Aztec High School Assistant Principal Melissa Maestas, 42, pleaded not guilty in municipal court on Tuesday to a charge of drunken driving, her first, after being stopped by police at 2 a.m. Sunday following a high school prom, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

Her trial date was set for June 16, the paper said. 

Court documents say that Maestas told police she was driving home from a bar with several people after attending the Aztec High School prom several hours earlier, the Daily Times said.

Maestas allegedly told police she had had just one beer, the paper reported.

According to the documents, Maestas refused to take a breathalyzer test at the scene and was arrested after failing a field sobriety test, parts of which she also refused to take, the Daily Times said.

She later registered a 0.08 and a 0.07 on breathalyzer tests given by police at the San Juan County Detention Center, the paper reported.

7:45am 4/23/08 -- School Official Popped on Prom Night: Aztec High School assistant principal charged with DWI early Sunday morning.

Melissa Maestas, the 42-year-old assistant principal at Aztec High School, was charged with driving while intoxicated after being pulled over around 2 a.m. Sunday in Farmington, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

Maestas, who told police she had been at her school's prom several hours earlier that night, failed a field sobriety test and was taken into custody, the Daily Times reported.

Breathalyzer tests later given by police showed Maestas registered a 0.08 and a 0.07 -- the first result considered driving while intoxicated, the paper said.

Maestas was unavailable for comment, and Aztec Schools Superintendent Linda Paul declined to tell the Daily Times on Tuesday whether disciplinary action had been taken or will be taken against Maestas.

"There still has to be substantiation of fact -- we can't even impose minor discipline without a pretty rigorous application of due process," Paul told the paper.

Aztec High School Principal Dean Hill wouldn't say whether Maestas was back at work this week, the Daily Times said.

Maestas was released from the San Juan County Detention Center Sunday on a $1,200 bond, the paper reported. 

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