On Sept. 28 a couple was arrested and booked at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center on abandonment or abuse of a child; driving under the influence; consuming or possessing an open container of alcohol; mandatory license revocation; and child passenger restraint violation charges.
Stevenson Lee was jailed, and his girlfriend, Kaylene Johnson, 32, was released Sept. 30 on her own recognizance, records show. Both were jailed on $5,000-bond amounts after Lee’s erratic driving nearly caused accidents.
Reportedly, Lee was weaving on the highway with passengers in tow. He was released from jail Oct. 12, officials said.
What Happened?
Officer Douglas Hoffman of the Gallup Police Department wrote in a report that he pulled the couple over at 1115 W. Hwy. 66, the Premier Car Wash. He said a young child in the back seat was not wearing a child restraint as required by law.
“I quickly caught up with the SUV and pulled it over in the parking lot of Premier,” Hoffman wrote. “I could easily tell that Lee was intoxicated as he had blood shot watery eyes and a blank stare on his face when I asked if he was OK.”
Lee reeked of alcohol.
“After a minute had passed Lee got out of the vehicle and stumbled and fell onto the side of his car,” Hoffman wrote in the report.
Lee told Hoffman he’d had a “couple of beers” at Virgie’s restaurant on the west side of Gallup. He refused field sobriety tests.
When Hoffman asked Johnson for identification, she responded with two different names and dates of birth, resulting in her concealment of identity charge, as well as three first offenses for endangering a child.
“The Children Youth and Families Department had to be called for the 1-year-old as Lee’s girlfriend, and mother of the child, was also intoxicated with some passengers in the car,” Hoffman wrote.
By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent