WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13
A deputy was requested to respond to a property on County Road 31 to investigate a complaint of animal cruelty. The deputy began taking photographs to document conditions. He noticed a horse in a small pen that appeared to be sick, as its ribs and hip bones were showing. It was underweight and had little muscle structure. The horse did have access to a bale of hay and water. The deputy also observed several dogs running loose on the property, and more dogs in a pen or tied to something. The dog in a pen appeared to have adequate shelter; the deputy was unable to tell if the dog that was tied had adequate shelter or not, due to the amount of debris present. Another horse on the property appeared to be in good health, with access to water and a bale of hay. Several hogs were observed, and they also appeared to be healthy. The property has a very large amount of garbage, unlivable mobile homes, trailers and disabled vehicles on it, and a rancid odor emanates from the property. The deputy spoke to the property owner, whose demeanor was defensive and argumentative. She admitted that the mare was skinny and that she had been trying to put weight on it. Its foal appeared to be in decent health. The deputy will organize visits by an inspector and a veterinarian to obtain a professional opinion.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27
One of the owners of a Dolores business contacted a deputy about a fraud. The other part-owner had taken a catering order from a caller in regards to catering a party for her mother. The phone call was translated through AT&T due to the caller being deaf. The caller said the event would have 100 guests attending, and gave the business owner a credit card number for payment. Over the following two weeks, the caller and the business owner exchanged several emails, and the arrangements began to change; the number of attendees grew to 330. The caller began to ask that the caterer run her credit card for more than the amount of food and wire the money to people in various locations in nearby states, as the individuals were going to pick up the food, arrange a band, and plan the party. The caterer was led to believe that she was helping a disabled person plan a party for her mother. The total of the amount charged to the credit card was $14,319, with $10,700 wired to individuals between Arkansas and California. The remaining $3,619 went toward ordering food for the party. The address the caller had given as her residence turned out to be a bar and grill in Lakewood, Colo. The manager there advised that no one by the callers name had ever worked there. The person under that name had an address in Golden, Colo., but there was no phone listing for them. The deputy also spoke to the reporting part-owner of the Dolores business, who told him that their credit card company had informed him that the total amount due of $14,319 would be withdrawn from his account to cover the charges. He advised the deputy that he does want to pursue charges if the suspect can be located.
FRIDAY, APRIL 29
A deputy patrolling the 28000 block of U.S. Highway 160 close to 2 a.m. noticed a suspicious vehicle with no lights on in the parking lot of a business complex. The occupant of the vehicle stated that he had just gotten off work and was driving around. He seemed very fidgety and nervous, and kept making furtive movements into his jacket. He continued to do so after being asked by the deputy to keep his hands out of his pockets. He was asked to step out of the vehicle, and as he did so, he reached into his pocket again and pulled out his car keys and put them in the ignition before exiting the vehicle. When asked what time hed gotten off work, the driver said 6 p.m. When asked, he stated that he had come from Cortez, but could not tell the deputy where he had been in Cortez. He stated he had just been driving around. The deputy observed the drivers pockets to be bulgy, and he continued to make furtive movements toward them. When patted down, the deputy found a pipe in his pocket, which the driver admitted to be a meth pipe. After being handcuffed, the deputy also removed a plastic bag with a semi-clear rocky substance and the driver admitted that it may be meth. It subsequently tested positive. The suspect did not want to say who he had purchased it from, and that he had smoked the other half of the meth earlier that day. The suspect was charged with felony possession and unlawful use of a controlled substance, and turned over to jail staff.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4
A deputy stopped at the intersection of U.S. Highway 160 and County Road G observed a pickup truck without a front license plate that was towing an older sedan turn eastbound on Road G. The deputy identified the driver as someone who has had prior drug involvements. The driver told the deputy the names of the three occupants in the truck. The deputy observed the driver moving his left hand out of view behind his back. When a second deputy arrived on scene, the driver was removed from the vehicle, and they observed a bag in the center of the drivers side seat containing a green, leafy substance that was recognized to be marijuana. The deputy removed the bag and showed it to the driver, who stated, Thats not mine. The driver then moved his hands toward his pockets, and then his waistband area, causing the deputy to take control of his right arm. When patted down for weapons, a small, clear plastic bag was found in his pants pocket which contained a substance recognized as methamphetamine. The driver was placed under arrest. A glass pipe with burnt residue was found between the drivers and passenger seat in the truck. The driver was also given a verbal warning for no front license plate. He refused to provide a urine sample; he admitted that the marijuana and meth belonged to him, and said that he left the marijuana pipe in the vehicle for the dog to find. He was booked for unlawful possession, possession of marijuana (less than 1 ounce) and possession of drug paraphernalia.