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Thursday, Mar 28th

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WEEKLY DWI REPORT

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Ricky Yazzie, 21, Mentmore

Aggravated DUI

Citizens, Gallup Police Department and McKinley County Sheriff’s Office worked together July 22 to take an alleged intoxicated driver off of the road. Even though Yazzie refused all standardized field sobriety tests, breathalyzers and blood draws, the fact that multiple callers called him in as a drunk driver and that he was found passed out in the driver’s seat should say something about his state of being.

A citizen, who was not named in GPD Officer Jessie Diaz’s report, stayed behind Yazzie on Ford Drive in the turning lane that would have taken the vehicle directly onto the main Highway 66.

When Diaz arrived, he found the citizen parked behind Yazzie’s vehicle with his hazards on, the keys to Yazzie’s vehicle on the roof of his car and the emergency brake engaged. Yazzie’s foot was on the brake pedal and he “was passed out in the driver seat with his upper body slouched over towards passenger seat.”

When Diaz woke Yazzie up, his foot released from the brake pedal and the vehicle did begin to move forward, according to the report.

“With my foot, I did press onto the brake while it was in motion to stop the vehicle I then placed the vehicle in park,” Diaz said in his report.

Yazzie did admit to drinking “Yukon Jack” to Diaz, a couple hours prior to the stop.

Two MCSO Deputies, Jonathan Lee and Arnold Noriega, had to escort Yazzie from his vehicle during which time “he couldn’t keep himself up, he at one point almost fell down.”

Yazzie also fought being placed inside of a unit and when he was finally placed, he began to kick at it. He was taken to the hospital for a medical clearance and then taken to tjail.

“In the sally port as the back door was opened, Ricky did fall due to him being asleep, I did have to catch him from falling,” Diaz said in his report.

Yazzie required assistance from both Diaz and corrections officer(s) in order to get him into the jail where he was booked for aggravated DUI, driver must be licensed, driver license suspended/revoked, as well as some smaller charges.

Trisha Pete, 23, Gallup

2nd DWI and Child Abuse

Pete is facing child abuse charges along with a slew of others after MCSO Deputy Merlin Benally witnessed two small children not wearing their seat belts. Benally saw Pete driving her vehicle north bound over Munoz Overpass and pulled her over at American Heritage Plaza.

When he approached the vehicle, he immediately smelt the unique odor of alcoholic beverages through a broken back door.

“The door was damaged and held shut by a jacket tied to the driver seat head rest,” Benally said in his report.

Benally also saw “a can of Steel Reserve beer on the rear floorboard” just underneath Pete’s 3-year-old daughter.

After Pete failed several field sobriety tests, she was asked if she would take a roadside breath test. At first she told Benally no, then change her mind and agreed. She blew a .307 percent BAC on the roadside breath test.

“Ms. Pete was placed under arrest for DWI and secured in my unit,” Benally said in his report. “I returned to the vehicle and checked the passenger’s sobriety. One passenger had a reading while the other was sober.”

At the MCSO, Pete was given a breathalyzer exam, her results were .27/.29. She was booked into the jail for child abuse, aggravated DWI (second offense), suspended/revoked license, child restraint required and open container in a motor vehicle.