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WEEKLY DWI REPORT

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The legal limit is .08.

Herman Jim

June 30, 1:24 am

5th DWI, felony

McKinley County Sheriff’s Office DWI Task Force Supervisor Tammy Houghtaling arrived at the five-mile marker on Hwy 265 in Blackhat in response to a request for backup by Deputy Josie Bowman. Bowman had arrived on scene to find a red Chevy Silverado in the ditch with its lights on and still in drive.

Jim, 42, was asleep in the driver’s seat. Houghtaling woke him and could smell alcohol on his breath. Jim’s eyes were bloodshot and watery. When he exited the truck he was unsteady, and he refused field sobriety tests. Jim blew .24 and .25 during breath testing.

Enrique Gonzales

June 28, 7:11 pm

DWI

MCSO Deputy Arnold Noriega was heading west on NM 118 near Williams Acres in Mentmore, when he noticed a blue GMC Sierra going the same way and swerving into oncoming traffic. The vehicle refused to pull over for about a tenth of a mile before stopping at the Spencer Valley Road turnoff.

Gonzales, 29, smelled of alcohol, and had bloodshot, watery eyes. He claimed he was merely hungover, but failed field sobriety tests. He blew .10 twice during breath testing.

Harold Bia

June 27, 9:25 am

DWI

MCSO Deputy Nocona Clark was sitting in the parking lot of RA 452 NM 264 in Yatahey. Clark was waved down by an employee who pointed to a black car with Arizona plates. Clark pulled the vehicle over, and noticed the smell of alcohol, as well as  a can of beer in the glove compartment.

Bia, 28, failed field sobriety tests and blew .18 twice during breath tests.

Maria A. Lee

June 25, 7:05 pm

3rd DWI, Aggravated

When Gallup Police Department Officer Daniel Brown arrived at the scene of a crash at Hwy 566 and Challenger Road in Church Rock, he noticed a beige pickup in the brush off the roadway and a gray Ford Escape facing south on Hwy 566 with front-end damage. Lee, the pickup driver, was intoxicated and sitting in a supporting officer’s car.

Lee, 53, smelled of alcohol, slurred her speech, and had bloodshot eyes. She failed field sobriety tests and blew .23 during breath testing. She had driven her truck head-on into the victims’ car.

Matthew J. Smiley

June 21, 11:09 pm

DWI

GPD Officer Chris Molina stopped a gold Ford F150 with a headlight out at 1210 E. Hwy 66. Smiley, 31, smelled of alcohol, had slow speech, and bloodshot, watery eyes. He failed field sobriety tests and blew .12 during breath testing.

Averill L. Norton

June 18, 1:42 pm

DWI, Aggravated

GPD  Officer Dominic Molina was dispatched to the Ford Canyon area in reference to a possible drunk driver in a silver car. At the intersection of Burke and Aztec Avenue, a silver Mitsubishi Galant proceeded without stopping. When the vehicle eventually pulled over at 1720 E. Hwy 66, it hit the curb.

Norton, 21, did not have his license with him and smelled of alcohol. He failed field sobriety tests and blew .16 during the portable breath test. There were several open beer cans in the car. Norton became rowdy in the sally port of the jail and was also charged with resisting, evading or obstructing an officer, and assisting in assault upon a peace officer.

Russell Bran Thomas

June 8, 5:23 am

DWI

GPD Officer Dominic Molina was dispatched to the area of 406 Arnold St. in reference to a break-in. The suspect reportedly drove off in a maroon car without hubcaps. A supporting officer found the suspect vehicle.

When asked to exit the vehicle, Thomas, 38, was unsteady on his feet. He failed field sobriety tests and blew .30, more than twice the legal limit, during a portable breath test. At the jail, he could not stand up on his own.

Marvin Begay Jr.

June 2, 1:23 am

DWI

MCSO Deputy Arnold J. Noriega was advised of a possible drunk driver in front of the McKinley West Fire Department, 5000 W. Hwy 66, in Mentmore. West of the fire department, a silver Toyota had driven through some traffic cones that were put up at the scene of a fatal accident.

A male passenger was passed out in the front of the suspect vehicle, which was stopped in the middle of the road. The driver, Begay, 25, smelled of alcohol and failed field sobriety tests. He blew .15 twice during breath testing.

Kyle D. Begay

May 31, 7:31 pm

DWI, Aggravated

While stopped in a vacant lot at 2217 W. Hwy 66, GPD Sgt. Francie Martinez was informed by a witness that a white and beige van had run a red light, nearly striking his vehicle. The witness thought the driver might be drunk.

Martinez found the van stopped on the side of the road, with smoke wafting from underneath it. The van took off when Martinez approached. The van continued to flee from the officer, nearly striking another vehicle, until it eventually struck a curb, left the road, hit a traffic sign, and ended up in a culvert. Still, the van continued on with a shredding wheel. The driver began to lose control.

The van finally stopped at the 15-mile maker of N.M. 118, and Martinez conducted a high-risk felony traffic stop. When the driver exited the van, Martinez took the driver to the ground and handcuffed him. Begay, 28, smelled of alcohol and had watery, bloodshot eyes. He could not stand without support. He blew .28 twice during breath testing.