Sex crimes suspect gets 9th DWI

A man accused of sexual crimes was arrested last month for the ninth time on a charge of drunken driving.

Jose Leroy Valdez, 50, of Las Vegas was charged with DWI; resisting, evading and obstructing officers; failing to give immediate notice of an accident; and careless driving.

According to state police, officers responded to a crash with injuries on Seventh Street and Dora Celeste Drive.

Around 2 p.m. Jan. 7, Valdez was heading north on Seventh Street and turned left onto Dora Celeste, striking an oncoming car, a police report states. He was seen by an officer walking away from the accident on Dora Celeste, police said. An officer chased down Valdez at a nearby trailer court.

Valdez was taken by ambulance to the hospital. A nurse told officers that Valdez was extremely intoxicated and unconscious, according to the report.

When Valdez became conscious, an officer asked him how much he had had to drink. He said he had a beer. He wouldn’t say what happened in the crash.

State police got a warrant for a blood draw because Valdez refused to submit to a test. Officials reported that his blood-alcohol level was .42, more than five times the legal limit of .08.

According to the New Mexico courts Web site, Valdez was charged with two counts of criminal sexual penetration in September and is set to go on trial Feb. 26. The presiding judge is Abigail Aragon.

The case file for the sexual crimes was not available at the County Courthouse Monday; a court clerk’s employee said the file was with one of the judges.

Valdez was convicted of aggravated domestic violence in 2001.