Santa Fe fire captain arrested on suspicion of drunken driving

Victoria Traxler, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read

Apr. 24—A Santa Fe fire captain was arrested and charged with aggravated DWI after authorities say he drove to work drunk.

Julius Aragon, a captain at Fire Station No. 3, was pulled over by a Santa Fe County sheriff's deputy around 7 p.m. March 21 after the officer saw a white GMC Yukon swerving on Interstate 25, according to a criminal complaint filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.

He had "blood shot, watery eyes, an odor of an alcohol beverage emitting from his breath and slurred speech," the deputy wrote. Aragon told the deputy he was on his way to work and admitted to drinking a beer.

Aragon was arrested after he "displayed signs of impairment" during field sobriety tests, the complaint stated.

He was later charged with aggravated driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor and failure to maintain lanes.

Aragon refused a breathalyzer test and was booked into the Santa Fe County jail.

Court records show Aragon's charges were dismissed the following day and he was released from jail. However, the District Attorney's Office said that does not mean the case is closed.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies wrote in an email that DWI charges that have been filed the same day often are dropped. Most often, these cases are refiled within 30 to 60 days, she said.

"We do this because we need complete discovery from our partner police departments before we can move forward with prosecuting the case," Carmack-Altwies said. "Prior to this policy, the office was losing more than 60 percent of magistrate DWI cases because we did not have complete discovery so the judges were dismissing the cases."

The case is still open internally, she continued, and upon receiving the full discovery, which includes police reports or blood-alcohol content tests, it will be evaluated for refiling.

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