Gregory Littleman
Dec. 30, 12:50 am
Aggravated DWI
Gallup Police Patrolman Daniel Brown was on regular patrol when he said he saw a vehicle on the I-40 ramp at the 20-mile marker sitting facing the wrong way. He said he went up to the vehicle and as he did, the driver attempted to reverse, so he yelled at him to stop and he did.
Brown went up to the driver’s side and began talking to Littleman, 21, of Window Rock. Littleman was smiling and his head was bobbing back and forth and he showed signs of being intoxicated.
Littleman was directed to exit the vehicle and said he couldn’t so he was asked again. When he did exit the vehicle, he almost fell down. He was asked if he had been drinking and he said he had three drinks two months ago. Brown said Littleman was incoherent as he spoke.
He agreed to take a standard field sobriety test and failed, at which time he was arrested for DWI. He agreed to take a breath alcohol test and although several attempts were made, he continued to do only make small sips of breath so no reading was registered. Brown said he took this as a refusal.
He was charged with aggravated DWI and driving on the wrong side of the road.
Michael Leshawn Yazzie
Dec. 29, 8:55 pm
DUI (Navajo Nation charge)
McKinley County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Elreno Henio, assigned to the DWI Task Force, was patrolling State Highway 602 when he saw a vehicle drive across the white edgeline. He started in pursuit and then saw the vehicle go across the center line into the other lane so he made a traffic stop.
The vehicle turned into an access road and failed to stop. As Henio got closer to the vehicle, it spun out in the snow-packed road and stopped. The driver got out of the vehicle as Henio walked toward him.
Henio identified the driver as Michael Yazzie, 32, of Vanderwagen. He was asked to take the standard field sobriety tests, and refused, so he was told he was being placed under arrest. As he was being led to the police unit, he yelled “no” and pushed against Henio, trying to get away.
According to the report, Henio said he grabbed him and ousted him away, causing him to fall into the snow. As Henio went up to him, he still tried to get away, so Henio said he held him on the ground until he stopped resisting.
The officer then got him up and headed him toward his unit when he began yelling and putting his leg up as if he was going to kick him. Henio said he pulled out his taser and Yazzie calmed down.
When he was placed in Henio’s unit, he kicked the door twice so Henio went up to him and told him to stop. He repeated to kick again and Henio said he tased him but it had no effect.
He managed to get Yazzie calm again and put him in seatbelts only to have him start kicking the plexiglass on the cage. When he stopped, he was asked if he was willing to take a breath alcohol test and he said no, he was already drunk.
Henio said when he checked Yazzie’s vehicle, he saw an open beer can as well as other liquor bottles. He was transported to Mariano Lake Junction where a tribal police officer picked him up and transported him to the Crownpoint jail.
Ramsey Lee
Dec. 29, 8:47 pm
Aggravated DWI (second offense)
MCSO Deputy Frank Villa Jr. said he was dispatched to the area of State Hwy 118 and Defiance Draw because of a report of an accident.
When he got there he saw a car that appeared to have crashed on the side of the railroad tracks. He also saw a train coming so he went toward the train trying to slow it down.
When the train slowed and passed the vehicle, Villa said he went over to the vehicle and found a female later identified as Tracy Begaye bleeding from an injury to her head. She showed signs of being intoxicated and when asked if she was in the vehicle, she said no. She was place in Villa’s unit as he went up to the vehicle and talked to Ramsey Lee, 36, of Gallup.
Lee also showed signs of being intoxicated and denied being the driver. He said the driver took off after the accident.
There was another passenger in the vehicle who was sitting in the back seat and said Lee was the driver. That passenger was sober and he said the vehicle slid on ice as they were coming up to the railroad crossing.
Lee refused to take the standard field sobriety test and was arrested for DWI. Villa said he also found open liquor bottles in the front of the car. Lee did agree to take a breath alcohol test and posted two samples of .22.
Darryl Harlow
Dec. 28, 9:14 pm
DWI (fourth offense)
GPD Officer Alana Bradley said she was dispatched to the 900 block of West Wilson Avenue in connection with a report of a man down and out behind the wheel of a vehicle that was parked in the middle of a roadway.
When Bradley got there, another officer had also responded, and she said she observed a crushed beer can on the floor of the vehicle.
She said she talked to Harlow, 58, of Florence, Ariz. She noticed the smell of intoxicating liquor emitting from him. He agreed to take the standard field sobriety test and failed, at which time he was charged with DWI.
He was asked if he was willing to take the breath alcohol test and did not reply so he was transported to the county jail.
Thurman Trujillo
Dec. 28, 11:17 pm
Aggravated DWI (second offense)
MCSO Deputy Johnson Lee was in Yah-Ta-Hey when he received a report of a man leaving the Sagebrush Liquors on State Highway 264 headed east in the westbound lane.
He immediately got into the westbound lane and began slowing down traffic and within a couple of minutes saw the vehicle headed toward him driving in the westbound lane. He parked on the side of the road and observed the driver nearly run into a vehicle head on.
When the driver passed him, he followed, turning on his sirens and lights to warn other drivers ahead of the situation. He got the driver to pull over on the shoulder and then went up to the driver and told him to turn off the engine and to step outside the vehicle.
He identified the driver as Thurman Trujillo, 39, of Ruidoso.
As Trujillo stepped out, Lee said he observed several open beer containers on the dash and in the center of the vehicle. He also observed that Trujillo displayed signs of being intoxicated and was having problems keeping his balance. He asked how much he had to drink and Trujillo said only one can of beer about 45 minutes before he started driving.
Trujillo agreed to take the standard field sobriety tests and failed and was arrested for DWI. Later, he agreed to take a breath alcohol test and blew two samples of .17.
