Login

Gallup Sun

Thursday, Mar 28th

Last update12:57:39 AM GMT

You are here: News Public Safety WEEKLY DWI REPORT

WEEKLY DWI REPORT

E-mail Print PDF

Leland Anthony III

April 12, 8:51 pm

DWI

GPD Officer Victor Rodriguez headed to I-40 when a witness reported a driver swerving on the highway. The witness continued to track the driver until he reached U.S. Highway 66, where Rodriguez caught up with him. The driver was pulled over and Rodriguez asked him to identify himself. Anthony, 32, smelled of alcohol, according to the police report.

Rodriguez gave Anthony field sobriety tests, which he performed poorly on. Though he denied having had anything to drink, Anthony blew a .25 on his breath test before being booked.


Kenneth Price Jr.

April 11, 3:10 pm

2nd DWI, Aggravated

A rollover car crash brought McKinley County Sheriff’s deputies to the scene. Sgt. Tammy S. Houghtaling spotted a car matching the description of one in the accident on her way to investigate and made a note that the driver was wearing a white top.

Houghtaling turned the car around and began looking for the driver she had passed, sensing a connection to the crash. She soon spotted the car on 3rd Street and Wilson Avenue, which “was jerking, like the driver did not know how to drive,” according to the report.

Houghtaling pulled over the driver and found he was uncooperative, according to the report, and told him that she was investigating a crash. He told Houghtaling that he had seen her in court recently, but Houghtaling said this incident was unrelated. Finally, the driver identified himself as Price, 30, and said he wasn’t going to answer any other questions, and that he “knew his rights and did not have to talk,” according to the report.

Another passenger in the car, a 24-year-old woman, was crying. Houghtaling noticed an injury on Price’s face and saw that the passenger did not have on a seatbelt.

Houghtaling could smell alcohol coming out of the car. The woman admitted that the two were drinking before getting in the car and that Price was drinking shots, according to the report. She said that when Price lost consciousness, she took over driving, and was afraid because she does not know how to drive a standard car, according to the report. She said Price took over driving again soon after.

The woman blew a .06 on a breath test and was released to her family, having not been arrested.

Price refused field sobriety testing and a breath test before being booked for his second DWI.


Austin Gilbert Jones

April 9, 3:19 pm

4th DWI

Reports of a drunk driver brought GPD Officer Terrance Peyketewa to the scene after witnesses spotted a suspicious white truck leaving the Lowes off of Marguerite Street. GPD Officer Douglas Hoffman first made contact with the driver, Jones, 35, on 2nd Street and Nizhoni Boulevard.

Jones reportedly had disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes. He agreed to do field sobriety testing with Hoffman, during which he performed poorly. At this point, Peyketewa was available to assist and noticed that Jones smelled strongly of alcohol and was swaying as he stood.

Officers booked Jones and then discovered that this was his fourth DWI arrest. Jones consented to a blood draw, which was performed before he was sent to county jail.


Isidora Mendoza

April 7, 2:43 pm

4th DWI, Aggravated

Mendoza, 62, was booked for his fourth DWI, driving with a suspended license, and foraged license, along with other charges, after the car was reported to officers as suspicious. GPD Officer Douglas Hoffman first attempted to locate the car on 9th Street and Maloney Avenue, when he saw a car drive past with matching plates.

Because of traffic, it took some time before Hoffman was able to stop the car and question the driver. When the car reached Highway 491, Hoffman was right behind and turned on his emergency signal to make the stop.

Immediately upon making contact with Mendoza, Hoffman could smell alcohol coming from his car. Mendoza said he had not been drinking alcohol, “only soda pop,” according to the police report.  He agreed to take field sobriety tests.

Mendoza nearly fell over during his field testing, according to Hoffman’s report. He later blew a breath test of .368 and blew two more samples of .26 and .24 before being booked for his latest DWI offense.


Charlie Bilger, 49

April 6, 6:46 pm

DWI, Aggravated

GPD Officer Andrew Thayer was dispatched to the 3300 area of East Highway 66 when reports came in that a car with tinted windows was on the road after the driver had been refused service for her intoxication.

The witness pointed officers in the direction of the car, which turned Eastbound away from the business. Thayer spotted a car with matching plates on Churchrock and Elizabeth Street and saw a woman get out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger’s seat, switching with a passenger in the car.

Thayer pulled over the driver, who made “an unintelligible reply” when asked to identify himself. He had red, watery eyes, according to the police report, and smelled of alcohol. When Thayer asked why the woman had switched seats with him, he replied that she was “kind of drunk,” according to the report.

Thayer saw a bottle of vodka hidden in the glove box. When Thayer asked the driver for his birthday to make an identification, he said “I know I’m drunk jus take me to jail,” according to the report. He confirmed that he was too drunk to be driving.

Thayer identified the man as Bilger, 49, before booking him. Bilger refused field or breath testing at the scene.


Cynthia Johnson

April 6, 6:46 pm

DWI, Aggravated

Charlie Bilger, 49, was pulled over and arrested for a DWI after witnesses reported an intoxicated person driving away from a business. Cynthia Johnson, 38, was in the car driving at the time the witness called in the suspicious vehicle. She and Bilger switched places in the car before GPD Officer Andrew Thayer pulled them over, leading to Bilger’s arrest.

Bilger told Thayer that Johnson had been driving as well and that she was “kind of drunk,” according to the police report. Johnson confirmed to Thayer that she had been driving, and spoke with slurred speech, according to the Thayer’s report.

Johnson agreed to field sobriety testing and showed signs of intoxication on each. She then admitted to drinking “a little bit of vodka at the gas station,” according to the report. Johnson refused breath testing before she was booked.


Arnold J. Shorty, 27

April 5, 5:20 pm

2nd DWI, Aggravated

GPD Officer Joe Roanhorse headed to U.S. Highway 491 after reports of a reckless vehicle driving in the area. As Roanhorse approached the city limits, he saw a pickup truck pass by him matching the description of the suspicious car.

Roanhorse began following the driver, who did not appear to be driving erratically, but a call to dispatch with the plate number came back that the car’s registration was expired. Roanhorse pulled over the vehicle on 9th Street and Wilson Avenue, making contact with Shorty, 27, who appeared red-eyed and intoxicated, according to the police report.

Shorty denied drinking any alcohol and agreed to field sobriety tests. He showed signs of intoxication throughout, and Roanhorse was able to determine that he was drunk while driving. Shorty refused a breath test before being booked for his second DWI.


Gerald J. Thompson

March 31, 3:38 pm

DWI

Metro Dispatch sent GPD Officer Steven Peshlakai to Aztec Avenue and Coyote Canyon Drive over reports of a driver who ran a stop sign in the area. Peshlakai arrived to find the driver, Thompson, 29, parked in the middle of the road, while another vehicle attempted to jump-start his car.

Peshlakai asked Thompson what was happening, and he replied that he was headed to the gas station but ran out of gas, according to the police report. Thompson appeared intoxicated and smelled strongly of alcohol. He “staggered when he walked and had to hold the vehicle to keep balance,” Peshlakai wrote in his report.

Thompson admitted to drinking beer before driving, and Peshlakai asked him to perform field sobriety tests. He showed signs of intoxication throughout and was then placed under arrest. Peshlakai found a bottle of alcohol in his car’s center console.


Christopher R. Damon

March 31, 2:06 pm

DWI, Aggravated

GPD Officer Joe Roanhorse was dispatched to Mentmore Road and Remington Lane over reports of a drunk driver. Roanhorse approached the driver, Damon, 30,  after he was pulled over by another officer. Damon was speeding in his car, and his wheels were spinning out before officers stopped him in the street.

Roanhorse had Damon perform field sobriety tests, and he showed signs of intoxication. He refused breath testing. Before being booked, officers found open containers of mini liquor shots and a Bud Lite Lime in the car.