Stabbing suspect at large

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Police remain on the lookout for a Caucasian or an Hispanic man who allegedly stabbed a 61-year-old woman outside Walgreens Saturday May 9.

Described as about 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, the man was last seen walking east away from Walgreens about 1 p.m. May 9. Cindy Charles, 61, of Thoreau, told paramedics taking her to the hospital that she had just stood up out of her car when she noticed a man standing in front of her, according to Gallup Police Officer Terrance Peyketewa’s report.

Gallup Police Detective Lt. Rick White said the man was after her car keys.

The man stabbed Charles under her right arm and again in her lower abdomen. The man cut her hands, too, when she tried to deflect the knife. A group of people had already surrounded the woman, some tending to her injuries, before police arrived. One woman told police that she’d heard Charles scream for help, and when she looked toward the scream, she saw two people — one was Charles — and the other was the suspect, whom she described as Caucasian.

The man appeared to be hitting Charles, before he pulled his hood over his head and face and fled.

At 9 a.m. Wednesday, Charles was still a patient at GIMC and in stable condition.

Crimestoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the stabbing suspect. Crimestoppers in Gallup can be reached at (505) 722-6161.