Teenager dies from apparent drug overdose
Tohatchi man arrested for robbery

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Authorities suspect an 18-year-old Gamerco woman died over the weekend from an overdose.

The victim was identified as Marquita Mayes, according to Investigator Erin Toadlena-Pablo, of the Gallup Police Department.

Officers were called to the Holiday Inn at 2915 W. Hwy. 66 on Saturday at about noon when Mayes' friends were unable to wake her and saw she was foaming from the mouth.

Emergency responders arrived at Mayes' motel room and confirmed she was deceased. Mayes reportedly rented the room with two friends at about 5 a.m. Toadlena-Pablo said a witness reported Mayes had been drinking and had taken two pills, which were suspected to be morphine.

Officers found no signs of foul play at the scene. Mayes was transported to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Albuquerque to determine her official cause of death.

Police arrest robbery suspect
Police arrested a 21-year-old Tohatchi man late Sunday night in connection with the robbery of a local fast food restaurant.

Ryan Plummer was charged with robbery for his alleged role in the robbery and aggravated assault in connection with an outstanding bench warrant that was issued for an unrelated incident. Toadlena-Pablo said four employees of the Dairy Queen at U.S. 491 heard someone knock on the restaurant's back door at about 9 p.m. The employees looked outside the business and saw someone hiding behind the dumpster.

The employees then locked the door and began to start the tasks required to close the business. The knocking continued and employees, armed with the broom handles, opened the back door and allegedly saw Plummer standing outside.

Toadlena-Pablo said Plummer then threatened the employees with what they suspected to be a gun. He reportedly asked them where the restaurant's money was located.

Two of the restaurant employees then locked themselves inside the business bathroom, while Plummer allegedly chased the two remaining employees until they locked themselves in a nearby vehicle.

Plummer then reportedly entered the business and took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register. Meanwhile, the two employees, who were inside the bathroom, called police who arrived as Plummer was exiting the restaurant.

He was arrested without further incident. Toadlena-Pablo said officers did not find a gun inside the business, but found a wooden stick with its end painted black. The employees were not injured during the robbery.


Woman kidnapped from Wal-Mart
An 18-year-old woman reported she was kidnapped at gunpoint from the Wal-Mart parking lot on Sunday.

The woman said a man confronted her while she was walking toward the store and demanded she drive him to a rural location near Sanders, Ariz. According to authorities, an exact time of the kidnapping was not available, but occurred between 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Toadlena-Pablo said the suspect made repeated sexual advances toward the woman as they were inside her vehicle. The woman told police she resisted and the man fled into the rural area by foot. She was not injured during the attack. Toadlena-Pablo said the woman traveled to her Gallup residence and told her family about the incident. Her family then urged her to contact police.

Toadlena-Pablo said the woman provided police with no description of the suspect and did not want police to continue with their investigation.