Delegate busted for DWI

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Navajo Nation Council Delegate Willie Begay was arrested Oct. 31 for driving drunk.

This is Begay’s third DWI charge. Begay represents Chilchinbeto and Kayenta chapters.

He was charged with aggravated DWI once in August 1999 and again in August of 2006, according to the New Mexico courts Web site and Gallup Magistrate Court records, which do not reflect charges in any other jurisdiction. Begay lives in Kayenta.

Begay incurred the latest DWI charge at around 10:30 p.m. on Halloween night, when a New Mexico State Police officer stopped him for not having a working license plate illumination lamp. Upon making contact with Begay, the officer reported an “odor of an intoxicating beverage coming from inside the vehicle.”

“I noticed that the driver’s eyes were bloodshot, watery and glassy,” the report reads. “His speech was slurred.”
Begay failed field sobriety tests and blew a .10 on the Breathalyzer. The legal limit in New Mexico is .08.
He was later booked on charges including DWI, his second offense, improper equipment and failure to present valid vehicle registration.

Begay was charged in 1999 with aggravated DWI in tandem with an open container charge, however he was never convicted on the DWI charge. In 2006, Begay was convicted of aggravated DWI along with careless driving and sentenced to complete a DWI Intervention class, according to court records.

On Oct. 31, Begay was being held on $3,000 cash or surety bond. By Nov. 3, he was released on certain conditions, including: That he appear in court when summoned; That he not possess firearms or dangerous weapons; That he not possess or consume alcohol or enter a liquor establishment.

Begay could not be reached for comment Tuesday.