New Mexico State Police will be checking for insurance, registration, driver’s licenses and sobriety in saturation patrols across the state for the month of August.

Checkpoints will be located in all New Mexico counties to change attitudes about drinking and driving and to save lives.

Media, marketing and advertising will be employed in an effort to reduce alcohol-related fatalities.

 

The New Mexico State Police discovered 495 packages of marijuana during the inspection of a semi at the Gallup Port of Entry July 31 around 4 pm.

The packages, which were vacuum sealed, were concealed inside 20 Home Depot boxes in the trailer of the semi.

The total amount of marijuana seized weighed 580 pounds.

The driver and co-driver were arrested and booked into the McKinley County Detention Center.

Binyam Habtamu Getahun, 36 of Alexandria, Va. and Mazemr Abebe Belayneh, 64 of Snellville, Ga. are charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, a 3rd degree felony, and possession of marijuana, a 4th degree felony.

CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT

Gallup, June 28

Gallup Police Officer Richard Rangel said he was on patrol on U.S. Highway 66 when he noticed a car traveling with its headlights off. He began to follow the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop near 1310 E. Hwy. 66.

He talked to the driver, Nicholas Scott, 28, of White River, Ariz., who told him he was chasing someone who took money from him. As he talked, Rangel said he noticed signs that Scott might be intoxicated.

When asked if he had been drinking that day, he said he had a drink around 9 am, but admitted he felt buzzed since he had not eaten anything that day.

He agreed to take the standard field sobriety tests and had problems...

As part of what Fire Lieutenant Andres Campos called a busy time, the Gallup Fire Department was called to the site of Black Diamond Mobile Home Park, 319 E. Wilson Ave. on July 22.

Campos said the call came into the fire station about 4:38 pm that day, and he estimates the fire had started within 10 minutes of the call being placed.

“We did see black smoke rising when we arrived at the scene,” Campos said. “But it ended up being some brush [that caught fire], so we put it out using hand tools.”

There were no injuries and no structure damage was reported.

By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent