Paper gets 1948 arrest log of border town mayor

Law

Friday, February 19, 2010

The Gallup Independent recently obtained an arrest log that shows Gallup, New Mexico, Mayor Harry Mendoza was arrested for "aiding and abetting" the sexual assault of a Zuni Pueblo girl in 1948.

Mendoza has acknowledged he was arrested in connection with the rape of the 16-year-old girl. He has indicated he was detained because he was Hispanic and all of the other suspects were Hispanic.

But the Independent says the arrest log suggests Mendoza was specifically brought in to face rape charges. Mendoza has denied being charged for the assault but the paper has obtained other court documents that list him as a defendant in the case.

Somehow, Mendoza was dropped as a defendant as the case went to trial in 1949. The paper has been unable to find documentation that explains why he was removed even though documentation exists in connection with another former defendant.

Five Hispanic males were eventually convicted of raping the girl, who was a student at Santa Fe Indian School.

Mendoza has continually denied being involved in the case. He got into a fistfight with Independent publisher Robert Zollinger last month.

Get the Story:
Finding the truth about Mendoza (The Gallup Independent 2/18)