Man beaten and robbed

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

GALLUP — An Albuquerque man was arrested for robbing and assaulting another man in front of El Dorado Liquors Saturday afternoon.

According to Gallup Police Detective Erin Toadlena-Pablo, Metro Dispatch received a call at 10:38 a.m. of a man in front of the west-end liquor store bleeding from the face and possibly lying on the ground. Lolando Nez, 29, who allegedly fled the scene on foot, was arrested at the Blue Spruce Lodge on the other end of town at 1 p.m. Police believe Nez used a rock or brick he found at the scene in the assault and then took the victim's wallet, although it has not been recovered.

Pablo said both men were intoxicated; blood alcohol levels were not available.

The victim was taken to Gallup Indian Medical Center for treatment and soon released. Nez was booked at the McKinley County Detention Center for robbery and aggravated battery.

Metro Dispatch had a little trouble of its own the next day.

According to Communications Director Richard Acevedo, Metro's computer system went down at approximately 11 a.m. Sunday when city electrical crews, working on a power line feeding the Na'Nizhoozhi Center next door, accidentally cut off power to Metro Dispatch.

The center's uninterrupted power supply picked up the slack for the next hour, after which a back-up generator was supposed to kick in. But the generator failed, Acevedo said, leaving Metro Dispatch's computers down for about the next hour to hour-and-a-half, until its regular power supply was restored.

Acevedo said the power outage caused no major disruptions for Metro Dispatch. Because the phones were still operational, staff kept taking calls and keeping records with paper and pen. Some calls were also routed to the New Mexico State Police.