Staff Reports
Featured DWI
April 16, 6:05 pm
Aggravated DWI
New Mexico State Police stopped a vehicle that was swerving across the road and eventually arrested a Ganado, Ariz., woman for DWI.
Officer Merlin Benally was patrolling westbound on Highway 264 when he saw a silver Nissan Murano in front of him cross over the white edge line multiple times, going as far as four feet off the road before swerving back into the lane.
Once past a construction area, Benally initiated a traffic stop. It took a bit longer for the vehicle to pull over, but it eventually did so near mile marker 10. Benally met the driver, Marsha Trotter, 47.
As she spoke, Trotter reportedly showed signs of intoxication including slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, and difficulty answering Benally’s questions. After exiting the vehicle, she admitted to drinking two bottles of wine sometime prior to driving. A search of the vehicle showed 11 containers of Shutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon.
Trotter agreed to take the Standard Field Sobriety Tests. However, she performed poorly on the tests and was placed under arrest. She initially refused to give a breath sample but then agreed to the test once they arrived at the local state police office. She posted samples of .20 and .19.
Once the paperwork was completed, Trotter was taken to McKinley County Adult Detention Center and booked for aggravated DWI, failure to maintain lane, open container, and no insurance. Her pretrial hearing is set for May 19.
Name: Ricky Lopez
Age: 78
Arrested: April 18
Charge: DWI
Status: Pretrial hearing on May 19
Name: Kevin Begay
Age: 21
Arrested: April 17
Charge: DWI
Status: Pretrial hearing on May 19
Name: Garrett Emerson
Age: 44
Arrested: April 17
Charge: Aggravated DWI
Status: Pretrial hearing on May 19
Name: Lyle James
Age: 20
Arrested: April 17
Charge: Aggravated DWI
Status: Pretrial hearing on May 5
