Police Blotter

A pickup reported stolen from outside the Methodist Thrift Shop on Oct. 2 was found that evening in a field off Cactus Street, and a woman was booked on suspicion of motor vehicle theft and DUI, according to Cortez Police Department reports.

The following items are drawn from incident reports released by the Cortez Police Department for Sept. 30 through Oct. 7. An arrest, summons or citation is an accusation, not a conviction, and everyone named is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The Cortez Current updates blotter items when charges are dismissed or cases are resolved.

Wednesday, Sept. 30

2:12 p.m., 444 E. Main St. (Methodist Thrift Shop). Officers responded to a report of an intoxicated man lying near the store entrance. An employee asked that he be moved from the property, according to the report. Police said Robert Grisham refused to stand or leave, resisted being taken for a medical evaluation and resisted arrest. After he was medically cleared at Southwest Memorial Hospital, he was booked into the Montezuma County Detention Center on a Cortez Municipal Court summons for trespassing and resisting arrest.

6:13 p.m., 730 E. Driscoll St. (Montezuma County Jail). Lindsey Newcomb, who was already in a holding cell, was served with a Montezuma County Combined Courts warrant in case 25CR62 and booked.

Thursday, Oct. 1

9:07 a.m., 516 S. Madison St. (Sleeping Ute Apartments). Officers responded to a call that a man reported as an escapee from Community Corrections in Montrose was at the complex. They arrested Julivan Denetdeal in a parked car outside one of the buildings. Police said he had an active warrant in case 24CR5023, which a sergeant’s report described as a felony robbery warrant. He was served with the warrant, issued a summons for violation of a protection order and booked into the Montezuma County Detention Center.

10:08 a.m., 806 S. Broadway (Handy Mart). An officer stopped a gold Honda Accord with Utah plates for a cracked windshield. The driver, Jimmie Phillips, was arrested on six active Montezuma County Combined Courts warrants and issued a summons for driving with a revoked license as a habitual traffic offender and for an obstructed view, according to the report. A passenger, James Hargrove, was arrested on a separate county warrant. Both were booked into the Montezuma County Jail.

1:09 p.m., 425 N. Roger Smith Ave. (recreation center pavilion). A woman told police two men yelled at her as she left the park with her dog. Both men denied it, according to the report. Ronnie Summa Jr. was issued a Cortez Municipal Court summons for open container and possession of alcohol in a park, along with a 30-day trespass notice covering all city parks.

1:41 p.m., Centennial Park and Veterans Park. A caller reported a man urinating on a tree near the duck pond and playground. An officer located Summa in Veterans Park shortly afterward. Summa denied urinating in the park, according to the report. He was issued a summons for indecent exposure and criminal trespass, and his parks trespass notice was extended to one year, through Oct. 1, 2027.

1:25 p.m., 730 E. Driscoll St. (Montezuma County Jail). Marissa Lindsey turned herself in at the bonding window and was booked on three failure-to-appear warrants.

2:40 p.m., 210 E. Main St. (The Piñon Project). Desirae Taggart was arrested on a Cortez Municipal Court warrant and booked into the Montezuma County Jail.

4:20 p.m., 210 E. Main St. (The Piñon Project). Kaneesha Greyhair was arrested on a Montezuma County Combined Courts warrant in case 26T305. She was medically cleared at Southwest Memorial Hospital before being booked.

4:26 p.m., 210 E. Main St. (The Piñon Project). Raymond Miles was arrested on a Cortez Municipal Court failure-to-appear warrant. He was medically cleared at Southwest Memorial Hospital before being booked.

Friday, Oct. 2

9:08 a.m., Seventh and Sligo streets (field behind Big R). John James was issued a Cortez Municipal Court summons for trespassing after an officer saw him walking through the field. Police said he had been issued a trespass notice for the location on Aug. 8. He told the officer he was just walking through, according to the report.

12:22 p.m., 444 E. Main St. (Methodist Thrift Shop). A man reported that his Dodge Dakota pickup was taken from in front of the store while he was inside. He told police he tried to get into the truck to stop the driver and fell as it pulled away; he declined medical attention. Police said the pickup went over a curb onto Main Street and struck a parked, unoccupied silver vehicle, pushing it into a white vehicle whose owner left before officers arrived. The owner told police that Leandria Begay had been in the passenger seat when he went into the store and did not have permission to take the truck.

About 6:58 p.m., officers found the pickup in a field near the Dolores Water Conservancy District office, 60 Cactus St., and arrested Begay. Police said officers found open containers of alcohol in the truck. Begay was taken to Southwest Memorial Hospital, where she provided a blood sample under Colorado’s express consent law, according to the report. She was booked into the Montezuma County Jail on a felony hold on suspicion of third-degree motor vehicle theft, DUI, failing to report an accident involving damage, reckless driving, driving without a valid license, failing to present proof of insurance and having an open alcoholic beverage container. The truck was returned to its owner.

11:50 p.m., traffic stop. Officers stopped and detained Tyreese Tyndall, whom they had been looking for since a disturbance reported about 10:13 p.m. in the 1400 block of North Mildred Road. Police said he was arrested in connection with a domestic violence investigation and was also investigated for suspected DUI. He declined breath and blood testing, according to the report. The portion of the report released did not list the final charges.

Saturday, Oct. 3

1:26 a.m., 921 E. Main St. (Speedway). An officer responded to a disturbance inside the store. A clerk told police that Edwin Lehi had tried to fight him and another customer and asked that Lehi be removed from the property. Police said Lehi had been issued a non-expiring trespass notice for the location in 2019. He was arrested, medically cleared at Southwest Memorial Hospital and booked into jail on a Cortez Municipal Court summons for trespass and disturbing the peace.

7:21 p.m., 1835 E. Main St. (Walmart). Ashley Murphy was issued a Cortez Municipal Court summons for shoplifting after a store loss prevention employee reported nine items worth $115.50 were taken without payment. She was also issued a non-expiring trespass notice for the store. A court appearance is set for Nov. 9.

Monday, Oct. 5

4:27 a.m., 505 E. Main St. (Super 8). An officer responded to a guest’s 911 call reporting that someone had entered his room through a window. The officer found the window locked and no sign anyone else had been in the room, according to the report. The caller, David Greenlee, was arrested on a Cortez Municipal Court warrant stemming from an earlier theft summons for allegedly not paying for a restaurant meal. He told the officer he did not know about the warrant and was booked without incident.

Tuesday, Oct. 6

10:02 p.m., 100 block of North Sligo Street. A resident reported that a man threw an object at her home; an officer found a beer can at the scene. A second caller reported a man yelling in a field and throwing something at the Big O Tires building. Officers located Michael McCoy in a nearby alley about 10:07 p.m. He was arrested, taken to the Montezuma County Jail and served with a Cortez Municipal Court summons for disturbing the peace.

Wednesday, Oct. 7

3:10 a.m., alley near 10 W. Fifth St. A Farmington, New Mexico, man was arrested for disturbing the peace after officers were called three times in about two hours about a man yelling in the alley. Police said he had been warned twice to quiet down. He was medically cleared at Southwest Memorial Hospital for an ankle injury and booked into the Montezuma County Jail on a Cortez Municipal Court summons. The report identifies him only by a first name.

9:48 a.m., 140 W. Main St. (Montezuma County offices). Staff reported an unwanted person in a restroom and told police they wanted to press charges. Officers located Matthew Aguirre nearby. Police said he had previously been trespassed from the property and had an active Cortez Municipal Court warrant for trespassing. He was arrested, served with the warrant and a new summons for trespassing, and booked into the Montezuma County Jail.

6:57 p.m., 830 E. Main St. (Veterans Park). Vernon Begay was arrested on a Montezuma County failure-to-appear warrant in a DUI case, 21T0529. Darshina Toledo was arrested at the same location on a Cortez Municipal Court warrant. Both were medically cleared at Southwest Memorial Hospital before being booked into the Montezuma County Jail.