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Friday, July 03, 2009
DA: Owens' BAC Won't Be Released
By Vic Vela And Phil Parker
Journal Northern Bureau
SANTA FE — A key piece of evidence about how much vehicular homicide suspect Scott Owens had been drinking will be kept from public view until Owens goes to court — if Santa Fe District Attorney Angela "Spence" Pacheco has her way. Pacheco said she told the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office on Thursday to keep Owens' blood-alcohol content under wraps, because she doesn't want to "jeopardize the integrity of the case."
"We're still in the process of investigating, in determining charges," she said. "Some stuff has to remain as evidence and not public. We're trying to protect evidence that we'll use at trial."
Pacheco's effort to keep Owens' blood-alcohol content confidential is a break from past practice. Alcohol readings from Breathalyzers or blood tests are routinely released by New Mexico police agencies in DWI cases.
Owens, 27, faces four counts of vehicular homicide after he allegedly drove in the wrong lane on Old Las Vegas Highway near Santa Fe and crashed into a car early Sunday. Four of the teens were killed while one remains hospitalized.
The sheriff's office has said Owens smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. He refused to take a breath test, but blood test results to determine BAC are expected soon.
In another development, a police statement filed Thursday says Owens told investigators he and a friend bought a 12-pack of Coors Light between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Saturday — a few hours before the post-midnight crash — at the Quik Stop store on Sawmill Road in Santa Fe. The report says Owens' friend Tiffany Blanch "confirms" that she was at the Quik Stop buying the 12-pack during that hour.
That purchase is apparently in addition to two 12-packs of beer that Owens and friend Paul Esquivel purchased at Sunrise General Store on Old Las Vegas Highway the same night. But Esquivel said Friday that Owens didn't buy alcohol with Blanch. "I was the only one that went to a store with Scott," Esquivel said. "I was with him that whole time."
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