A DUI checkpoint screening conducted by the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend netted one DUI arrest.
According to a Sheriff’s office report, every fifth vehicle was contacted at county roads H and 25 south of Cortez between 9 and 11 p.m., a total of 21 vehicles. All were cleared but one in which the driver had an open bottle of an alcoholic beverage in the front seat. The report, which does not identify the driver, says the suspect was told to pull over, but instead accelerated rapidly, speeding south on Road 25 and endangering officers working the checkpoint. Pursued by Cortez police, the driver was contacted about a mile and a half away without incident. The driver reportedly had a BAC of .294 and an unrestrained infant in the right front seat, and was charged with numerous offenses. Sheriff Steve Nowlin says DUI checkpoints pay off because they serve as a deterrent, and he has been urged to conduct more.
