The mystery of a vehicular homicide on a strange weekend in Farmington was solved with the Feb. 15 arrest of Trenton Trujillo, 28, of Farmington.

Veterans Day weekend in downtown Farmington kept police busy with a fatal crash at Miller Avenue and Pinon Avenue, an alleged drunken driving crash near Boyd Park that injured a pregnant woman, a body found at 213 South Orchard Ave., and a pedestrian being hit by semitrailer near the intersection of West Broadway and South Allen Avenue.

The Tri-City Record investigated all the incidents with Freedom of Information Act requests seeking information from the Farmington Police Department. At the time, the fatal crash was not found on the public blotter, and police did not provide information about it.

The Tri-City Record had unconfirmed reports of the fatal crash but could not confirm until San Juan County Detention Center records from Feb. 15 helped shed light on the crash by pointing to Trujillo’s arrest on charges of a second-degree homicide by vehicle and having an open container of alcohol.

The affidavit for arrest warrant shows Farmington Police began investigating the crash about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 10 when they arrived at the intersection of Miller and Pinon. What they found was “an older model pickup had rolled over and two occupants were ejected from the vehicle,” according to the affidavit for arrest warrant.

The 1992 GMC pickup was “lying on its passenger side,” and “items were strewed throughout the dirt parking lot,” including a bottle of “Smirnoff Vodka, 375ml” with its seal broken. Farmington Police found a marijuana pipe “lying under the vehicle’s rear passenger side roof pillar,” the warrant states.

A driver and passenger were in the truck. The passenger, who died at the scene, was not positively identified until Nov. 14, when the Office of the Medical Examiner told police it was Mike Harry.

Trujillo was the driver, but it took police a while to confirm that, according to reports.

Trujillo was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center for treatment of injuries he received in the crash, and police reportedly “overheard one of the nurses telling Trenton’s father that Trenton (Trujillo) was probably thirsty because he had been drinking alcohol,” the affidavit states.

Police submitted a blood test sample to measure Trujillo’s BAC and results on Dec. 13 showed “had a blood alcohol level of 0.15g/100mL of ethanol approximately six-and-a-half hours after the crash had occurred,” according to the affidavit for arrest warrant.

A search warrant for Trujillo’s medical records was served Jan. 29, and the records were received Feb. 5. From that police learned Trujillo’s toxicology report from the hospital showed “he had 317g/ml of ethanol,” the affidavit states.

Police determined Trujillo was driving north on Miller Avenue from Murray Drive. Neither Trujillo nor Harry were wearing seat belts, and Trujillo was reportedly under the influence of alcohol. Trujillo lost control of the vehicle on Miller just south of Corcorran and entered the dirt parking lot rolling multiple times, first ejecting Harry and then ejecting Trujillo, according to police records.

Trujillo was not arrested until Feb. 15 for the alleged drunken driving crash.

The crash that the Tri-City Record originally thought was the fatal, was at 12:45 a.m. Nov. 11 in the same area as Trujillo’s crash.

This also was an alleged drunken driving crash at the intersection of East Pinon Street and South Commercial Avenue.

Police allege Arianna Jolene Begay, 23, of Shiprock was driving her 2021 red Kia Optima while drunk, and reportedly drove through a stop sign at South Orchard Avenue and East Pinon Street, where she struck a white 2020 Nissan Altima on the driver’s side.

The Altima “had heavy driver side damage and the air bags had been deployed.” The victim, Kaila Lee, “was concerned about her pregnancy,” according to the police report. Lee was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Begay also was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center. She reportedly admitted to police that she had been drinking. She stated she had worked a 12-hour shift and then went to the home of her boss and consumed a Coors Light Beer, according to the police report.

The officer stated that Begay’s eyes were “red, blood shot and watery,” and he could “smell the odor of an intoxicating beverage” on the woman, who said she had been in the Sam’s Club parking lot, but fell asleep and woke up to begin driving to her brother’s house near the Bloomfield Highway, according to the report.

Begay reportedly suffered from knee and head pain after the crash, but was released from the hospital and was booked into the San Juan County Detention Center on charges of DWI, failing to obey a sign and no proof of insurance.

Court records show there is no longer a DWI charge against Begay. She faces three citations: one for speeding, which carries a $30 fine; one for improper display of registration plate, which carries a $25 fine; and one for no proof of insurance, which carries a $300 fine.

A bench trial for Begay will be April 22 in Magistrate Stacey Biel’s courtroom.

A few hours after both traffic crashes, at 6 a.m. Nov. 11 Farmington Police were called to the 200 block of South Orchard Avenue, where the body of Nelson Dallas Cowboy, 57, of Farmington, was found.

Cowboy was released from the San Juan County Detention Center less than 24 hours earlier at 8:22 a.m. Nov. 10, according to police and jail records.

Cowboy reportedly was drinking the night before his death. He shared a blanket with two other men at 11 p.m. on Nov. 10, according to the men, – Ronald Hanley, 51, and Orale Nathaniel, 34. The two men told police they noticed Cowboy had stopped breathing at 3 a.m. Nov. 11, but they did not have a phone to call 911, according to the police report.

Henry McLaron, 46, came upon the men and found that Cowboy had no pulse or breath. McLaron reported it to police, and Cowboy was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, where he was declared dead at 6:38 a.m.

Four hours later, Farmington Police were back in the same neighborhood, when they responded at 10:06 a.m. Nov. 11 to a “vehicle vs. pedestrian crash” at the intersection of West Broadway and South Allen Avenue.

A Kenworth truck belonging to Doug Foutz struck a pedestrian identified as Adrian Denetchiley, 38, of Farmington. When police arrived, he was lying on his back near the intersection of Allen and Broadway and “had major trauma” to his head and leg.

Denetchiley was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center and then was flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital. His condition was not released.

The semitrailer driver, Curtis Begay, 50, of Shiprock told police was he driving “westbound on Main in the inside lane” when he crossed “the crosswalk on the east side of Allen and Main.” When “he looked back in his mirror he observed the male walk in to the rear of his trailer,” the police report states.

Police said the semitrailer was “several hundred feet west” of where the pedestrian was.

Police described Begay as being “visibly upset. He was pacing back and forth, and his voice was shaking.” He also was evaluated by medical staff at the scene, according to the report.

Begay was given a portable breath test at the scene, and it showed he was not drinking, the reports states.