Fidel Castro might have relinquished power to his brother Raul, but surely he didn’t slip into the United States, pound five brews and get behind the wheel of an automobile in Basalt, right?
Right. But another person named Fidel Castro did get pulled over after allegedly failing to come to a stop last Saturday at the intersection of Midland Avenue and Emma Road. This Castro — not the leftist guerilla leader turned Cuban dictator — was “visibly intoxicated,” emitted a strong odor of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes, according to Basalt Police Chief Keith Ikeda.
He told the officer he had five beers, the chief said. Castro’s blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit, Ikeda said, and the 20-year-old Basalt resident was taken to jail and charged with driving under the influence, driving a vehicle with excessive alcohol content, and failure to stop.
In other police news:
— Teenagers getting wasted and going to the movies is an age-old pastime. But what is not usual is for the perps to get caught. Here’s a surefire way to ensure that you do: Make a lot of noise in the movie theater, leave early and while making your way up the aisle, stumble into an off-duty police officer who previously hushed you.
That’s what Basalt resident Casey McClanahan, 19, allegedly did at a Movieland screening of “Step Brothers” on Monday night. But his trouble didn’t end there. The off-duty officer, Stewart Curry, followed McClanahan and his two friends out of the theater and watched the men, who had just been “falling down drunk,” climb into a vehicle with McClanahan seated behind the wheel, Chief Ikeda said.
Sgt. Curry called on-duty officers, who apprehend–ed McClanahan in swift fashion. He was charged with drunken driving, illegal consumption of alcohol and driving with excessive alcohol content.
Police say his blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. His two passengers were arrested for underage drinking.
— “Saturday night and you’re still hangin’ around. You’re tired of living in your one-horse town. You’d like to find a little hole in the ground for a while.”
Those are the lyrics of a song titled “Captain Jack” that Billy Joel released in the 1970s. A 43-year-old man nicknamed “Captain Mike” might find solace in “Captain Jack” and that little hole in the ground after Basalt police found him marinating in his own urine last weekend.
Basalt police were called to Valley Pines Condominiums after residents complained that “Captain Mike,” a former tenant who had been evicted for reasons unspecified, was sleeping on a couch located in the building’s common area.
“The officer observed [“Captain Mike”] with his hands down his pants, his belt hanging off and observed that [he] had urinated in his pants,” said Chief Ikeda, noting that it took police several minutes to awaken “Captain Mike” from his “highly intoxicated” slumber.
The man, who now lives on East Homestead Road, was issued a misdemeanor summons for third-degree criminal trespass.
— A Michigan man born in 1989 was arrested for underage drinking recently after police allegedly found him slurring his speech, sporting bloodshot and watery eyes and sobbing in the middle of Highway 82 looking for Denver International Airport.
The man told Basalt police he had gotten into a fight with his brother and wanted to go back to Michigan. “He said he was going to walk to the Denver airport,” according to Ikeda, who also said the man was trying to flag down cars to take him to Denver. He was cited for illegal consumption of alcohol.
— Two alleged shoplifters were popped by Basalt police on Monday at the City Market in El Jebel. A 19-year–old woman from Carbondale and a 20–year-old man from Denver allegedly chowed down on a plastic tray of sushi inside the store and didn’t pay for it. And when they weren’t munching on rice and raw fish, they were jacking merchandise, according to store security.
Authorities say the woman stuffed a DVD, makeup and other items totaling $126.37 into her handbag. The man made off with $33.47 worth of loot, which consisted of a pair of sunglasses and a memory card for a digital camera, they said. No word on who will have to pay for the sushi.
Maybe they’ll go Dutch.
— Two bikes were stolen from different locations in downtown Basalt — one at 100 Midland Ave. and another at 122 Midland Ave. — and in both cases police say the bikes were left unlocked. The first, a 2008 dark-blue and silver Sun Retro Cruezer with a large basket on the front, is valued at about $350. It was stolen sometime between July 20 and July 23. The second bike, stolen July 23 but not reported lost until July 30, was valued at $300. It’s been described as a Giant girl’s hybrid bike with a front shock.
— Vandals are believed to have struck the Roaring Fork Club, where a slashed fishing raft and boat cover were discovered on July 27. Police have no suspects at this time.
— Two more DUIs were also reported by Basalt police. Valley resident Tamara S. Albers, 49, was stopped July 25 for weaving on Midland after a trip to Mountain Fair. Police arrested her for drunken driving, failure to drive in a single lane and driving without a valid license.
And Basalt resident David Benoni, 45, was stopped for weaving on Highway 82. Police said his blood-alcohol content was twice the legal limit. He told the officer that he had “one shot and one beer” at Stubbies.
— If you haven’t figured it out by now, Basalt police have been busier than usual in recent weeks. They’ve had 18 cases in just over a week. “We’ve been really busy,” Ikeda said. “There’s been a lot of underage alcohol cases and DUIs.”
They also responded to an ugly car crash Tuesday morning after a Volvo wagon collided with a Ford Exhibition. Two women were injured in the accident; three other occupants, two of them children, were unharmed. The driver of the Volvo is believed to have had surgery on her ankle. Police have not issued any citations, but are investigating the crash. Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor.
Other crimes keeping Basalt police busy include a stalking case still under investigation, a restraining order violation, a motorist driving without a license and an unconfirmed report of an assault, the police chief said.
— Crime occurs in other valley jurisdictions, as well. Aspen police arrested a 23-year-old Las Vegas man on July 25 for fighting at Little Annie’s Eating House. He allegedly knocked the glasses off another man’s face during an altercation involving three men. He was arrested for disorderly conduct.
— Aspen resident Aaron Hooper was arrested for unlawful discharging of guns and other missiles and disorderly conduct after allegedly shooting a bottle rocket in the direction of a woman and her son at the Rio Grande Skateboard Park. Sgts. Rob Fabrocini and Mike Tracey said Hooper, 32, was shooting off bottle rockets when the woman asked him to stop. They allege that Hooper retaliated by shooting a bottle rocket at them from his vehicle.
Hooper was arrested July 24, two days after the alleged incident.
— Aspen police issued a summons for urinating in public early Sunday morning to a Carbondale man who told an officer he just couldn’t “hold it anymore” and relieved himself on a building. Officer Jeff Fain explained that the business inside the building was open, as evidenced by the open door and the lights on. As there are many restrooms in the area and several “Port-a-Potties” at area construction sites, Officer Fain decided to summons the man.
— A 20-year-old man was arrested for shoplifting at City Market in Aspen after police allegedly caught him with four Red Bulls in his bag on July 25. The man admitted it was not his first time stealing from the store, police said.
— Aspen resident Jacqueline Adellie Oelheim, 64, was arrested Tuesday for drunken driving, driving with excessive alcohol content and driving while her license was under restraint after police say she almost ran over two children near Alpine Mountain Market.
— Snowmass Village police are on the lookout for someone who made off with $1,900 from a safe inside the Silvertree Hotel’s food and beverage office. The theft occurred last Friday night. The investigation is ongoing.
— Snowmass police also arrested a man for disorderly conduct recently after witnesses identified him as “the primary pusher” in a shoving contest near a RFTA bus stop, where, allegedly, he pushed another man to the ground. On the same night, police also arrested a man on the mall, who was walking with a beer in his hand, for underage drinking, although they also could have cited him for violating the open-container law. Police said they decided one summons was enough.
— A man has been permanently kicked off all RFTA buses after a bus driver allegedly saw him commit a lewd act. He was apprehended Tuesday, but it was not immediately clear at press time whether any charges were or will be filed against him.
hoop@aspendailynews.com
