3 juveniles suspected in Kinlichee burglaries
Editor's note: These summaries are taken from the official reports filed by police officers with the Window Rock headquarters. Any disagreements or questions about the reports should be directed to the Department of Law Enforcement.
Navajo Times
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Nvajo police are investigating burglaries at several homes in Kinlichee Chapter over the past couple of weeks.
Among those hit were houses owned by Louis Tsinijinnie and Elizabeth Yazzie, who live five miles northeast of Kinlichee, Ariz.
Police provided no details of the break-ins but said they have three suspects, all juveniles. Two are from the Kinlichee area and the third is from Window Rock.
Police probe gun incident
A St. Michaels, Ariz., resident is being investigated for assault with a deadly weapon.
Police said the incident occurred about 10:50 p.m. on June 13.
The victim, Monroe Keeto, 41, of St. Michaels, got into an argument with Ernest Keeto, 43, who police said was intoxicated.
The fight ended when Ernest Keeto got a gun and fired a shot at Monroe Keeto's feet, at which time Monroe Keeto fled the scene and reported the incident to police.
Police said a total of 15 firearms were seized at Ernest Keeto's residence.
Gunshots linked to suicide
Navajo police and the FBI are investigating what they are calling a suicide that occurred June 17 in the Window Rock area.
While the Times does not normally publish suicides, this case attracted a great deal of attention since shots were fired near Basha's Supermarket and the Window Rock Sports Center.
The victim was identified as Ronald Joe, 28, whose residence was reported on police documents as Gallup or Yah-Ta-Hey, N.M.
It began about 10:45 pm. when police received a called from a motorist who said a man had a gunshot wound to the head. When they got to the scene, they found Joe dead of a gunshot wound.
A witness identified as Thomas Livingston, 23, of Tsé Bonito, N.M., told police Joe stopped by his house about 10 p.m. and the two decided to drive the house of Joe's girlfriend in St. Michaels, Ariz.
By that time Joe was already intoxicated, Livingston said, and was carrying a .38 caliber revolver. Joe shot a bullet into the air and then told Livingston to do the same. Livingston said he fired a shot into a nearby ditch.
The two drove to St. Michaels looking for Joe's girlfriend but when she wasn't home, Livingston said they drove to Fort Defiance, gassed up and then drove back to St. Michaels.
As they passed Basha's, Livingston said he heard Joe fire another shot. Shortly after they passed the sports center, Livingston said he heard another loud boom to his left and when he turned his head, he saw that Joe had shot himself in the head.
During the ride, Livingston said Joe talked about being depressed because his girlfriend had left him on Father's Day and had taken his two children. Other family members told police that Joe had talked about committing suicide in the past.
The FBI was called to the scene and police said the incident is still under investigation.
Mariano Lake man faces homicide charge
A Mariano Lake, N.M., man was charged with criminal homicide in the June 14 death of a Crownpoint man identified as Virgil Casamero, 42.
Julius Casamero told police that he heard Milton Frank, 48, yelling from Yellow Mesa Road and when he went outside to investigate, he found Virgil Casamero lying facedown on the front porch. He was not breathing and Julius Casamero said he saw blood on the victim's upper body area.
Frank attempted to leave the scene but family members refused to let him. Police said Frank managed to get hold of a knife and began cutting his lower forearms in an attempt to commit suicide but family members stopped him and rendered first aid until police came.
Police said the victim sustained two visible stab wounds to his upper left shoulder and in the middle of his back and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Frank was charged with criminal homicide and unlawful use of a weapon.
No arrests in Kaibeto fight
No arrests have apparently been made in an altercation that occurred June 16 in Kaibeto, Ariz., and is termed by police as an "incidence of noteworthy importance."
The police report stated, "Zachariah Yazzie, 30, of Kaibeto, got in a fight with Jerry Gishie Jr., 32, of Kaibeto. Zachariah had contusions and bruises to his face and a broken right arm.
"Jerry has a three-inch laceration to the left side of his face. Marius Sloan pulled a knife on Leander Yellowhorse but dropped it. Leonard Gishie, 22, of Kaibeto was also involved in the fight but would not say anything about it."
Two stabbed in Fort Defiance
Police report an aggravated battery in the Fort Defiance area on June 12.
The victims were identified as Miles Tulley, 19, and Theodore Gale, 20, both of Fort Defiance.
It began with a call from Michelle Watchman who told police that her son was battered by four men in a white sedan between the Conoco store and the 7-11 store.
A few minutes later, officials at the Fort Defiance hospital called in a report that two males had been brought to the hospital with stab wounds.
Police said the two reported that they had been in a fight at the Conoco station at about 10 p.m. but gave police no information on those responsible for their injuries.
Gale was stabbed in the back near his shoulder and required stitches. Tulley was stabbed in the left abdomen area and was admitted overnight for observation.
Benally sentenced to 60 months
PHOENIX - Arthur Benally, 39, of Leupp, Ariz., was sentenced June 23 to 60 months in prison to be followed by 60 months of court supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Benally pleaded guilty on April 1, 2008, to use of a firearm during a crime of violence based on events that took place near Birdsprings, Ariz.
On Oct. 9, 2007, after a day of drinking, an argument broke out involving Benally and his brother. At some point Benally obtained a rifle and pointed it in the direction of his brother with the intent to injure him. However, his brother grabbed the rifle and during the struggle the gun discharged. No one was injured during the altercation.
Stabbing results in 9-year sentence
PHOENIX - Norman Ray Nelson, 39, of Indian Wells, Ariz., was sentenced June 18 to nine years and seven months in federal prison after being found guilty by a federal jury of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault by striking, beating or wounding on Feb. 27, 2008, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On May 21, 2007, Nelson was drinking with the victim at a home near Indian Wells on the Navajo Reservation. At some point Nelson became angry with the victim and stabbed him three times, causing a puncture wound to the victim's neck and two cuts to the victim's chest.
Killer of Japanese tourist sentenced
PHOENIX - Randy Redtail Wescogame, 20, of Havasupai, Ariz., was sentenced June 19 for the murder of Tomomi Hanamure, a Japanese tourist who was killed on her 34th birthday after going for a hike to the Havasupai Falls in northern Arizona.
Wescogame was sentenced to life in prison without the ability for parole.
Hanamure checked into a lodge on the Havasupai Reservation and left for a hike to the Havasupai Falls on her birthday, May 8, 2006. She was reported missing on May 9th.
Her body was located on May 13th in a secluded section of the river. An autopsy revealed that she died as a result of approximately 30 stab wounds.
Wescogame has been in federal custody since December 2006. The five-count indictment by a federal grand jury in December 2006 in Phoenix alleged that Wescogame willfully murdered Hanamure in the course of kidnapping and robbing her on May 8, 2006.
Wescogame pleaded guilty in September 2007 to second-degree murder.