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Thursday, Mar 28th

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WEEKLY DWI REPORT

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Zachary Lee

July 28, 2:55 am

Aggravated DWI

McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Johnson Lee said he was on regular patrol about 2:55 am, when he saw a vehicle go through a red light as it was going onto State Highway 602/

He followed the vehicle as it headed south of Highway 602 and saw that the driver had problems maintaining his lane. He turned on his lights and sirens and the vehicle pulled to the side of the road a couple of miles south of Gallup.

But instead of stopping, the vehicle sped up and Lee found himself in a vehicle pursuit.

The vehicle turned west on Dusty Road and fled to RA 54 where the driver encountered a fence. Lee said he saw the driver, later identified as Zachary Lee, 25, of Gallup jump out of the vehicle and run into the field.

Lee said he exited his unit along with his canine partner, and began tracking the suspect until he caught up with him about half a mile from his unit.

Lee said he told the suspect turned around and clinched his fists as if he was going to fight. Lee said he told the man to get to the ground or he would be tased. When he refused, he was tased and Lee was able to place him in handcuffs.

The two walked back to the unit. Zachary Lee agreed to take a breath alcohol test and blew a .19 and then a .20.  He was charged with aggravated DWI, failure to obey traffic laws and driving on a revoked or suspended license.

Myron Etsitty

July 22, 7:11 am

Aggravated DWI

Gallup Patrolman Justin Foster said he was dispatched about 6:47 am to U. S. Highway 491 because of a report of a man hitting a sign next to McDonalds North.

When he got there he found Etsitty, 30, of Gallup asleep behind the wheel. He woke him up and observed signs that he was intoxicated.

Foster said Etsitty agreed to take the standard field sobriety tests, which he failed and was placed under arrest. He was then asked to take a breath alcohol test and didn’t respond so Foster took that as a refusal.

He was charged with aggravated DWI, second offense. He also was charged with having an outstanding bench warrant.

Latonya Hoskie

July 22, 7:24 pm

Aggravated DWI

Gallup Patrolman Julio Yazzie said he was dispatched to Shop N Save at 200 Marguerite Street about 7:24 pm because of a report of a vehicle accident.

When he got there, he met a security guard who said that a maroon car hit a pole in the parking lot and then left the scene.

Yazzie said when he went out searching for the car, he soon found one matching the description and conducted a traffic stop.

He found Hoskie, 22, of Chinle in the driver’s seat and asked where she was going. She said she was going home and that she went to Shop N Save to get some food because she was hungry.

Yazzie said he noticed that Hoskie had watery, bloodshot eyes so he asked her to take a field sobriety test. She agreed but then failed the test and was arrested.

When asked if she would take a breath alcohol test, she responded “no, I am not listening. You are just going to charge me with more.”

As she was being transported to the county jail, however, she changed her mind and took the test, posting two samples of .27.

Wilbert Largo

July 21    City

5th DWI, 8:30 pm

Gallup Police Officer Caleb Kleeberger said he was patrolling the downtown area on foot about 8 pm when he was informed of a traffic accident in the parking lot of Camille’s Sidewalk Café.

He was told that a car hit another vehicle as it was backing out, and he talked to the driver of the car, Wilbert Largo, 45 of Smith Lake.

Largo showed signs of being intoxicated and was confused about what happened, said Kleeberger. Yazzie also denied hitting another car.

He admitted drinking three cans of beer earlier in the day and Kleeberger said he noticed an open can in the cup holder.

He agreed to take a field sobriety test which he failed. He then agreed to allow his blood to be withdrawn to determine his blood alcohol content.

Besides the DWI charge, he was also charged with damage to a vehicle, driving on a revoked or suspended license, and having an open liquor container in his vehicle.

Naaman Begay

July 20, 6:15 pm

DWI (Tribal)

McKinley County Sheriff Deputy Lorenzo Guerrero said he was dispatched to the 14-mile marker on State Highway 602 about 6:15 pm because of a report of a vehicle accident.

When he got there, he met Begay, 24, of Church Rock who showed signs of being intoxicated.

When asked if he would take a field sobriety test, Begay reportedly said he was driving drunk and crashed his car. He said he was angry because the guy he purchased the car from would not sign over the car to him.

He told Guerrero that since the car was not registered to him, why not crash it so he ran into the car in front of him.

He did agree to take a breath alcohol test and posted a sample of.327. Since his arrest was on tribal lands, he was turned over to the Navajo Police and booked into the Crownpoint jail.

Valerie Baker

July 19, 6:21 pm

Aggravated DWI

Gallup Police Officer Douglas Hoffman said he was on regular patrol about 6 pm when he noticed a vehicle in front of him had plates that expired from 2013.

He conducted a traffic stop and talked to Baker, 42, of Navajo Estates. She explained that she had just bought the vehicle that day and was taking it back to the woman who sold it to her because it had mechanical problems.

Hoffman explained to Baker that it was illegal to drive a car on the roadway without legal registration plates.

She then gave him the copy of a car title and Hoffman said it was for a different vehicle. When checking the vehicle identification number, he said he noticed a cup in the car with a mixture of Kool Aid and vodka in it.

He asked her if she had been drinking and she told Hoffman she wasn’t going to lie and said she had three shots of vodka.

He asked her to take field sobriety tests and since she said she had a bad ankle, he had her take the tests that required her to recite the alphabet. She failed and was arrested.

She took a portable breath test and posted a .27. She later took a regular breath tested and blew samples of .23 and .22.

She was charged with aggravated DWI (fifth offense), having an altered or forged license, possession of an open liquor container in her car, and driving on a revoked or suspended license.

Since her 11-year-old son was in the back seat, she was also charged with abuse of a child.

Trenton Ranger

July 20, 5:34 pm

3rd DWI, Aggravated

Gallup Patrolman Patrick Largo said he was investigating a report of a drunken driver on South Second Street when he was waved down by a man who said he saw a driver almost hit several vehicles.

He pointed to a car driving into the parking lot if the Family Dollar Store, and Largo said he and other officer went into the parking lot to talk to the driver.

When he saw the driver, he said he recognized him as Trenton Ranger, 28, of Gallup because he had past dealings with him.

Ranger managed to get away from the two officers and got back on Second Street heading north. Largo said he lost him, however, when he turned east on Green Street.

He was later found by another officer who said he was being detained. He also said Ranger was being disorderly.

Largo went to the site and along with another officer, placed him in the back seat of Largo’s unit. In the process, said Largo, Ranger managed to kick the other officer in the leg.

Largo said Ranger continued to be disorderly, cussing and kicking the divider. He refused to take a field sobriety test and demanded to be allowed to leave. He also refused to take a breath alcohol test and continued to be disorderly.

He was taken to the county jail where he was charged with aggravated DWI (third offense), reckless driving, evading arrest, driving with a suspended or revoked license and battery on a police officer.