Police Blotter: Man sentenced in DWI wreck where he abandoned family

ALBUQUERQUE

Gregory Secatero, 33, who was arrested for DWI shortly after wrecking his vehicle just west of the To’hajillee School, has been sentenced in federal district court to 41 months in prison.

His sentence stems from an accident he had at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 17 that left his wife/girlfriend and two children injured while he fled from the area before police showed up.

When Navajo police arrived on the scene, they found out that Secatero’s wife/girlfriend and two children, ages two and six, had been ejected when the vehicle rolled over. All were taken to a hospital in Albuquerque and were treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries.

One witness who came upon the scene, identified in the complaint as “MM,” said she walked up to a woman who was laying in the roadway and immediately recognized her as her niece.

She said she told her niece not to move and covered her with a blanket. It was at this point, she said,that she saw Secatero crawl out of his vehicle and sit down next to his wife/girlfriend.

MM told him not to move her and he then got to his feet and walked back to his car where he just stood for a few minutes before walking off.

Other witnesses were taking care of the two children.

It was not until Navajo police arrived at the scene, according to the complaint, that anyone realized that Secatero was no longer there.

Police immediately began a search and found him a little later several miles away by the To’hajiilee Community Center,

He was taken back to the crash site and officers immediately picked up on the fact that an odor of intoxicating liquor was coming from his person.

He was asked and consented to do a field sobriety test and when he failed, he was arrested on a charge of DWI. Several hours after his arrest, he was given a breath alcohol test and posted an alcohol level of .12, far above the legal limit of .08.

His wife/girlfriend later confirmed to police that he had been driving when the accident occurred and that the two of them had been drinking vodka the night before.

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