SUNDAY, SEPT. 21
A deputy on patrol westbound on CR G observed a vehicle speeding over the limit of 40 mph. The driver was clocked at 55 mph, and was pulled over. The deputy noticed the smell of fresh marijuana coming from the interior of the vehicle. The male driver denied having anything illegal in the car. When told that the deputy was going to run his K9 around the vehicle, the driver then admitted he had two joints and a pipe in the car. The driver told the deputy where it was hidden, and two joints and a multi-colored glass pipe was located. The driver was charged with possession of the items and given a verbal warning for speeding.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24
A woman came to the Sheriffs Office to report stolen checks. She showed a deputy copies of three notices she had received from a collection company for three checks that were written to the Maverick Store on Hwy. 491 in the amounts of $65, $40, and $40. The woman stated that she had closed the bank account that the checks were written from approximately six years earlier, and she thought she had destroyed all the checks to that account. She provided the deputy with a check she had written from her current local bank account, the it was noted that the writing on this check was significantly different from the writing on the three others. The woman did not know who had taken the checks from her residence. The deputy will contact the manager of the Maverick Store to obtain surveillance video for the time frame that the three checks were written. Investigation continues.
A deputy responded to a residence in the county to assist another deputy with a complaint of a dangerous/vicious dog, described as a pit bull. The deputy had also been to the same residence in March to advise the male owner of the same dog that the dog had bitten a woman. The deputy observed as the first deputy knocked on the front door and the dogs owner answered. Two dogs exited the house, one of them being the pit bull, who began to smell the deputys leg, and then bit him below the knee. The second deputy had to spray the dog with OC spray, which caused it to let go and run off the porch and underneath it, where it stayed the remainder of the time they were there. The dogs owner was issued a summons for unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog. Photos were taken of the deputys injuries and admitted into evidence.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 26
A deputy on patrol observed an SUV turn from Hwy. 160 turn onto Hwy. 145 at an intersection without using a turn signal. Additionally, the driver had numerous items hanging from the interior rearview mirror, obstructing the drivers view. The deputy stopped the SUV and could immediately smell the odor of burnt marijuana as he approached the vehicle. The driver was a 20-year-old male; in the SUV with him were a 16-year-old male, two 18-year-old males, and a 16-year-old female. The deputy told the driver he could smell burnt marijuana, and after an initial denial, the driver turned over a glass smoking pipe with marijuana residue in it. All occupants of the SUV were searched, and the front seat passenger had a lighter and a plastic baggie with marijuana residue in it. A search of the SUV revealed a pair of tweezers commonly used to smoke marijuana cigarettes and a package of rolling papers. The driver and passenger were issued summons for possession of drug paraphernalia.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 27
A deputy assisted Cortez Police Department in town with a vehicle that was failing to yield to lights and sirens. The deputy located and got behind the suspect vehicle and pursuing police vehicles on S. Oak St. The suspect vehicle failed to stop at multiple stop signs and was traveling at approximately 60 mph in a 30 mph zone southbound on CR 25. The suspect vehicle turned east on a road and continued until the road came to a dead end at the county landfill, which is blocked off by a gate. The vehicle tried to make a U-turn at the gate and the deputy positioned his patrol vehicle in a diagonal position to block the suspects car, which attempted to go around him and drove off an embankment on the north side of the road. The deputy observed a male exit the drivers seat of the car, hanging onto it to maintain his balance, and law enforcement yelled at him to get down on the ground. Since the driver was not doing what he was told, the deputy put him down on the ground. A woman was observed sitting in the passenger seat in the car, and she was handcuffed. She complied with commands. The driver, who was heavily intoxicated, told the deputy that he did not want to talk to him about the incident. The drivers license came back as cancelled/denied in Colorado. He was left in the care and custody of jail staff. A deputy searching the car located a small bag of marijuana.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 28
A deputy conducting a security check at Totten Lake observed a pickup truck coming towards him on the county road that left the roadway onto the gravel directly in front of the deputys patrol car. As the deputy followed the pickup, it again left the roadway into the gravel and then abruptly pulled back onto the road. The deputy pulled the pickup over and asked the young male driver for his license and car papers. After fumbling through paperwork, the intoxicated driver paused and then turned and looked at the deputy and stated, What do you want again? The deputy observed six empty beer cans and an open bottle of Tequila on the front passenger floorboard, and an open 30-pack of beer cans in the bed of the truck. After asking the driver a third time for license, registration and insurance, the driver continued to fumble around, and asked the deputy to just let him go, that he was almost to his house. As he continued to search for his license, the deputy asked him where he usually kept it, and the driver said, In my wallet. He then reached into his right front pocket and pulled out a wallet and said Here it is. When the deputy asked him if he was willing to perform voluntary roadside maneuvers, the driver said Why? and when it was explained to him, he asked Do I have to? He then stated that he had just gotten arrested in Durango and couldnt get in any more trouble, and asked the deputy to just follow him home. The deputy informed him that he couldnt do that. The driver asked the deputy what the legal alcohol limit was, and when told a BAC of .080 or greater is a DUI in Colorado, he said Im over that, I know it. He was arrested and charged with DUI and weaving, and was left in the care and custody of jail staff.