Police Blotter | K-9 sniffs out narcotics worth $6,000

HOLBROOK

The Navajo County sheriff reports that on Dec. 3, at approximately 2:39 a.m., a sergeant with the Navajo County Criminal Interdiction Unit stopped a car on State Route 73 near milepost 357 in Pinetop.

During the stop, K-9 “Zolton” was deployed and alerted. A probable cause search revealed between 200 to 300 pills believed to be Fentanyl and four to five Xanax pills. The estimated street value for the pills is approximately $6,000.

Twenty-five-year-old Lakeside resident Matt Lee Savage was arrested and booked for transportation of narcotic drugs for sale, possession of narcotic drugs for sale, possession of narcotic drugs, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Savage is currently being held on a $50,000 cash or surety bond.

I-40 crash in Albuquerque kills 1

ALBUQUERQUE – Alcohol appears to be a factor in a Sunday crash on Interstate 40 that killed one driver.

At approximately 9:11 p.m., the New Mexico State Police were called to investigate the crash near milepost 156.

The initial investigation indicated a 2022 Freightliner Commercial Motor Vehicle, occupied by a 46-year-old driver and a 44-year-old passenger, both from Texas, were traveling west on I-40.

Near milepost 156, the CMV slowed down for traffic that was backed up from a prior vehicle crash. For unknown reasons, a 2005 Hyundai passenger car, driven by 25-year-old Albuquerque resident Mickey Ramirez, who was also traveling west on I-40, struck the rear end of the CMV.

Ramirez was pronounced deceased on scene by the Office of Medical Investigator. Both occupants in the CMV were uninjured.

On Monday the crash was under investigation by the New Mexico State Police.