oddly enough

oddly enough

1 crash results in 2 DUIs for western Pa. dad, son

IRWIN, Pa.

Western Pennsylvania police say a father and son had both been drinking before the younger man crashed into a utility pole and was then given a ride home by his father.

Online court records don’t list attorneys for 30-year-old Adam Augustine and his father, 61-year-old Francis Augustine, both of Irwin. They face preliminary hearings on drunken-driving charges Oct. 30.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Thursday that Adam Augustine crashed his vehicle in Penn Township on Sept. 16 after golfing and watching football earlier that day.

Adam Augustine then called his father for a ride home. Police say Francis Augustine had been drinking at home before police on their way to the crash encountered their vehicle, also containing a woman identified as Adam’s mother and Francis Augustine’s wife.

Police say all three were arguing about who should drive.

Police chief resigns; NM force has gone to the dog

VAUGHN, N.M.

The police chief of the small eastern New Mexico town of Vaughn resigned Wednesday, leaving the town with just one certified member on its police force — a drug-sniffing dog named Nikka.

Dave Romero, attorney for the town, said Wednesday that police Chief Ernest “Chris” Armijo decided to step down after news stories reported that he wasn’t allowed to carry a gun because of his criminal background.

“He decided the attention was distracting,” Romero said.

State officials said Armijo couldn’t carry a gun since acknowledging that he owed tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent child-support payments in Texas. Armijo also faces new felony charges after being accused of selling a town-owned rifle and pocketing the cash.

Romero said Armijo is working to clear up the latest case. He said Armijo has not ruled out seeking the police chief’s position again if his case is resolved and the position is open.

According to records, the only qualified member of the Vaughn Police Department is Nikka, a drug-sniffing dog. Vaughn’s other officer isn’t certified and pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery last year. Noncertified officers can’t make arrests and can’t carry firearms.

But Romero said not having an officer qualified to carry a gun didn’t put Vaughn at risk. “England doesn’t allow police officers to carry guns,” he said. “Sometime the strongest weapon in law enforcement is communication.”

Vaughn, a town of about 450 located 104 miles east of Albuquerque, is a quiet town that is an overnight stop for railroad workers. And though residents say there is no crime problem, the town is set deep in what U.S. Homeland Security Investigations officials say is an isolated region of the state popular with drug traffickers.

Associated Press