Man charged in Gamerco DV incident

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Philip Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Police arrested Jimmie C. Begay Jr., 31, of Gamerco, Tuesday for hitting his girlfriend and damaging her car.

According to McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Davis Jr.’s report, which reflects interviews with the victim, Begay shattered his girlfriend’s driver-side window by pulling outward on the window while the victim in the driver’s seat attempted to flee an escalating argument. The victim then went back inside her home, at which point Begay accused her of cheating and struck her on the left side of the face, causing her face to swell and leaving a laceration on the inside of her mouth.

The victim said she was nervous and crying. She began sweating and the moisture on her hands made her question her dexterity, made her question her own ability to run to the front door, unlock the dead-bolt, turn the doorknob and get to her car without suffering further injury from Begay.

Deputy Mathew Hughbanks interviewed Begay at his home at 706 Pillar Ave. in Gamerco. Hughbanks reports observing broken glass from a car window. Begay stated that when he broke the victim’s car window, he did so because she attempted to roll up the window while his fingers were between the glass and the frame and as he pulled his fingers back the glass shattered. Hughbanks asked Begay if he could show some injury to his fingers that would coincide with his side of the story. He could not. He also said that he did not hit the victim.

Hughbanks then arrested Begay for battery against a household member, a misdemeanor, and criminal damage to property, also a misdemeanor.

In a previous story about domestic violence in Gallup, which appeared Aug. 23, a female victim came under increased violence the day the story appeared in the Independent. The increased abuse forced the victim to flee her home, alone. The victim’s family apparently sided with her abuser, saying that they were embarrassed that their daughter was the victim of an abusive relationship. The family stopped providing financial support, according to a case worker.