Featured DWI
Victor Chee
March 19, 7:52 pm
DWI (Fifth)
A caller advised Metro Dispatch a man had too much to drink and was driving, eventually leading to Victor Chee, 63, of Fort Wingate, being arrested for DWI.
Gallup Officer Daniel Brown was patrolling when he was advised by Metro Dispatch that an anonymous caller contacted them from Walmart at 1650 W. Maloney Ave. to say Chee had too much to drink and requested aid. Medstar staff were dispatched to Walmart, where they later requested police assistance after stating the suspect, Chee, was intoxicated and had left the scene westbound in a maroon Subaru Outback.
Brown turned onto Maloney Avenue from U.S. Highway 491 to locate the suspect. As he approached Allison Crossing north of the train tracks near Highway 66, he saw a line of vehicles parked waiting for an eastbound train to pass. Brown then saw a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle that left from Walmart in the middle of the roadway.
He approached the vehicle from the passenger side and reportedly found Chee inside unconscious at the wheel with the engine running. Brown knocked on the window repeatedly to get Chee’s attention. Despite repeated knockings and questions, Chee was slow to respond to Brown’s questions. Brown stated he believed Chee was heavily intoxicated due to his reactions.
When Chee did roll down the window, he reportedly showed signs of intoxication including bloodshot eyes, a strong smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle, and his speech was slurred to the point Brown did not understand what he was saying. There were allegedly also several crushed cans of Budweiser inside the vehicle.
Chee eventually exited the vehicle on command, staggering and swaying as he stood. He said he consumed an unspecified amount of beer prior to driving and was reportedly hard to understand and nearly incoherent as his speech was heavily slurred. Brown took his responses to the questions as a refusal to take the Standard Field Sobriety Tests.
Metro Dispatch advised Brown that Chee had four prior DWI charges and was on the felony list. A tow truck was called to remove Chee’s vehicle from the scene before Brown transported Chee to a local hospital after obtaining a blood warrant signed by 11th District Judge Louis Depauli.
After the draw was finished and Chee received medical clearance for being highly intoxicated, he was transported to McKinley County Adult Detention Center and booked for DWI (fifth), resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer, open container, and driving with a revoked license. Following a bind over on April 5, his arraignment hearing is set for June 12.
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