McKinley County Sheriff’s Deputy Terence Willie was parked eastbound on the ramp to I-40 on Feb. 13 at 9:32 pm when he observed a black Ford Edge with an Arizona license plate exiting the ramp at the 26-mile marker. He saw that one of the car’s headlights was out, so he conducted a traffic stop at 3798 E. Hwy. 118. After approaching the car, he noticed that the left front bumper was damaged.
The driver identified himself as Marcus Yazzie, 35, of Navajo, N.M. When Willie asked to see his driver’s license, vehicle registration, and insurance, Yazzie said he did not have a driver’s license, but he did hand over his registration and insurance.
Willie saw that Yazzie’s eyes were bloodshot and watery. He asked Yazzie if he had been drinking. Yazzie said no.
There were four children in the car, two of them were younger and didn’t have car seats. A woman was in the passenger seat. She appeared slightly intoxicated.
Willie asked Yazzie a second time if he’d been drinking. Yazzie said no. When the officer asked the passenger, she said Yazzie had been drinking earlier.
Willie asked Yazzie to step out of the car. Yazzie followed him to the front of his squad car and then told him that he was driving to his mother’s in Crownpoint. He said his passenger had picked him up in Ganado, Ariz. and he took over driving in Cross Canyon, Ariz.
After telling Willie where he was trying to go, Yazzie admitted he had been drinking about an hour before he was pulled over.
After failing the sobriety tests, Yazzie complained that he couldn’t complete the tests because of a hip injury he received when a horse fell on him. Willie gave Yazzie alternative sobriety tests. He failed them.
Willie took Yazzie back to the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office, where he agreed to a breath test and gave two samples of .06/.06.
Yazzie was taken to the McKinley County Adult Detention Center and booked with his second DWI, four charges of DWI with a minor in the vehicle, two charges of lacking child restraints lacking a driver’s license, and having a burned out headlamp.
He is currently in custody with a cash surety bond of $100,000
The children were not hurt.
