Man confesses to setting fire to TC fire station

A Tuba City man is facing federal arson charges in connection with a fire that was started at the Tuba City Fire Station on Aug. 5.

The man, Jamie Billy, no age given, is scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. Magistrate Court in Flagstaff. Billy was an ex-volunteer fire fighter in Tuba City. He is charged with one count of willfully and maliciously setting fire  to the station.

Police said a passerby saw the fire and reported it to police. When police arrived they saw smoke coming out of the fire station.

The report of the fire came at 2:15  a.m., according to police. At the time there were no firefighters at the station since they were handling a call to a vehicle rollover on State Highway 264 at the time. When the fire was reported, firefighters immediately returned to the station.

Police said one of the fire engines in the station had severe damage to the right side. That fire engine as well as another one were removed from the station. The second one had no major damage but police said they found a cloth stuffed in the gas tank and transmission fluid doused on the northeast corner of the building.

Police also found footprints which they followed to a nearby home and interviewed the occupants of the building, who led them to Billy.

An agent for the U.S Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Billy told federal agents that he had gone out with his friends to buy some cigarettes when he got separated and went to the fire station to look for a girl friend.

The building was locked but he knew as an ex-volunteer of a broken bay door and got in that way. He then went into the fire station, found the transmission oil and poured it on the floor between the fire engines and in the rear corner of the building.

He used matches to start the fire and then left, going back to his friend's house. After he made his confession, he took federal agency to the place where he hid the shoes he was wearing that night.

Roof caves in on elder

An elderly Navajo woman died on Aug. 1 when the roof of her hogan caved in on her.

Police identified the victim as 77-year-old Edith C Begay of Rock Point, Ariz.

When the report came in about 8:43 a.m., police were told that Begay was still trapped in the building. When they arrived on the scene, however, they saw a number of people near the hogan next to a body lying on the ground. The body was partially covered by a blanket.

The officer, thinking that the woman may have been rescued, asked how she was doing and was told she was not moving. Police checked and the victim had no pulse nor was she breathing.

An investigation revealed that the hogan she was in was dirt covered and that new dirt was recently put on the roof. The early morning rain that day had wet the dirt and its weight had caused the roof to cave in and the victim was crushed by a log.

Fights results in 2 arrests

This incident began with children crying and ended with two people facing criminal charges.

Police said a fight began just after Terra Laughing, 24, of Window Rock, and Aaron Platero, 31, also of Window Rock, returned to their home after grocery shopping.

When they arrived, they were met by Tafaya Laughing, 22, of Window Rock, who said she was upset because "they left their two children home and they had been crying."

Platero and Tafaya Laughing started arguing and, according to police, Platero slapped then pushed her. Platero then reportedly went outside, grabbed a rock and threw it at a parked jeep belonging to her friend. The rock shattered the back window.

Then Taylor Johnson, 20, of Window Rock, pulled out a firearm and shot it one time in the air in an effort to stop the fight and the property damage.

That didn't work as Platero immediately picked up another rock while Tafaya Laughing picked up an ax, according to the police report, and hit Platero on the back with the ax.

Platero fell down but got back up and threw his rock at the vehicle, shattering the windshield. He then picked up another rock and threw it at Tafaya Laughing, glazing the back of her head.

At that point, Tafaya Laughing and Johnson got in their truck and left, returning only later when officers had arrived.

After telling police what happened, Platero was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of two suspected broken ribs. Johnson and Tafaya Laughing were both arrested, Johnson for unlawful use of a firearm and Laughing for aggravated battery,

Man threatens to kill someone, self

Dilkon, Ariz., police had to call for assistance from Coconino County sheriff deputies and off-duty police officers to handle this case.

On Aug. 8, police dispatchers received a call that John Peter Yazzie, 45, of Leupp, Ariz., was intoxicated and that he had threatened to take someone's life as well as to commit suicide.

When police arrived at the scene, they met Evangeline K. Yazzie, 41, of Leupp, who said she had made the call.

Several hours earlier, she said John Yazzie had come home intoxicated and acting very angry. He left but then returned some 40 minutes later and started beating on her and threatening to kill her and then himself. He locked the victim in the bedroom for three hours and he spent the time outside the door threatening to kill her. He said he had a rifle and a handgun which the victim told police was possible since he owned a rifle and two handguns.

When the suspect went out to his truck to get his rifle,  Evangeline Yazzie said she snuck out the back door and called police.

When police got to the site, they surrounded the building and tried to get the suspect to give himself up. When they received no response from inside the building, they entered the house to discover no one was there. A search of the area also found no trace of the suspect.

Police said the case is pending.

Greasewood man victim of rollover

A Greasewood, Ariz., man died in a one-vehicle rollover on Navajo Route 15 on August 7.

Police responded to the scene and discovered that three people had been ejected from the vehicle. Cordell Begay, the driver, was not one of them. He reportedly lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll over several times.

Ejected from the car were Terry Begay, 49; Holly Lynn James, 21; and Trava Begay, 23, all of Greasewood. Terry Begay died at the scene and the other two were transported by plane to different hospitals.

Former police officers indicted

Two former Navajo Nation police officers have been indicted by a federal grand jury on Phoenix in connection with the beating of Newton Charlie in January 2009.

Named in the indictment were former police officer Christine Thinn and former police Sgt. Phillip Bedonie Jr.

The indictment alleges that Thinn kicked Charlie and then stomped him, struck him and sprayed him with pepper spray, resulting in bodily injury. In addition, the indictment charges Thinn with assaulting Charlie with a dangerous weapon.

The indictment charges Bedonie with failing to intercede in the incident. Thinn faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison while Bedonie faces a possible 10-year sentence.

Thomas Perez, an assistant attorney general for the U.S. Attorney General's Civil Rights Division, said this kind of incident cannot be tolerated.

"Law enforcement officers who abuse their power and violate the public trust by denying individuals of their constitutional rights will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

Whiteriver man indicted for drug dealing

PHOENIX - Ernie Lane Palmer, 24, of  Whiteriver, Ariz., was indicted on Aug. 10 for possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of actual methamphetamine, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

This offense was alleged to have been committed on June 12, 2009, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in the district of Arizona.

The potential penalties for this charge are a minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years imprisonment, a $2 million fine, or both.

Fort Defiance man sentenced for sexual abuse

PHOENIX - Marshall Joe, 31, of Fort Defiance, was sentenced to four years in federal prison followed by eight years of supervised release after pleading guilty March 23 to sexually abusing a female victim while she was sleeping June 29, 2009, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Flagstaff man killed by train

FLAGSTAFF - The pedestrian struck and killed by a train Aug. 5 in Flagstaff has been identified as Johnnie Augustine, 47, of Flagstaff, according to a news release from the Flagstaff Police Department.

Information: Lt. Ken Koch at 928-214-2538.

Whiteriver man sentenced for fatal stabbing

PHOENIX - Elijah Massey, 21, of Whiteriver, Ariz., was sentenced Aug. 2 to seven years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter May 17, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The incident occurred May 26, 2007, on the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation when Massey, then 17, stabbed the victim with a knife after an argument.

The two men had fought earlier that day and a friend of Massey was hit in the head with a rock. Massey became very upset and returned to fight the victim again, this time inflicting a fatal stab wound.

Massey was charged as a juvenile but agreed to transfer to adult status during plea negotiations.

6 convicted in Gila River drug probe

PHOENIX - Gail Natalie Kyyitan, 35, of Sacaton, Ariz., pleaded guilty Aug. 4 to conspiracy to possess cocaine base with the intent to distribute after undercover agents bought crack cocaine from her last fall, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

She was the last of six defendants who were arrested following an undercover police investigation that lasted for more than two years and targeted drug dealers in the Gila River Pima Community.

In June, three other defendants selling cocaine base on the Gila River Indian Reservation also pleaded guilty to the same charge: Molly Danielle Norris, 34; James S. Zamorano, 30; and Susanna Dominga Mendivil, 31.

Two other defendants, Renee Johanna Cannon, 32, of Bapchule, Ariz., and Maryalice Reed, 40, of San Tan, Ariz., pleaded guilty in June to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

The operation was carried out by the Gila River Police Special Enforcement Unit, supported by the BIA.

According to Burke, Norris, 33, acted as the broker in multiple hand-to-hand crack sales at several locations on the reservation where drugs were manufactured and sold.

Norris conspired in drug sales with several others, including Mendivil and Zamarano, and also acted as a broker buying crack cocaine from Kyyitan.

Cannon, 33, of Maricopa, Ariz., and Reed, 40, of Sacaton, were involved in a separate drug business, one centered on selling meth in Sacaton, according to Burke.

Norris, Mendivil, Cannon and Reed each face up to 40 years in prison and $2 million in fines. Kyyitan and Zamorano face up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing dates in all six cases have been set over the next four months.

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