Teens accused of firing at police

By Natasha Kaye Johnson
Diné Bureau

CROWNPOINT — Kishana John, 17, of Shiprock was extradited to San Juan County Jail Tuesday afternoon where she will face 12 counts of charges in connection with the shooting of a San Juan County Sheriff's Department officer.

John is alleged to have shot at three Bloomfield officers and a deputy with San Juan County Sheriff's Department. She is being charged with five counts of shooting at or from a vehicle, six counts of assault with intent to commit a violent felony upon a peace officer, and one count of attempted disarming of a peace officer.

An arrest warrant was issued by San Juan County Children's Court Division on May 16, and an order to extradite John from the Navajo Nation was signed by President Joe Shirley Jr. May 29.

Detective Sgt. Jonathan Martinez of the Bloomfield Police Department prepared an affidavit for the arrest warrant based on an in-car video from one police unit.

According to the affidavit, early on the evening of May 12, two Bloomfield officers were dispatched in response to a fight at Quick Stop Laundry in Bloomfield . When officers arrived, they did not see a fight, but they did see a black car leaving the parking lot at high speed. One officer observed the same car speed through the Bloomfield Trailer Park and activated his lights.

Upon arriving at the vehicle, the affidavit continues, an officer stepped out of his patrol vehicle, at which point Lionel Clah, 20, put the car in reverse and rammed into the officer's vehicle. An attempt was made by officers to block the car, but the vehicle sped off, leading to a high-speed pursuit through Bloomfield, where John fired numerous gunshots at both patrol vehicles. As the vehicle began leaving Bloomfield , Eli Trujillo jumped out of the vehicle at 80 miles per hour after Clah refused to let him out.

Clah then dropped John off at a housing area and led officers on a short chase, where he began a gun fight with law enforcement officers, according to the affidavit. The incident ended with Clah and San Juan County Sheriff Sgt. Kory Faulk being shot multiple times.

Faulk received medical care following the incident after a bullet from the .22 pistol grazed his head. He also had to have pieces of a bullet surgically removed from his nose. He returned to his police duties five days later.

John, of Shiprock, who turned 17 years old Saturday, will have her detention hearing today at Farmington District Court. William Platero, District Prosecutor with the Eastern Agency of the Navajo Nation, said that John did have a prior record with the Shiprock Police Department.

Martinez said the department will be attempting to charge her as an adult, where charges could face up to 63 years in prison. He said the incident was one of the more serious crimes committed against an officer on duty.

Clah is also facing federal charges and is being detained at the San Juan County Jail. Alcohol was said to have been a contributing factor in the incident.