Jeremy Nez
March 10, 8:50 pm
Aggravated DWI
Gallup Patrolman Harland Soseeah said he was dispatched to the northside because of a car parked in the middle of the street with its engine running.
When he got there, he found the car parked in the middle lane with the driver passed out. He said he opened the driver’s door and turned off the ignition before waking up the driver, who was identified as Jeremy Nez, 29, of Yah-Ta-Hey.
Soseeah said he could smell the odor of liquor being emitted from inside the vehicle, so he asked Nez if he had been drinking and he admitted that he drank a few. He was asked to exit the vehicle and Soseeah reported seeing him staggering.
He refused to take a field sobriety test as well as a breath alcohol test, so he was transported to the county jail and charged with aggravated DWI - refusal, stopping in the middle of a roadway and driving on a suspended license.
Vernando Martinez Jr.
March 10, 7:39 pm
Aggravated DWI (first offense)
Gallup Patrolman Julio Yazzie said he was dispatched to the front of Sammy C’s Restaurant in downtown Gallup in connection with a driver passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle.
Yazzie said when he got there, he found Martinez, 27, of Ramah, passed out with the engine running. He said he knocked on the window and woke Martinez up. Yazzie said Martinez showed signs of being intoxicated and admitted to having a couple of drinks at dinner and another one at Sammy C’s.
He agreed to take field sobriety tests and failed. He also agreed to take a breath alcohol test and blew samples of .21 and .22.
A witness told Yazzie that he watched Martinez stagger out of the bar and get in his car, which was parked behind Sammy’s. He said he saw Martinez start his car and he almost ran him over before exiting the parking lot and then driving around the block and parking in front of the restaurant.
Brook Curley
March 10, 7:31 pm
Aggravated DWI (first offense)
Gallup Patrolman John Gonzales said he was dispatched to the parking lot of Allsup’s on Arnold Drive in connection with a driver who had been pulled over after being observed driving carelessly.
Gonzales said he met Curley, who showed signs of being intoxicated. He admitted drinking three hours earlier and when asked if he would take field sobriety tests, he responded by asking why, and that he had already said he had been drinking.
Curley, 25, of Ganado, also refused to take a breath alcohol test. Police also found several open bottles of liquor in his vehicle, so he was charged with that as well.
Jonah Barker
March 8. 12:34 pm
Aggravated DWI (first offense)
Gallup Patrolman Mark Spencer was dispatched to North Third Street in connection with an accident involving a possible drunk driver.
As he was headed to the location, he was advised that the driver had left the scene on foot. When he got near the scene, a man waved him to stop and pointed to a man who was walking away nearby and said that was the driver of one of the cars involved in the accident.
Spencer said he stopped Barker, 62, of Houck, Ariz. Barker told him he had been driving the car, but some people had forced him to do it. Barker was taken into custody as Spencer went to talk to the other driver in the accident.
That driver told him she had stopped at the intersection and Barker had backed up three times and hit the front of her car each time. She said after the third time, she got out of her car to confront Barker, but as she went toward his vehicle, he got out and began walking away.
Spencer then went back to Barker and asked him to take field sobriety tests, which he agreed to do after he admitted he had had four drinks prior to driving. Spencer said he stopped the testing midway through because Barker had trouble keeping his balance.
He agreed, however, to take a breath alcohol test and blew samples of .18 and .19.
Henry Lee Benally Jr.
March 8, 1:33 am
Aggravated DWI (first offense)
Gallup Patrolman Randy Delena said he was dispatched to the 3300 block of East Highway 66 in connection with a possible drunk driver who had been stopped for not having his tail lights on.
There he met Benally, 29, of Farmington, who showed signs of being intoxicated, so Delena asked if he would do field sobriety tests and he agreed. But when the tests were being done, he refused to cooperate with the instructions so Delena said he was arrested for DWI.
He said that he wanted a blood alcohol test and not a breath test so when they got to the police station, Delena gave him a phone book and explained he would have to find a doctor and pay for the blood test himself.
At that point, Benally agreed to take the breath alcohol test, but again failed to follow instructions, so the results were inconclusive. He was then charged with aggravated DWI -refusal, no tail lights and possession of an open liquor bottle in his vehicle.