Domestic violence by txt not LOL
539 calls for help reported this month in Gallup

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Philip Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Text messaging is the latest culprit in a staggering epidemic of domestic violence. So far 6,747 domestic violence calls have been fielded by Gallup Police Department and McKinley County Sheriff’s office this year, according to Metro Dispatch Supervisor Sharolyn Shetima; 539 of them occurred this month.

In two unrelated cases, the use of text messaging ignited the violence. The first, according to McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Chavo Chischilly’s report, occurred on Aug. 15, when 19-year-old Charmayne Sandoval found a text message from an unknown number on her boyfriend’s cell phone. She called the number and found the source to be a woman, who said she’d been dating Sandoval’s boyfriend, Austin Bahe, for months.

According to the report, when Sandoval confronted Bahe, he became angry and gripped her arm with enough pressure to leave bruises in the shape of his hand. He proceeded to throw food at her and rip her pants in a scuffle for the phone with the text message. Then he left her outside T&R Market north of Gallup, from which Chischilly gave her a ride to the sheriff’s headquarters. No charges have been filed.

A more aggressive dispute erupted on Aug. 19 in Jamestown. According to McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Charley’s report, Karen Notah confronted her husband, Michael Notah, about his text messaging to three women. He began pushing her then gripped her neck and pinned her to the floor in the couple’s bedroom. She said he bit her on the back and Charley reported bruising and swelling on Karen Notah’s legs and hands. Karen Notah left the residence with her 2-year-old daughter but confronted bullying again when she returned the next evening to gather belongings for her daughter and herself. This time Michael Notah was drunk. He took Karen Notah’s cell phone and threw it into a field. A relative who had accompanied Karen Notah took hold of the 2-year-old child for the child’s safety, according to the report.

In both of the aforementioned cases, should the victims choose to press charges, the suspects will be arrested for battery on household member, a misdemeanor.
Victims of domestic violence often choose not to press charges out of fear, according to Barbara Lambert, executive director of Battered Families Services in Gallup.

“At the heart of the issue is power and control ... (victims) may be trying to protect themselves because they may have been threatened,” Lambert said. “And if the justice system does not protect them, they remain victims ... Sometimes it’s more dangerous to file charges than to do nothing.”

According to “Domestic Violence In New Mexico, 7th Ed.” — an annual compilation of data from every law enforcement agency in the state — 71 percent of domestic violence incidents that occurred in McKinley County in 2006 involved drugs or alcohol; that’s more than double the state average of 33 percent.

Lt. Rick White of the Gallup Police Department said the majority of domestic violence calls end with an arrest, and in every case the reports are forwarded to the district attorney for prosecution.

Battered Families Services, a non-profit agency, offers a free 24-hour crisis hotline in case a victim is afraid to call 911 or the police. A live human voice will answer and listen and guide the victim toward the next step in stopping the violence, Lambert said.

Battered Families Services: 722-7483 or toll-free at 800-634-4508.