At 12:50 a.m. on Sunday, April 5, Holbrook Police officers responded to a report of a vehicle crashing through the Nakai Indian Art building, located at 357 Navajo Blvd., causing in excess of $60,000 in damages. Witnesses reported that the vehicle involved then fled the scene down West Buffalo Street. The vehicle was described as a dark colored SUV. Officers followed a trail of fluids and debris to a residence in the 1600 block of West Greer Avenue. The vehicle, a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe registered to Aaron Paul Thomas of Holbrook, was located, abandoned on a dirt road north of Eighth Avenue. During the following week, officers interviewed witnesses, reviewed surveillance footage and served multiple search warrants and were able to gather enough evidence to charge Aaron Paul Thomas, 43, of Holbrook in connection with the crime. Thomas was arrested for criminal damage in excess of $10,000 and tampering with physical evidence. He was booked into the Navajo County Jail. Chief Christensen thanked his officers for their tireless commitment to solving this crime. He stated, “Surveillance footage played a pivotal role in the case.” Last year the department introduced the program “Community Eyes” asking residents to register their cameras with the department. This program created a database of residences and business with security or doorbell camera systems. When a crime has been committed, police often conduct an area sweep asking businesses and residents if they have camera systems, this is a time-consuming process. Following a crime, officers can refer to the database and contact residents to see if anything may have been recorded around the time of the incident. Participation in this program is voluntary. Those with privacy concerns need not worry. The police cannot access live video or sign-on information from those systems. Those who elect to participate will complete a registration form and submit it to the department. This would renew yearly and residents will be contacted to see if they wish to remain in the database. For more information or to register, contact Lt. Jed Koon at (928) 524-2196 or Email: pdadmin@ci.holbrook.az.us
