Aztec man arrested after alleged drunk crash, airsoft shooting in Farmington
A blue Audi Q5 allegedly fired airsoft pellets at a bicyclist, swerved at her and crashed into a Farmington motel lot with two intoxicated juveniles inside.
Emeleo Ross, 20, of Aztec, was arrested after police say a drunk drive through Farmington with two intoxicated juveniles escalated into an airsoft shooting, a near-hit with a bicyclist and a crash at a motel parking lot. Ross faces two counts of abuse of a child, one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a petty misdemeanor aggravated DWI.
Police say the incident began around 12:13 a.m. May 25 in the 400 block of Pima Avenue in Farmington, where a passenger in Ross’s blue Audi Q5 was allegedly shooting at people from the vehicle. A woman riding an electric bike reported being struck by projectiles near her lip and right eye. When she confronted the car, Ross allegedly swerved toward her and narrowly missed her before fleeing the area.
The vehicle then drove into a curb and crashed in the Motel 6 parking lot at 1600 Bloomfield Blvd. in Farmington. Ross reportedly admitted he had swerved toward the woman while escaping because he was scared. Officers said they observed bloodshot, watery eyes and smelled alcohol on him, and Ross refused both a field sobriety test and a breath test.
Inside the car, police reportedly found an open bottle of Pink Whitney, multiple cans of Twisted Tea and a dark-colored bong, along with an Orbi airsoft gun. The two juveniles in the backseat were described as a teen boy and a teen girl. The case was investigated by Farmington police, and the criminal counts reflect the risk officers say Ross created for both the minors in the car and people outside it.
Ross is scheduled for a preliminary examination at 8:30 a.m. June 4 in Aztec Magistrate Court, part of the Eleventh Judicial District. The arrest lands in the middle of a broader juvenile violence concern in San Juan County, where the sheriff’s office and Farmington police said a joint operation identified 30 juveniles and at least two adults involved in violent criminal activity over a three-week period.
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