Prewitt man gets 2 DWI arrests in only one month

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A Prewitt man has been arrested for aggravated DWI two times 22 days apart.

He appeared in Cibola Magistrate Court twice two days apart once for each arrest and had his second aggravated DWI charge reduced to DWI first offense.

Gabriel Lolito, 20, was arrested shortly after 2 a.m., Dec. 23, 2006 and about 1:40 a.m., Jan. 14, 2007, by Grants police and New Mexico State Police, respectively.

In the first incident, Cpl. Salvador Corral stopped Lolito because the car he was driving matched a vehicle from a previous call in which the individuals in the vehicle were seen drinking. Corral observed the vehicle swerving between marked lanes in the road, according to Magistrate Court records.

Corral stated in a report that he noticed Lolito's eyes were watery and that he had slurred speech and failed the field sobriety tests.

At the police station Lolito was tested with the intoxylizer after a 20 minute waiting period and blew .17 twice, court records state.

On Jan. 14, a state police officer found Lolito with his vehicle after Lolito drove off the road on Haversack Road. Lolito was stuck in soft dirt and spinning the tires on his vehicle trying to get back on the road, court records state.

The officer noticed Lolito's eyes were watery and his speech was slurred. When the officer gave Lolito several police field tests for sobriety, he failed them all. When he was given the intoxylizer tests at the state police substation in Milan, he tested .20 twice, according to court records. The state's legal limit for alcohol in a person to be arrested in connection with DWI is .08.

Lolito appeared in Magistrate Court on March 27 and 29, 2007 in connection with both arrests.

In court
On March 27, Lolito pleaded no contest to aggravated DWI. On March 29, the second arrest in connection for aggravated DWI, Lolito's charge was reduced in a plea agreement between his attorney Gary Fernandez and a prosecutor from the 13th Judicial District Attorney's Office to DWI, first offense.

As a result of both appearances in court, Lolito is required to pay $94 to the court, having $1,430 assessed, $1,000 of which was suspended by the judges and $326 credited for time served (nine days) in the Cibola County Detention Center. Lolito appeared once before each of the Magistrate Court's judges, Jackie Fisher and Manuel Lujan.

Randolph M. Collins, deputy district attorney, said the prosecutor got a conviction, and convictions are what the DA's office is seeking.

If Lolito continues his behavior (drinking and driving), these two convictions will go toward a felony charge of DWI on the fourth arrest, Collins said.

Release orders
As part of his release order from jail, after posting bond, Lolito was ordered by both Magistrate Court judges to enter a program with, and comply with, any recommendations by the Cibola County Community Compliance program.

He has only 180 days of supervised probation instead of 360, for the two DWIs, ending on Sept., 23, 2007, because his sentences are to run concurrently, according to court records.

Instead of serving 48 hours of community service, he will only serve 24 hours of community service, court records state.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197, or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.