Nikko Nathan is Tucumcari's most wanted suspect

Tucumcari Police Chief Roger Hatcher said suspect Nikko Nathan is No. 1 on Tucumcari’s most wanted list.

Hatcher cited the department's ongoing search for shooting suspect Nikko Nathan as one way the community may be able to help the police.

Nathan is wanted on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an Oct. 31 shooting in Tucumcari.

It happened at Arthur Jimenez Park. The victim suffered two gunshot wounds in the left arm and a stab wound in the abdomen.

Earlier in the year, Nathan was injured in a July shooting in an alley off South First Street in Tucumcari. Police said 13 shots were fired across south First Street.

"Nikko Nathan is Tucumcari's number one wanted subject, he is considered a very dangerous person," Hatcher said.

"We believe that Nikko is being helped out with his traveling and living arrangements and expenses. The people that are helping him might not realize that they are committing a crime by driving him around or letting him stay in their home."

If someone provides reliable information that Nathan is staying in a home in Tucumcari, "we are going to obtain a search warrant for that residence," Hatcher said.

"When we serve that warrant we are not going to knock. We are going to kick that door in, and with Nikko's violent and dangerous history, we are going to have to go in guns drawn. Nikko is only thinking about himself and not going to jail. By being in your home he has willfully put your family in danger and harm's way."

Hatcher said that he would like to see Nathan turn himself in peacefully. However, Nathan is known to carry a gun and has no problem shooting at people, Hatcher said.

"Nikko Nathan is putting people in danger by not turning himself in," Hatcher said. "It is this department's goal and hope to arrest Nathan and take him into custody without incident."

Hatcher said many people don't want to "dime out" a friend or "rat someone out."

But what they don't realize is – that if they see someone breaking into someone's house or breaking someone's window and don't report it – they could be the next victims, he said.

"The only thing that will prevent that person or persons from committing the same crime again is someone being brave enough to speak up and turn them in," Hatcher said.

If you have any information contact Tucumcari Police Central Dispatch at 461-2280 or Crime Stoppers at 461-3507.