallup Police Detective Matthew Wright to pick up
each piece separately until a picture emerged.
It all began Aug. 23 when Lola Yazzie's co-worker obtained the
key to her home because her friend hadn't shown up for work in
days and hadn't called. It was very unusual for Lola.
The friend saw many notes on her door, one dating back to Aug.
18. Immediately, the friend knew something was terribly wrong.
She called 911.
Lola Yazzie had been dead at least two weeks. Police couldn't
tell how she died, but being stuffed under the bed was a good
clue that she probably was murdered, police said. Her body went
to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque
for an autopsy. Strangulation was the verdict, a pathologist said,
with a head injury from being struck as a contributing factor,
added Allen.
Lola Yazzie's new vehicle was missing. Wright put out notices
for the vehicle and license plate.
Finally, residents of Chinle called to say it was parked there,
and a man named Rocky Yazzie — no relation — had parked
it there.
A credit card paper trail led Gallup Police to Rapid City, S.D.,
where Lola Yazzie's bank card had been used after her
disappearance and, later, death. Rocky Yazzie also has an identification
card with an address in Rapid City, Allen said.
Gallup detectives learned from Rapid City Police that officers
there already had a couple of minor run-ins with Rocky Yazzie
in August before they were notified he was wanted in Gallup.
Rapid City Police Lt. Steve Allender said Rocky Yazzie had recently
gotten out of a South Dakota prison after being convicted of burglary
there.
Rapid City police arrested Rocky Yazzie at a friend's house. An
extradition hearing brought the suspect to the McKinley County
Adult Detention Center, where he still resides.
Acquaintances of Rocky Yazzie in Chinle, who testified during
Rocky Yazzie's probable cause hearing in Magistrate Court, said
he came over one night and was all excited to show what he had
in a bag. Rocky Yazzie pulled out blood-soaked clothing.
He said he'd been in a fight.
That night, Rocky Yazzie and his friends went to a remote area
of the Navajo reservation, where the acquaintances said he stacked
the clothes over some wood and set them ablaze. He left the singed
mess — lucky for Wright, who collected it and sent it to
the lab in case blood could still be found and tested.
Rocky Yazzie was also bragging to his friends that Lola Yazzie
had received a $50,000 settlement for something and that she asked
him to help her spend it. He said she gave him the vehicle.
Meanwhile, friends of Lola Yazzie said she'd been hanging out
with Rocky Yazzie, who she introduced as her nephew, for a couple
of weeks before her death. Lola Yazzie's family members became
angry to see him listed as a nephew in the media and informed
the Independent that he is not related to them.
Murder for $50,000? People have done it for less than that, Allen
said.
Members of Lola Yazzie's family who would like to have a tribute
story written about her life and their feelings about the tragic
death are asked to call Andrea Egger, 863-6811.
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Navajo Nation DWI's
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Corrections Department booked
the following adults on drunk driving charges from Jan. 28-Feb. 10.
A person is not guilty (innocent) unless convicted in court.
* Chinle — Dominic Fulton, 31, Chinle; Bennie John, 55, Tsaile;
Harry Cisco; 45, Shiprock; Teresa Mailboy, 40, Many Farms; Maurice
Tso, 35, Chinle; Calvin Elwood, 43, Round Rock; Harry E. Begay, 38,
Pinon; Olson Mitchell, 37, Tselani-Cottonwood; Ben Teller, 69, Del
Muerto; Stanley Teller, 43, Many Farm; Brian Lee Bitsoi, 25, Lukachukai;
Steven Secretero, 40, Rock Point; Dwight Brown, 19, Tselani-Cottonwood;
Jerry Chee Lee, 43, Tselani-Cottonwood; Randy Nakai, 18,
Lukachukai; Clark Nez, 44, Las Vegas, Nev.; Jonathan Begay, 20, Chinle;
Jason Bia, 20, Nazlini; Karland Conger, 29, Rock
Point; Marcellius Bedonie, 27, Chinle; Harrison Blie, 38, Pinon and
Perry Tsosie, 38, Wheatfields.
* Crownpoint — Lenora Ignacio, 34, Huerfano; Helen Yonnie, 54,
Dalton Pass; Lance Martin, 40, Crownpoint; Dewayne Sorrell, 23, Round
Rock; Manuel McDonald, 38, Casamero Lake; Vincent Tsosie, 28, Coyote
Canyon; Randy King, 47, Iyanbito; Cecil Enrico, 52, Little Water;
Robert Johnson, 47, Sheep Springs; Thomas Ventillie Jr., 66, Jeddito;
Jimmie Blue Eyes, 56, Kirtland; Spencer Smiley, 27, Mariano Lake and
Lester Sky, 46, Crownpoint.
* Kayenta — Lee Parrish, 45, Kayenta; Terrance Begay, 20, Chilchinbito;
Robertson Yazzie, 19, Dennehotso; Verlo Yazzie, 21, Dennehotso; Stanley
Crank Jr., 19, Oljato; Jonah Yazzie, 44, Lukachukai; Andrew Bradley,
52, Kayenta; Joey James, 21, Black Mesa; Herman Standley, 19, Kayenta;
Bahe Yazzie Jr., 34, Kayenta; Justin Yellow, 23, Kayenta and Bobby
Black, 51, Shonto.
* Shiprock — Marcus Benally, 19, Kirtland; Bobby McKewen, 49,
Farmington; Roland C. Joe, 35, Shiprock; Davis Begay,
18, Two Grey Hills; Vanessa Dayish, 19, Shiprock; Fredrick Goldtooth,
25, Shiprock; Samuel Nez, 59, Little Water; Marty John, 20, Newcomb;
Arickson Charley, 23, Shiprock (2 different days); Larson Lopez, 21,
Burnham; George B. Mailman, 47, Kayenta; George Lapahe, 40, Two Grey
Hills; Paul Yazzie, 35, Beclabito; Edward Smith, 65, Shiprock; Benial
Jones, 35, Aneth; Calin Begay, 38, Fort Defiance; Donovan Begay, 27,
Red Valley; Terry Hayes, 27, Shiprock and Michael Nez, 27, Shiprock.
* Tuba City Feb. (4-10 only) — Billy Dougi, 34; Spencer Charleston,
31, and Joella Redburrow, 47, all of Tuba City.
* Window Rock — Wayne Plummer, 35, Window Rock; Clayton Curley,
35, Oak Springs; Albert Begay, 22, Window Rock;
Kathy Bennett, 34, Fort Defiance; Raymond Hubbard, 48, Ganado; Norman
Hunter, 36, Winslow; Alfonso Mannie, 22, Window Rock; Henry Young,
26, Flagstaff; Jeremiah Damon, 20, Cornfields; Jimmie Jensus, 46,
Cornfields; Joe Lee Jim, 49, Greasewood; Andrew Roanhorse, 62, Crystal;
Rydell Segodi, 30, Sawmill; Bronston Todachine, 22, Fort Defiance;
Ivalou Yazzie, 40, Albuquerque; Lola Goldtooth, 54, Sanders; Larry
Laughing, 38, Navajo Townsite, N.M.; Darren Thomas, 22, Window Rock;
Lester M. Begay, 36, Window Rock; Darryl R. Curley, 36, Kinlichee;
Marcan Kinsel, 42, Lukachukai; Lynette Woody, 26, Greasewood; Leandro
Yazzie, 25, Tsaile; Tommy L. Begay, 48, Steamboat; Vincent Brown,
56, Navajo, Ariz.; Farrell Bia, 30, Navajo Townsite, N.M.;Leroy Billiman
Jr., 24, Window Rock; Eugene Harvey, 28, Lukachukai; Rachelle Slinkey,
24, Tse Bonito and Virgil Thorne, 37, Tees Toh.
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Quadrathlon has record 675 athletes
Johnson places '6th,' no vetoes
Tom Purdom
Staff Writer
GRANTS — Seconds after 37-year-old Eric Black flew past the finish
line Saturday in the 19th running of the Grants Winter Quadrathlon,
he took a few private minutes to reflect.
Black, from Dillon, Colo., had just won the overall first place in
the gut-wrenching 44-mile race from the middle of Grants, up the side
of Mount Taylor and back to town again using bicycles, foot-power,
skies and snow shoes and he looked like he had not even broken a sweat.
Nine times Black made the pilgrimage from Colorado to Grants for the
Presidents Day weekend race and eight times he came as close as being
a groomsman, but never the groom until Saturday. "I've been third,
I've been second, but first ... this is fantastic," he said with
an ear-to-ear grin plastered across his face.
His time, 3:46:29, was certainly not a record, but that did not stop
Black from basking in the glow of a first-place finish.
Competitors, a record 675 of them in the 19 years the winter quadrathlon
has been running, start in Grants in front of the Cibola County Complex
and bicycle as fast as they can from an elevation of 6,500 feet some
13 miles up to the end of the pavement on Lobo Canyon Road into Cibola
National Forest. At that point the quadrathletes raced up to an elevation
of 8,300 feet and the air is already thin.
Without resting, quadrathletes jump from their bicycles and start
running up Forest Road 239 for the next five miles over sometimes
snow-packed gravel roads for another climb in elevation, this time
to 9,500 feet.
Lungs burning from horrendous exercise in rarefied air, the race is
far, very far from over.
Quadrathletes next transition, without resting, from running into
snow skies for a little 1,200-feet climb and cross-country ski race
over a two-mile course to the next transition point, just before which
is the notorious "heartbreak hill."
Chests heaving to capture precious oxygen, quadrathletes take off
the skies and put on snow shoes for a one-mile race rising the last
600 feet in elevation to Mount Taylor's pinnacle, the "top of
the world" at 11,301 feet.
At that point there is little time to take in the spectacular view
where Colorado can be seen more than 100 miles to the north. The reason
why is that the race is only half over.
Quadrathletes turn back around and start the descent down Mount Taylor,
one mile on snow shoes, two miles on cross country snow skies, five
miles running and 13 miles by bicycle into downtown Grants.
There's no other race like it in the world, and for quadrathletes
such as Black, they want it that way.
For all that way, it was really a race almost to the finish, because
until Black got into downtown Grants he was still trailing perennial
winner John Ortega, who comes from Boulder, Colo., each year to compete.
"I felt great," Black said. "Man, I was running within
myself and when we started the downhill run, John had two minutes
on me."
Drawing from deep inside, somewhere where inner-strength comes from,
Black kept pushing and pushing. "I kept telling myself that I
wasn't going to be happy with second," Black said.
At Western New Mexico Corrections Center and screaming down Lobo Canyon
Road on his bicycle, Black had Ortega in his sights, but the powerful
Ortega was still in front.
His legs just rubber extensions from his body, Black kept pumping
the peddles on his bicycle faster and faster as he inched closer and
closer to the elusive Ortega. Down Roosevelt heading west, he came
ever closer. Just as Black swept the hard left turn off Roosevelt
onto Second Street, he streamed passed Ortega. "Once I got there
(first place) I knew deep inside that I was not going to give it up,"
Black said.
Black gathered up his inner-self and pushed harder than he had done
for the entire race. His bicycle inched further and further from Ortega
and when he made the hard right turn onto High Street he knew the
finish line and his first first place in the Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon
was seconds away.
A crowd at the start-finish line saw him coming and wild cheers began
to grow.
Black streaked across the finish line, the ankle computer chip counter
clicked his time ... 3:46:29 and only then did Black allow himself
a glance back, to see where the 35-year-old Ortega was trailing, but
his nearest competitor, Ortega, was 28 seconds back, still pumping
his bicycle on Second Street. At 3:46:29, Ortega crossed the finish
line in second place.
Adam Adamowski, 28, from Evergreen, Colo., came up to Black: "I'm
so happy for you man."
Adamowski posted a 3:55:30.
Darren Lacy, 28, of Minturn, Colo., was third overall with a time
of 3:49:52. "It was tough competition this year," said Lacy
between breaths, seconds after he crossed the finish line. "Third,
not bad. This is my first Quadrathlon."
As each racer crossed the finish line and took a few seconds to wind
down, they gathered in small clusters gulping green sports drinks
handed out by Quadrathlon officials along with a banana. They talked
about where other competitors were along
the course. "You seen Andrew (Adamowski)?" Black said to
Lacy. "Yeah, he was bonking out at the top," Lacy answered.
At 4:05:07 Danelle Bellengee, 30, of Moab, Utah, crossed the finish
line becoming the first woman to come back down the mountain. She
had trouble during the first part of the race. "I felt bad in
that part of the race," she said. "When I was on the uphill
(ski) I really felt like quitting. There was a gal in front of me
and she beat me to the top, but back down we kept trading (places)."
Bellengee said she tapped her inner-reserve. "The last time I
sucked every single gut I had in me and got ahead," Ballengee
said. "After that, I knew I had the endurance to get it done."
A surprise came when young J.T. Topel, of Littleton, Colo, streamed
across the finish line with his arms raised high. His time,
5:38:03, was back in the pack to be sure, but first in his Category
1 of 18 and younger. J.T. is just 13 years old and already a veteran
quad competitor, with his first quad done last year at the ripe old
age of 12.
Adam Perls, 17, of Corrales, placed second in Category 1 with a time
of 7:59:05.
The senior statesman of the race was John O'Reilly, 67, of Placitas,
N.M., with a finish time of 7:11:50.
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Area sports
Carrie Loretto
Sports Editor
GALLUP — There were no feelings of deja vu for Gallup coach John
Lomasney.
After all, holding onto the basketball for minutes at a time is one
of his time-worn strategies for winning games. The other is strong
defensive pressure.
"The kids came out with super defensive pressure that set the
pace for us," said Lomasney who also pointed out that the difference
between the games against the Rams and Cougars was a better shooting
performance by Gallup on Saturday.
Gallup shot 41.6 percent, making 17-of-41 field goals in the win.
Additionally, the Bengals forced ten turnovers, four of them steals,
and blocked a pair of shots. In contrast, the Lady Cougars shot only
24.3 percent (9-of-37) and were held without a field goal for the
first 11 minutes and 46 seconds of the game.
Cibola coach Doug Dorame came into Gallup High School Saturday night
wanting to keep the score close in the first half. To that end, he
duplicated Rio Rancho's strategy of holding onto the ball near midcourt
while Gallup sat back waiting for Cibola to make a move.
Cibola ran two minutes off the clock before Lomasney gave the go-ahead
for his players to pick up their defensive assignment. The stall backfired
for the Lady Cougars as the Bengals came out with a defensive intensity
that almost immediately produced a steal by Vanessa Hubbard.
Hubbard got the ball to Anna Antonio for a quick score as Gallup took
the early advantage. Cibola missed its first shot on the ensuing possession
and Hubbard, attacking the boards, rebounded her own miss and put
it back up for a score and a 4-0 Bengal lead.
Cibola missed its second field goal attempt and Gallup forced a pair
of turnovers on the Cougars' next three possessions.
The Lady Bengals went ahead 7-0 with a three-point play from Hubbard
who drove along the baseline, scored and was fouled. She sank the
free throw to open up Gallup's lead with 3:43 left in the quarter.
Cibola finally managed a free throw at the 2:35 mark and the Cougars
only points in the period came off free throws.
Gallup's offense, which seemed almost lethargic against Rio Rancho's
slow-paced tempo, showed no such signs of slowing down as the Bengals
continued to work the ball inside. Tanya Bailey, who continually found
an open teammate, got the ball Antonio for one of her four assists
as Gallup opened up a 9-3 first quarter advantage.
The Bengals continued to pull away in the second quarter with a 10-0
run to close out the first half with a 23-7 lead.
"We knew we had to try to keep it close early and we didn't,"
Dorame said. "John surprised us when he came out to get us. I
thought that was the turning point when he decided to be aggressive."
The strong first half effort helped the Bengals survive an unproductive
third quarter.
The Bengals got a fastbreak bucket from Candace Roanhorse at the 5:39
mark of the third quarter, but didn't score again until nearly 3 1/2
minutes later.
Cibola could do no better than to match the Bengals' six points in
the period as Gallup preserved a 29-13 advantage going into the final
quarter.
The Lady Cougars got no closer than 11 points in the fourth period.
"We outscored them in the second half, we always do. We held
them to two points in the third quarter but we couldn't make a run
at them," Dorame added.
The second half breakdown didn't escape Lomasney who pointed out that
the Bengals' three losses can be attributed to Gallup's lack of intensity
in the second half including during last week's loss to Rio Rancho.
"We came out flat in the second half," Lomasney said. "We
took bad shots and turned the ball over. We relaxed a little bit and
lost our intensity."
Hubbard scored a game-high 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers,
to lead Gallup. She also had a pair of steals, an assist and five
rebounds. Roanhorse finished with 10 points, two assists, a steal
and a blocked shot. Sunny St. Clair came off the bench to chip in
seven points and a pair of assists. Although Bailey did not score,
she led the Bengals in rebounding with eight boards in addition to
her four assists.
Gallup and Rio Rancho ended the regular season in a first-place tie
with identical 9-1 marks. The Lady Bengals will host the Lady Rams
as the teams square off for the first-place seed tonight at 7 p.m.
The winner will secure an automatic berth to regionals and await the
survivor of this week's district tournament. Tonight's loser will
play Friday night in the tournament
semifinals. The district championship is scheduled for Saturday night.
Cibola finished third in district.
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DA plans to reindict priest
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The case against a priest accused of hiring
children for prostitution has been dismissed, but the district attorney's
office plans to refile the charges.
Rev. Robert Malloy, a former pastor at Queen of Heaven Church in Albuquerque,
was indicted in February 1999 on 42 counts ranging from sexual exploitation
of children to criminal solicitation to tamper with evidence.
Prosecutors alleged that the pastor committed sex offenses against
14 boys between 1994 and 1998 and seven were "hired or offered
to hire" to perform sex acts.
State District Judge Frank Allen Jr. dismissed the case last week
after Malloy's attorney made what he called a "Ulibarri motion..."
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County gets quarantined
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Health officials in Santa Cruz County
are requiring all cats and dogs be vaccinated against rabies as
part of a countywide quarantine.
County health department officials said they decided to issue the
quarantine because nine skunks have tested positive for rabies since
the beginning of the year.
"The most important prevention measures that people can take
are to ensure that their pets are currently vaccinated against rabies
and to keep all pets confined on their property or walked on a leash,"
said Health Department Director Ben Stepleton in a press release...
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Report says Santa Fe's water is safe
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — It would take thousands of years for
groundwater below Los Alamos National Laboratory to reach a portion
of the city of Santa Fe's water supply, according to a new lab study.
The study is preliminary and does not look at the possibility of
lab-derived contaminants getting into Santa Fe's drinking water.
But the study does suggest that water moving from beneath the lab
toward Santa Fe would be greatly diluted once it got there.
Scientists had traditionally held that the Rio Grande, as it passes
through the Espanola basin, was fed by ground water originating
under the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains...
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Teachers, parents question testing
Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer
GALLUP — Improper and poorly organized administration of standardized
testing Feb. 5-8 at Gallup High School gave students several opportunities
to cheat, said teachers at the school.
"It jeopardized all of the kids . . . these were bad testing
conditions, period," said one parent who wished to remain anonymous
for fear of retaliation against her son, a student at Gallup High.
"They will be vindictive," she said about her fear of
speaking out, "I know from experience." She also heard
about the testing conditions from several teachers at the school.
Tenth-graders throughout the state must pass the New Mexico High
School Competency Exam to graduate. If failed the first time, students
may retake the test in the 11th grade, and once more in the 12th
grade if necessary...
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Service to start thinning
SANTA FE (AP) — Thinning of the watershed that supplies a good
portion of the city's water is to begin this week, a Forest Service
official said.
Forest Service personnel plan to start cutting a fuel-break on the
Agua Sarca drainage on the south side of the Santa Fe River as early
as Tuesday, said John Miera, Espanola district ranger.
The fuel-break is to be about 1.5 miles long, Miera said.
The Forest Service concluded in a recent environmental study that
it must cut trees to thin about 7,200 acres of the lower watershed
over the next ten years...
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Board sets Town Hall meeting for Thursday
Staff Report
The Northern Area Local Workforce Development Board (NALWDB) will
sponsor a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to
noon at the Holiday Inn of Gallup, 2815 W. Hwy. 66.
Gallup Mayor John Pena, NALWDB board members and representatives
from Zuni Pueblo, UNM Gallup, Youth services providers and other
organizations will be on hand to discuss workforce development programs
in McKinley and Cibola counties.
Business leaders and representatives of economic development organizations
are encouraged to attended NALWDB's Town Hall Meeting to provide
valuable perspectives on the types of training needed to develop
qualified employees for the McKinley and Cibola County workforce...
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Deaths
Stella R. Montano
GALLUP — Services for Stella Montano, 81, will be announced
at a later date.
Montano died Feb. 16 in Phoenix. She was born June 24, 1920 in Gallup.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
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