Robbers hit Navajo Shopping Center
Victims tied up, more than $100K stolen

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — County investigators are on the lookout for two men who stole more than $100,000 from the Navajo Shopping Center vault Saturday morning.

Armed with handguns, two men described as Hispanic and each standing between 5 feet and 5-feet 6-inches, approached the first employee to arrive at the shopping center, which includes a pawn shop, general store and post office, around 7 a.m. Saturday, according to McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy J. Guillen’s report.

The men forced the employee, Gene Livingston, to lead them to the shared vault, but Livingston said she didn’t know the combination, so they bound her to a chair with packing tape and taped her mouth shut. Shortly thereafter Johnny Macias, another employee who did have the vault combination, arrived and said one of the men knocked him over the head and led him to the vault as soon as he walked into work. He watched the robbers fill a brown canvas bag with cash and was then locked inside. Fortunately the vault had an emergency exit lever, which allowed Macias to escape after both suspects left.

A postal employee, Phyllis Becenti, also had arrived early that morning in order to drop a load of certified mail using the back door of the shopping center. As Becenti opened the door leading into the post office, one of the men grabbed her, took her keys and bound her to a chair — again using packing tape.

What the robbers apparently failed to realize is that Becenti had a passenger in her truck, who witnessed a small blue or gray car arrive to aid the robbers in their escape, according to county investigators. Investigators also believe that both men are from the Gamerco area and, because of the nature of the heist, had spent time staking out and planning the robbery.

Livingston eventually freed herself and contacted authorities around 8:20 a.m., according to the report.

Because of the United States Postal Service’s stake in the heist, postal inspectors are conducting a simultaneous investigation and had initially set a reward at up to $10,000, which was upped this morning to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest, according to Postal Investigator Amanda McMurray.

“This is solely based on the assault on federal employees,” McMurray said, confirming that no property was stolen from the United States Postal Service.

Crimestoppers is offering up to $1,000 and can be reached at (505) 722-6161.