Police Blotter 3/10

The manager of a Clovis ice cream shop called police about 1 p.m. Thursday to report that someone had cut the phone lines to the business overnight in a possible attempt to disable the alarm system. Police took a report and located a folding chair outside the business that may have been used to reach the phone lines.

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A bank manager called police about 3 p.m. Thursday to report possible bank fraud. The manager said a 36-year-old Clovis man had opened a bank account on Feb. 19 and three days later deposited a personal check for $2,480 from an Albuquerque resident, shortly thereafter withdrawing the same amount. Two days later, the Albuquerque bank reported the account had been closed.

The man and a female friend tried to open an account about two weeks later at another Clovis bank with a $1,500 check drawn on the first Clovis bank account that was now overdrawn, were informed they needed to open the account with cash, did so, and then attempted to deposit a check from the first Clovis account in the drive-through window of the second bank. The couple left when they were asked to come inside the bank to explain the unusual pattern of transactions.

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A waitress at a Clovis bar called police about 3:30 p.m. Thursday to report that a patron was possibly using a false ID to obtain alcohol.

When police arrived, the man presented an ID card showing he was 20 years old and denied drinking the beer in front of him, saying he had only been drinking water. The waitress said he had used a different ID card with a different name and age. Police arrested him on charges of allowing a minor to be served and presenting false evidence of age.

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While scanning cars with a radar gun about 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the 1100 block of West Seventh Street, police clocked a 1993 Honda Accord speeding 51 mph. The driver successfully evaded police and the car was found abandoned at the 900 block of West 13th Street.

Police went to the house of the registered owner, whose wife told police her husband was supposed to be out looking for a job and shopping at Wal-Mart. Police reported they would seek a warrant for the driver’s arrest on charges of aggravated fleeing, reckless driving, running two stop signs, speeding, expired registration and an expired driver’s license.

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About 5:15 p.m. Friday afternoon, police responded to the corner of Commerce Way and Sheldon Street where a 1993 Toyota driven by a 63-year-old Clovis woman was struck by a Clovis police car.

The woman said she was southbound on Sheldon, stopped at the stop sign at Commerce, saw a vehicle to her right start to make a right turn, and entered the intersection thinking she could make it across the intersection. While trying to cross the intersection she was hit from her left by the police car. The woman said she had a left shoulder injury but declined an ambulance.

Officers cited the woman for failure to yield from a stop sign.

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While on routine patrol about 10:30 p.m. Friday, police noticed a white Ford Tempo go over the curb while turning onto West Manana from MLK Boulevard. Police stopped the car in a driveway that turned out to be the man’s house and conducted field sobriety tests on the 42-year-old male driver from Clovis, which he failed. Later breath alcohol tests yielded results of 0.18 and 0.17.

The driver was arrested and booked for aggravated driving while intoxicated, possession of cocaine and open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle. During the incident, his wife came out of their house and began shouting profanity at officers. Officers arrested the woman after she repeatedly refused to go back inside and transported her to the county jail.

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About 1:45 a.m. Saturday, officers observed a westbound silver Honda Accord fail to stop for the flashing red light at the corner of Main and 21st streets. The driver admitted to drinking two beers and smoking a marijuana joint. Officers arrested him for possession of marijuana and for a stop light violation.

Police Blotter is compiled by CNJ staff writer Darrell Todd Maurina. He can be contacted at 763-6991 or:

[email protected]