Man tries to hide fentanyl from officers
A man tried to get rid of the evidence against him by crushing the fentanyl pills he had on him before police could find them.
On Sept. 14, around 6 am, Gallup Police Officer Elijah Bowman was dispatched to the Speedway gas station at 3302 W. Hwy. 66 after someone called into Metro Dispatch reporting a suspicious vehicle at the business.
When Bowman arrived at the scene, he found a brown pickup truck behind the gas station. When he approached the vehicle he saw the man in the driver’s seat, who was later identified as 28-year-old Donald Crain, trying to put his belt back on.
According to Bowman’s report, Crain told him he was just sitting there. A woman was also sitting with Crain in the truck, and they had all the windows covered up with clothes.
As Crain got out of the truck Bowman reportedly saw a blue pill under the driver’s seat, which Bowman identified as fentanyl. Bowman escorted Crain to the back of his patrol car and placed him inside. As he did so, he noticed another blue pill by Crain’s feet.
While Bowman was placing Crain in handcuffs, the man began yelling at the woman who was found with him, telling her to “take the blame” for him.
Bowman arrested Crain for possession of a controlled substance and transported him to the Gallup Police Department so that he could finish the necessary paperwork. During the drive Crain reportedly kept moving around in the backseat. When they arrived at GPD Bowman opened the door of his patrol unit to let Crain out, and he noticed part of a crushed blue pill by the door and another crushed piece on the car’s seat.
Crain was also charged with tampering with evidence. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 11.
Staff Reports
