State Glance

121 cases, 7 deaths added to COVID tallies for Navajo Nation

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation has reported an additional 121 known COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths, increasing its totals to 15,374 cases and 638 deaths.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

Navajo Nation officials continued to urge the public not to hold in-person gatherings with non-household members on Thanksgiving Day due to COVID-19 risks.

“By inviting guests and other relatives into your home, you are creating substantial risks for you and your family members,” tribal President Jonathan Nez said in a statement Tuesday night. “We have to be diligent and make good choices, which aren’t the easiest.

The nation’s sprawling reservation, which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is under a three-week stay-home lockdown to curb spread of the coronavirus.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

Las Vegas man found slain in Arizona; 2 other Vegas men arrested

MEADVIEW, Ariz. — A Las Vegas man has been found slain in a remote desert area of northwestern Arizona, leading to the arrests of two other Las Vegas men, authorities said Wednesday.

Jeffrey Earl Bushaw, 45, was found dead with an apparent gunshot wound to the head outside Meadview on Sunday, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said.

Bushaw had been reported missing after last being seen in the Meadview area on Nov. 12.

The investigation led to the arrest of Christopher Albert Eash, 46 on suspicion of premeditated first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and abandonment of a dead body and Joshua Paul Stone, 34 was arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence and abandonment of a dead body, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Bushaw and Eash were mining partners who lived at a temporary residence in the Meadview area but a motive for the killing wasn’t immediately clear, the office said.

Online court records didn’t list defense attorneys for Eash or Stone who might comment on their behalf.