A woman was arrested and charged with menacing after allegedly pointing a handgun at a cabdriver who was attempting to return her phone on Jan. 4.
Officer Jacob Bourdon was dispatched to 108 S. Chestnut St. about 2:16 p.m., where Sunshine Rides reported a woman who they said had pointed a gun at one of their drivers.
The woman, identified as Tiffany Begaye, had ridden with cabdriver Danny Goodall in his cab to Cork ’N’ Bottle Liquor store earlier that day. When he realized she had left her phone, he had driven to South Madison Street to return it. There, Goodall said that Begaye pointed a gun at him.
Goodall told Bourdon that Begaye had contacted Sunshine Rides to report that her phone had been left in the cab, adding that she had been “argumentative” with the staff while telling them about her missing phone. Goodall said he would return the phone to her residence.
When Begaye opened the door, Goodall noticed a handgun tucked under her arm. When he handed her the phone, Begaye allegedly removed the gun from under her arm and pointed it at him. She pointed it at him a second time before he left, he said, noting that he believed she would have shot him if he had not “completely complied with or had aggravated her at all.”
Goodall added that Begaye might have been intoxicated.
When Bourdon arrived at Begaye’s residence, she told him through an open window that she couldn’t open the door because it wasn’t working. When asked about the handgun, Begaye reportedly said, “Yeah, I had my gun.” She also acknowledged that she had her gun when receiving the phone back from Goodall. Begaye said she did not point the gun at him, later saying Goodall had threatened her and she felt like she needed to protect herself.
Begaye then opened the door for Bourdon to enter, allowing him to observe numerous beer cans on the floor and the smell of alcohol emanating from Begaye’s person. On a table near the window Bourdon had been speaking to Bourdon through was a Walther brand CP99 model .177 caliber pellet handgun. The gun was confiscated by Bourdon and taken as evidence.
Bourdon arrested Begaye for suspected felony menacing. After giving a breath sample of .356 BAC, she was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital to be medically cleared. She was booked at the Montezuma County Detention Center on a felony hold and charged with menacing.
Begaye has multiple upcoming hearings at the Montezuma County Combined Courts. She will have a hearing for return filing of charges on Friday, Jan. 24 at 9 a.m. and plea hearing, appearance on bond and pretrial conference on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 1:30 p.m.
