TUESDAY, JULY 17
Two deputies were dispatched to a rural address regarding a stolen vehicle and met with a man and and a woman who told them that they had left around 5 p.m. and returned at 9:20 p.m. to find the mans sedan missing. The woman thought that it was probably her son who had taken it, as he had been to the residence on a few occasions when he needed money to drink and had been asked to leave each time. The keys had been left inside the vehicle. The male said that he did want to pursue charges. An attempt to locate call was dispatched to law enforcement, and dispatch also advised that the suspects drivers license came back as revoked. One of the deputies saw a sedan matching the description parked on the side of a convenience store on Hwy. 184, and it was identified as the missing car. K-9 units attempted to track the suspect from the scene, but were unsuccessful. A description was obtained on the suspects appearance and another deputy aired a call that he had a visual on him at a nearby location, where the suspect was running down a county road and jumped a fence along the road. The investigation continues.
THURSDAY, JULY 19
A deputy was contacted by a woman who had been the victim of a phone fraud that cost her $3,722 dollars. She had gotten a call from a man who identified himself as the representative for the Unclaimed Prize Department of Publishers Continental Sweepstakes, who had informed her she was the winner of a $395,000 prize that was sponsored by the United Negro Fund and had been deposited into a bank in Costa Rica. During this initial call, the woman provided some personal information to the man. He called back the following day and told her that her prize had been sent but was currently being held in U.S. Customs in Dallas, and told her to call a woman at a phone number. She was contacted by another man who claimed to be an agent of U.S. Customs, who told her that the Costa Rican government was demanding 1 percent of the total prize, $3,950, and she was given the option to pay half up front. She paid $1,774.50 plus fees equalling around $100 in the form of a Western Union money order to a man in Costa Rica who was supposedly the facilitator for the American Embassy. She was contacted again by a man demanding more money. This time the woman sent the total amount of $1,947.50 in the form of a U.S. Postal Service money order to an address in Miami, Fla. She was contacted again by another man who claimed to be from Sonic Air, a delivery service who demanded $2,400 from her to deliver the package. At this point, the woman refused to send any more money and became suspicious. Traces of the various phone numbers given to the woman led back to India. Another number she had been given led back to a supposed law firm in Rogers, Arkansas, where an employee refused to give any information. The phone number originates in China. There are no identifed suspects at this time.
FRIDAY, JULY 20
A deputy patrolling on Hwy. 145 observed a pickup truck in front of him weaving and pulled it over. As the deputy approached the passenger side, he observed the driver looking out the drivers side window to see if he was approaching. The driver opened the center console and grabbed a can of Axe body spray and quickly sprayed it around the inside of the cab of the truck. The deputy knocked on the window to get his attention, and when the driver rolled down the window, the smell of the Axe body spray was overwhelming. The driver was asked for ID and provided a drivers license with a hole punched in it. He was told to exit the vehicle, and demonstrated several indicators of intoxication. He was told that his license was not valid, and while he fumbled through his wallet, the deputy could smell the odor of an intoxicating beverage coming from him. He admitted to having a couple of beers at the lake. The driver failed voluntary roadside maneuvers and a portable breath test. He was charged with DUI, and was left in the care and custody of jail staff.
A deputy spoke with a county resident who reported that his home had been broken into and a suspect had removed several firearms and ski equipment. He had received a phone call from a neighbor who named a man who had broken in and stolen the items. The deputy checked the scene and observed that all three of the property owners guns were missing, and found a window standing open in a bedroom, and he also found a storage shed that had been kicked or forced open. A neighbor informed the deputy that a former employee had stopped at his residence to pick up some tools he had left, and the neighbor saw tools that belonged to him in the back of the suspects vehicle and also saw a handgun. The suspect tried to sell the handgun to the neighbor, who recognized it as a gun belonging to the reporting party. He asked the suspect if he had taken it from the house next door, and the suspect admitted he had. The neighbor told him to return it to the house, and the suspect said he would, and then left. The neighbor had also witnessed the suspect near the residence. Another witness had also observed the suspect near the victims residence, and his vehicle had skis in the back.
SATURDAY, JULY 21
A deputy observed a vehicle traveling south on Hwy. 160 at a speed faster than the posted speed limit of 55 mph, and was clocked at going 67 mph. He contacted the female driver and her male passenger. The woman said that she didnt have her drivers license on her, and the deputy noticed that she exhibited several physical indicators of intoxication. She admitted first to having two beers at a Cortez bar and said she was giving her friend a ride home. When asked to exit the vehicle to do some voluntary roadside maneuvers, she stated that she had lied to the deputy and that she had actually drank six beers, but was just about to go to her friends house. During the attempt to perform roadside maneuvers, the woman would stop and state that she was going to lose her job because of this. She refused to take chemical blood or breath tests, despite being told she would lose her license for one year if she refused. She was charged with DUI and speeding. She was left in the care and custody of jail staff.
SUNDAY, JULY 22
A deputy responded to a location on Hwy. 160 for a reported vehicle parked in the middle of the lane of travel. As he headed to the location, he heard another deputy at the location report that the vehicle was parked in the westbound lane of traffic, and as he arrived, he saw the vehicle begin to drive westbound. When asked if the driver was running from him, the deputy stated no, that the driver was incoherent and was passed out in the vehicle. They got behind the vehicle which pulled into a driveway on Hwy. 160 and stopped. When they contacted her, the woman driving the car exhibited several physical indicators of intoxication; she was asked if she was okay, and said that she was and asked what they were doing. When told she was passed out in her car in the lane of traffic, and began to drive away when the deputy had contacted her, she stated that she was not passed out in the car and had never stopped driving. She was asked to step out of the vehicle, and she rolled up the window and attempted to open the door, but couldnt because it was locked. A deputy had to unlock the door for her, and she was asked to step out of the car. When asked to provide ID, she handed the deputy a credit card. When the deputy told her this was not her ID, she stated that the credit card was all she had. She said her license was out of New Mexico, and claimed that she had only had one mixed drink earlier in the evening in Durango. She failed voluntary roadside maneuvers and refused all chemical testing. Her car was towed and she was charged with DUI and driving under restraint - cancelled/denied license. She was left in the care and custody of jail staff.
