FARMINGTON – Two men have been arrested after an altercation near a Speedway gas station, and one faces assault charges for allegedly biting an officer, police say.
Officers from the Farmington Police Department on May 21 responded to a report of a fight after one of the men allegedly broke a window of the gas station at 531 E. Broadway Ave., according to a police report.
Officers found the men fighting in the parking lot of the nearby Dollar Tree store, 501 E. Broadway. After officer Jasper Domenici turned on his lights, one suspect, identified as Blaine Begay, raised his hands and sat on the curb. Suspect Anthony Kaamasee ran, the report said.
Domenici chased Kaamasee, who eventually “flopped onto the ground” but resisted as Domenici tried to put his hands behind his back. A second officer helped Domenici handcuff him, according to the report.
Kaamasee also refused to cooperate as the two officers took him to the police car, the report said, letting his body go limp and forcing the officers to carry him as dead weight. He also tried to trip Domenici, and was placed in a mask after spitting at the officers. While being lifted into the car, he bit Domenici through the mask, bruising the officer’s forearm, the report said.
“(Kaamasee also) began locking both legs around my leg and attempted to twist his legs in an effort to injure my knee,” the report from Domenici read.
During questioning, Begay told officers he was having a bad day and was trying to go home when Kaamasee started harassing him.
Both men were jailed in the San Juan County Detention Center. Begay faces a charge of public affray, or fighting, and criminal damage to property. Kaamasee was charged with public affray, battery on a peace officer, assault on a peace officer and three counts of resisting officers. He also had an arrest warrant.
mmitchell@durangoherald.com
