A family trip left one woman with a future court date.
On July 28 at 5:25 pm, Deputy Jerald Watchman was dispatched to the Trade Mart Alon at 1500 S. Second St. because someone had called dispatch about intoxicated people in a brown four door passenger car at the gas pump.
While Watchman was driving to the scene Dispatch told him the caller had called again and said the people were now pushing the car away from the gas pump west of the business. When he arrived at the scene, Watchman pulled up behind the car to do a welfare check. Officer Joe Roanhorse was also on the scene and he turned on his traffic lights.
The car was not moving when Watchman arrived, but as he got out of the car, he saw it move forward a little. There were three people in the car. Watchman honked his horn and Roanhorse turned his siren on briefly to tell the people pushing the car to stop.
When Watchman approached the car, he saw Maggie Begay in the driver’s seat. She had bloodshot eyes and Watchman said he could smell alcohol.
Begay explained that they were having car problems, and they had to wait 10 minutes to try and start it again. Watchman asked her where they were coming from and to step out of the car. She told him they were coming from the west side of town and they were headed to a relative’s place on the north side of town.
Watchman noticed Begay was slurring her speech and swaying back and forth as she stood. When asked if she had been drinking Begay said she’d had two cans of Camo a couple of hours ago.
Watchman saw one can of Camo on the left rear floorboard and another on the right front floorboard.
Begay refused to do the standard field sobriety tests, and so Watchman placed her under arrest and walked her to his police car. She refused to take a breath test. Watchman took her to the McKinley County Adult Detention Center for booking.
The other people in the car walked away and the car was locked and secured. The keys were given to Begay. She couldn’t be taken into the county jail because of a high temperature. She was picked up by her nephew and Watchman filed a summons at the Magistrate Court.
She remains in custody at this time.
By Molly Adamson
Sun Correspondent
