SUNDAY, NOV. 20
A woman was arrested for DUI drugs. A deputy responded to a residence to assist another deputy with a call. The deputy on scene advised that he had responded to a domestic disturbance call, and had been following a vehicle now parked at the residence that had refused to yield to the deputys vehicle while it was displaying emergency lights and siren. He was later able to pass the vehicle and arrive at the scene of the disturbance, when the same vehicle came into the driveway, sliding, and then slid off the driveway, almost striking a tree. When he and other deputies on scene contacted the female driver, they smelled the odor of marijuana. The woman, who showed signs of being under the influence of something, said she had last smoked it two days ago. The woman failed tests to determine if someone is under the influence of drugs, and she was arrested. A deputy found a wrapper with marijuana and a pipe sitting in plain view on the console of her vehicle. After the woman was transported to county jail, she tested positive for having methamphetamine, amphetamine, and marijuana in her system. When asked when she had used methamphetamine last, she stated two days ago, but that it had been 10 months since she had used it last before two days ago.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7
A 35-year-old woman was arrested and charged with obstructing a peace officer at Broadway and Main Street in Cortez. A deputy traveling south had to change lanes to avoid hitting the female subject, who was walking down the center of the road. He turned into the parking lot of a business, exited his patrol car and asked the woman to come out of the road, to which she complied. When asked what she was doing she said nothing. When told she could not walk in the roadway for her own safety and the safety of motorists, she replied (expletive) you. The deputy noted that she appeared to be very intoxicated. When asked how much shed had to drink that night, she again stated (expletive) you. She refused to give the deputy her identification, or her name, numerous times. She told the deputy that her father was dying of cancer and that she hated cops, and repeated this numerous times when asked to provide her name or ID. The woman was notified that she was obstructing the deputy from doing his job and had violated a law that she was required to provide her information, and was arrested. The deputy obtained her ID from her purse. She refused to get into the patrol vehicle. While at the hospital to receive medical clearance, the woman was disorderly and had to be told several times to stop cursing at the hospital staff and the deputy. She continued to be disorderly at the jail, and was eventually booked and placed into a holding cell.
THURSDAY, DEC. 8
Two deputies were requested to respond to the hospital in reference to a cold assault. On arrival, they were directed to speak with a male lying on a hospital bed, and advised that he was the victim wanting to report the assault. The male identified himself to the deputies, and told them that he had gone to a party near Dolores where there had been 15 to 20 people in attendance. At some point at the party, he said that someone tapped him on the shoulder and then struck him in the head with a beer bottle. His brother had transported him to his uncles house, and then the uncle took him to the emergency room. As the deputies were traveling in Dolores to investigate, when they were asked to return to the hospital, and that the victim did not want to file charges in the assault case. They returned to find the victim being questioned by deputies about possible other names he went by, and a doctor informed them that someone had called the ER asking for a different version of the name given by the victim. When deputies check the alternate name, they found that there was an active warrant for arrest for the person by that name. The victims brother suddenly became very agitated and uncooperative, saying I aint telling you (expletive). The hospital registrar confirmed that the victim had registered under the alternate name. The brother of the victim using a false name was taken into custody for false reporting to authorities and for obstruction of a peace officer. The victim was placed on a felony hold for criminal impersonation.
SATURDAY, DEC. 10
A deputy was requested to meet with a reporting party regarding check fraud. The woman explained that she and her husband were selling various large mechanical items online on Craigslist. She had received an emails from an unknown subject inquiring about purchasing one item for $1,000 and another for $700. Each email received came from a different email address, with different names associated with each address, and the email writer did not speak English very well. One email asked the sellers to provide a full name, full physical address, and a phone number so the payment could be mailed, and asked the sellers to remove the item from Craigslist, saying that a bank certified check would be shipped to his address. The seller received another email saying the payment would be delivered via FedEx with a check in the amount of $4,545, with the extra amount to cover the shipping of the items as well as for running around expenses and the stress factor. He was instructed to deposit the check, and send the remaining amount of money to a man in Tarzana, Calif., via Western Union or Money Gram. They arrived home to find a package at their residence that was sent from one company address in Cincinnati and contained a check from a completely unrelated company in Washington, D.C. Based on the circumstances and the various names and addresses used, the wife became suspicious of the check and contacted the bank in D.C. She was advised that the check was fraudulent and was also linked to other matters; she was advised to contact the FBI. The husband had begun receiving text messages about the transaction from a phone number with an area code not used in North America. He was advised to ignore them. One of the email addresses used to contact the seller is associated with numerous internet scams.