Staff Reports
Legal limit is .08
Jonathan Bitsilly
Oct. 2, 4 pm
Aggravated DWI
McKinley County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ivan Tsethlikai Jr. was dispatched to 131 Dee Ann Ave. in Gallup in reference to a traffic stop involving a possible drunk driver.
At the scene, Tsethlikai met with Deputy Merlin Benally, who had pulled the driver over. The car had run other vehicles off the roadway.
Bitsilly, 55, smelled of alcohol and slurred his speech. He failed field sobriety tests. There were empty alcohol containers in his car. He blew. 17 and .16 during breath testing and was charged with and booked for DWI.
Eloise Clement
Oct. 1, 7:21 pm
DWI
MCSO Deputy Anthony Ashley was working the DWI Task Force when he was called to the area of Hassler Valley Road and Superman Canyon Road in Gallup in reference to a possible drunk driver and a possible domestic dispute.
Clement, 48, the driver, smelled of alcohol and had urinated on herself. She failed field sobriety tests and blew .15 twice during breath testing. She was booked for DWI and “stop, standing, parking” under tribal code by the NPD, as the incident occurred on tribal land.
Rufus McCabe
Sept. 30, 6:37 pm
2nd DWI, Aggravated
MCSO Deputy Monty Yazzie was dispatched to N.M. 599 near Dead Horse Mustang in Church Rock in reference to a drunk driver. At the scene, Yazzie met with Navajo Police Department Officer Patrick Yazzie, who said he’d seen the suspect vehicle pull out of a business at 409 N.M. 566 and had pulled the car over.
The driver, McCabe, 34, smelled of alcohol and swayed when he walked. There was an open container in his car. McCabe failed field sobriety tests and said, “You ain’t touching my breath b***h,” when asked to perform a breath test.
He was arrested and booked for his second DWI.
Jason Teller
Sept. 28, 7:15 pm
3rd DWI, Aggravated
MCSO Deputy Lorenzo A. Guerrero was on patrol in the area of Speedy’s Gas Station in Black Cat on U.S. 264 when he noticed a vehicle stop at the north side of the business. It looked to Guerrero like the driver was trying but unable to get onto 264. The driver got out of the vehicle and opened the hood.
Teller, 32, the driver, smelled of alcohol and had blood around his lips and on his face. He failed field sobriety tests and refused breath testing. On the way to the Sheriff’s Office, Teller told Guerrero he was going to kill him, his wife, and his kids. He was booked on charges that included his third DWI and assault on a peace officer.
Ivan McKinley
Sept. 26, 4:50 pm
3rd DWI, Aggravated
Gallup Police Department Officer Jeremy Shirley was called for assistance regarding a vehicle at 2654 E. Hwy. 66, the Conoco Giant, where the caller had seen a driver “slamming a bottle of vodka in the parking lot,” according to the report.
At the scene, the driver, McKinley, 38, smelled of alcohol but denied drinking before admitting he’d had “one shot” of vodka.
He failed field sobriety tests and blew .13 and .14 during breath testing. He was arrested and booked for his third DWI. McKinley also had a revoked/suspended license.
Brian Benally
Sept. 24, 2:15 am
DWI
GPD Officer Steven Peshlakai was alerted to a vehicle parked in the drive-through of McDonald’s at 2300 E. Hwy. 66 with a driver passed out inside.
At the scene, Benally, 39, was awoken and asked to open his door. He seemed confused and drove forward to the order box, where he rolled down his window to place his order.
He smelled of alcohol and refused field sobriety tests because “he knew he would fail the tests because he was pretty out of it,” Peshlakai wrote in his report.
Benally blew .10 twice during breath testing and was booked for his first DWI.
Christopher Etsitty
Sept. 23, 11:01 pm
DWI, Aggravated
MCSO Deputy Lorenzo A. Guerrero was dispatched to the area of N.M. 118 at the 29.5-mile marker in Church Rock in reference to a possibly drunk driver.
Guerrero found Etsitty, 33, parked on the shoulder with his vehicle running. Etsitty smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot, watery eyes. He didn’t have his license with him and could not keep his balance.
He refused field sobriety tests because he knew he’d fail them. He refused breath testing and was charged with aggravated DWI for the refusal.