Zane Olin Yazzie
July 27, 6:11 pm
Aggravated DWI (Third)
McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Terrence Willie said he was dispatched to the Talk of the Town Car Wash in Thoreau to investigate a possible drunk driver.
When he got there, he found other deputies had arrived before him. He was told when they arrived, they found Zane Olin Yazzie, 50, of Prewitt, sweating or crying in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck. Yazzie told them he had been driving all day.
Willie said Yazzie appeared to be highly intoxicated. He reportedly smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. Willie said he began asking Yazzie questions like where was he going and if he had had anything to drink. Yazzie refused to say a word. An open container of four loco was later found in his vehicle.
When asked if he would take the standard field sobriety tests, he refused and was arrested. He also refused to take a breath alcohol test. He was taken to the Gallup Indian Medical Center and was given a medical clearance.
But when he was taken to the county jail, clerks there refused to accept him because he had a temperature of 101 degrees. He said his family was mad at him, so he couldn’t go home. Since he could not care for himself, he was taken back to the hospital and left there.
Yazzie will be summoned to court for aggravated DWI, four counts of assault on a peace officer, no insurance, no registration, driving on a suspended license and driving with an open container in the vehicle.
Clinton Begay
July 23, 8:10 pm
Aggravated DWI
McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Shirley said he was at a sobriety checkpoint on Highway 118 near the 27.5 mile marker when Clinton Begay, 52, of Rehoboth, drove up showing signs of intoxicationd, including bloodshot, watery eyes.
Shirley also noticed an open bottle of beer near Begay’s hip. Begay said it belonged to his wife who was in the passenger seat. He did admit to drinking some beer earlier that day.
Begay agreed to take the standard field sobriety tests and failed when he could not keep his balance. He later agreed to take a breath alcohol test and posted samples of .20 and .18.
The county jail declined to accept him for unspecified reasons, so Shirley drove him home. A summons will be filed in Magistrate Court.
