Staff Reports
DRIVING AROUND WITH A DOG, SOME FENTANYL
Gallup, Feb. 4
A man was caught allegedly driving around without a license plate with his dog and fentanyl pills inside his car.
On Feb. 4, agents with the Gallup Police Department, the FBI, and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office were working in an undercover capacity when Officer Timothy Hughte reportedly noticed a vehicle without a license plate heading westbound on Aztec Avenue.
Hughte followed the vehicle to the Red Hills Trailer Park office, located at 700 Rimrock Dr. Hughte reportedly tried to conduct a traffic stop, but when the driver saw flashing blue and red lights he allegedly tried to back up his vehicle as much as possible and drive off. The driver was eventually identified as Clifford Lewis, 36.
Agent Lionel Desiderio blocked Lewis from escaping. Then, another officer ran up to the driver’s side of Lewis’ car and told him to park the vehicle and get out. Hughte pulled his vehicle up closer so Lewis couldn’t escape.
When Lewis got out of the vehicle he was reportedly holding a small dog. Officers told him to put the dog down.
Officers also noticed that Lewis had several pocket knives in his pocket. After they secured the weapons they continued to perform a routine body search on Lewis, and they found a metal container with a small plastic baggie inside it.
The small baggie reportedly had small blue pills inside it, which officers identified as fentanyl. In total, Lewis reportedly had six fentanyl pills on him.
Officers handcuffed Lewis and told him he was under arrest. They also reportedly found another knife in one of his pockets. Some aluminum foil was found in his jacket pocket. Another fentanyl pill was found melted on the aluminum foil.
A family member came and picked up the small dog, and a tow truck was called so it could tow Lewis’ vehicle back to the Gallup Police Department. A search reportedly later revealed even more drug paraphernalia in the car.
Lewis was charged with possession of a controlled substance. His preliminary hearing in Gallup Magistrate Court is scheduled for Feb. 18.
TRYING TO STEAL SOME BRACELETS
Gallup, Feb. 3
A joint law enforcement operation targeting violent crime led to the arrest of two individuals Feb. 3 after an undercover surveillance team witnessed an armed robbery over a container of bracelets.
The incident occurred around 4:45 pm near the Marshalls department store at 702 U.S. Hwy. 491.
Agents with the Gallup Police Department, the FBI, and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office were working in an undercover capacity when they observed a struggle between two groups of people near a dumpster behind the store.
During the altercation, a man identified as Thurman Smith, 26, allegedly pulled out a small handgun. Investigators said Smith waved the pistol in the air before walking away with a container.
Smith then entered a Ford F-150 driven by a woman, later identified as Erin James, 27. According to police reports, the vehicle returned to the dumpster area where the argument resumed.
Witnesses told officers that Smith pointed the firearm at a woman from the vehicle as they attempted to flee.
Law enforcement transitioned from surveillance to action, conducting a high-risk traffic stop on the pickup truck. Both occupants were detained without further incident.
Authorities discovered the item at the center of the dispute was a container filled with bracelets.
James was arrested by the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of driving while under the influence. Smith, whom officers described as highly intoxicated and initially unable to provide his name, was booked into the McKinley County Adult Detention Center.
The Ford F-150 was seized by police pending a search warrant for the firearm.
The arrests were part of a broader ongoing partnership between local and federal agencies to curb narcotics and violent crime within the city.
Smith’s preliminary hearing in Gallup Magistrate Court is scheduled for Feb. 25. James’ is scheduled for Feb. 26.
GIVING OFFICERS THREE FAKE NAMES
Gallup, Feb. 1
A man allegedly gave officers a fake name after they found him smoking fentanyl under an overpass.
On Feb. 1, around 7 pm, Gallup Police Officer Coleman Watkins conducted a welfare check at 1115 W. Hwy. 66, under an overpass. While he was driving along Highway 66 he reportedly noticed a small fire near that area.
When Watkins and Officer Warren Bowannie approached the steep concrete slope under the overpass on Highway 66, they noticed a man sitting on the concrete ledge, reportedly smoking a substance on an aluminum foil. Watkins turned on his flashlight, and when the light hit him the man, who was eventually identified as Artris Muniz, said, “Hey, how’s it going Gallup Police?”
Muniz, 21, reportedly initially said his name was “Mark Yazzie.”
The officers took a look at the aluminum foil Muniz was holding, and according to his report, Watkins’ eyes immediately began burning.
Another officer reportedly handcuffed Muniz. The Gallup Fire Department arrived on scene and asked Watkins if he needed medical personnel to look over him, and he denied assistance.
While Watkins was trying to read him his Miranda rights, Muniz reportedly became confrontational, and started talking over him.
When officers transported Muniz to the Gallup Police Department Metro Dispatch advised that they weren’t getting a return for “Mark Yazzie.”
While Watkins placed Muniz in a holding cell at the GPD he emptied his pockets and reportedly found multiple pieces of aluminum foil with a burnt substance on it. After Watkins had conducted his search he asked Muniz what his name was, and he said his name was “Art Yazzie.”
Watkins ran the new name through the system and still didn’t come up with anything. Muniz reportedly gave officers three fake names during his interaction with them.
A nurse was finally able to figure out Muniz’s real name when he was going through the booking process at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center. He reportedly had two warrants out for his arrest.
Muniz was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and concealing identity. His preliminary hearing for those three charges was scheduled for Feb. 11.
MAN RESISTS ARREST
Jamestown, Jan. 31
A man is facing battery charges after he allegedly became physical while resisting arrest.
On Jan. 31, around 10 pm, McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Maria Olivares was dispatched to Flying J, located at 1 Giant Crossing in Jamestown, N.M. after a man was reportedly disorderly. The gas station employees were asking that he be removed from the business.
When Olivares arrived at the scene she met the man, who was identified as Perry Lowe, 41. Lowe was reportedly arguing with the gas station employees, and they wanted him escorted off the premises.
Olivares allegedly asked Lowe to put his hands behind his back, and he refused multiple times. He also initially told Olivares that his name was “Larry Johnson and that his birthdate was Aug. 13, 1987. Metro Dispatch advised Olivares that the name and birthdate weren’t returning any results in their database.
Around 10:15 MCSO Deputy Franklin Begaye arrived at the scene to assist Olivares, and they finally got Lowe in handcuffs.
But when Olivares tried to place him in her patrol vehicle, Lowe reportedly lunged towards Begaye and shoved him against the patrol vehicle. Olivares pulled Lowe away from Begaye and reportedly told him he was now under arrest for battery upon a peace officer.
Olivares transported Lowe to the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office, and she requested that another officer meet with Lowe since he was continuing to be disorderly. A lieutenant met with Lowe, and identified his real name because of a previous encounter with him.
Lowe was charged with battery upon a peace officer and concealing his identity. His preliminary examination in Gallup Magistrate Court was scheduled for Feb. 11.
COVERING UP METH WITH HIS JACKET
Gallup Jan. 30
A man tried to cover the methamphetamine he was allegedly smoking with his jacket when police approached him.
On Jan. 30, around 3:15 pm, officers with the Violent Task Force were conducting surveillance at the intersection of Highway 66 and Coal Avenue when Officer Blake Carling noticed three individuals with jackets over their heads.
The officers approached the individuals. One man, who was later identified as 29-year-old Draek Smith, had a black jacket on his lap.
Carling removed the jacket and allegedly found a baggie with a glass-like substance in it on Smith’s lap. Carling identified the substance as methamphetamine. The officer detained Smith and placed him in the back of a patrol vehicle.
Smith was transported to the McKinley County Adult Detention Center and booked for possession of a controlled substance. The methamphetamine was weighed, and it came out to 0.2 grams. Smith’s preliminary hearing in Gallup Magistrate Court was scheduled for Feb. 11.
DRIVING A STOLEN VEHICLE
Gallup, Jan. 28
U.S. Marshals were planning to arrest a man from Farmington at the Gallup Applebees for a felony-related probation violation, but officers also allegedly realized he was driving a stolen vehicle and had multiple drugs on his person.
On Jan. 28, around 2 pm, the Gallup Police Department and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Department assisted the Probation and Parole Office, as well as the U.S. Marshals Office, in the arrest of an individual at Applebee’s, located at 1560 W. Maloney Ave. The suspect was identified as Duane Poulin, 34.
Poulin was wanted for a probation violation. While there was a rumor circulating that the arrest was related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Gallup Police later debunked that rumor in a Facebook post.
When officers arrested him, Poulin informed them that there were fentanyl pills inside his vehicle, a blue Toyota Camry.
But drug charges weren’t the only offense Poulin was going to face that day.
When officers ran his car’s plate number, it came back as stolen. The officers learned that the New Mexico plates were registered to a black Toyota Camry. The National Crime Intelligence Center also confirmed through the vehicle’s VIN that the blue Camry was stolen.
Officer Blake Carling had a judge sign a search warrant for the blue Camry, and when he searched the vehicle he found 61 blue pills inside it, which he identified as fentanyl; alongside two grams of a shard-like substance, which he identified as methamphetamine; 5.8 grams of a white powdery substance, which he identified as cocaine.
Poulin was arrested on three counts of possession of a controlled substance and receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. His preliminary hearing for those four charges was scheduled for Feb. 11 in Gallup Magistrate Court.
