Cops seize meth on reservation
Over eight pounds found during two separate stops

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

CAMERON — Tuba City Police Officers stopped a vehicle a little after midnight Sunday after it was observed weaving left of center on U.S. Highway 89 and came up with 3-1/2 pounds of methamphetamine.

The 1997 four-door Ford bearing Utah license plates was stopped around Milepost 466 in Cameron, where the driver was issued a warning citation for traveling left of center.

Officers then asked the driver identified as Jose V. Leon, 35, of Huntington, Utah for consent to search the vehicle. Upon investigation, officers found a hidden compartment inside the dashboard, and inside the compartment uncovered five packages of meth.

The driver and an unidentified passenger were arrested for transporting dangerous drugs for sale. Special Enforcement Team officers and Tuba City Criminal Investigator A.C. Dan investigated.

Navajo Nation Council recently passed legislation sponsored by Delegate Hope MacDonald-Lonetree of Tuba City which makes the possession and usage of methamphetamine and other controlled substances illegal on Navajoland.

MacDonald-Lonetree said meth use has been observed in children as young as 9 years old and is being used increasingly by gangs. FBI-Gallup estimates that up to 40 percent of its violent crime cases on Navajoland involve methamphetamine.


Youth jumped, beaten
DENNEHOTSO — Navajo Nation Police officers from Kayenta Police District were called to a Dennehotso residence Feb. 25 in response to a report of a 19-year-old male who had been severely beaten.

Kayenta Police Officers Verna Nez and Clinton Johnson responded just before 7:30 p.m. to a residence located south of Dennehotso school. The victim, Samuel J. Holliday, had a laceration on his head and injuries to his eyes.

Holliday told officers that he had been jumped by about 10 individuals near the chapter house; however, he did not give police any names. He was taken by ambulance to Kayenta Clinic.

Criminal Investigator Rodger Yazzie is in charge of the investigation.


Meth pipeline
HOLBROOK — Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers seized some five pounds of methamphetamine Feb. 23 following a traffic stop on Interstate 40 about 20 miles east of Holbrook.

The investigating officer, identified as Officer Campbell, stopped a 1991 Lincoln Town Car on I-40 as it was traveling eastbound near the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park for a traffic violation. During his conversation with the driver of the vehicle and two other occupants, the officer observed several indicators of drug trafficking.

The Holbrook Police Department's K-9 unit was called to assist on the traffic stop and alerted to the car's trunk. Upon searching the vehicle, officers found five pounds of methamphetamine, bundled into five one-pound packages, concealed in the trunk.

Three male occupants were arrested and booked into the Apache County Jail in St. Johns and charged with possession of dangerous drugs, possession of dangerous drugs for sale, and transporting dangerous drugs for sale. Officers seized the drugs and the Lincoln.

Arizona DPS was assisted by Apache County Cooperative Enforcement Narcotics Team (ACCENT). The Feb. 24 bust is the latest of several significant seizures made in recent months by DPS officers on I-40. The matter is pending further investigation.