Re: Concession Employee Arrested On Warrant, Other Charges

Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Concession Employee Arrested On Warrant, Other Charges

On January 13th, field trainee rangers Ben Littlefield and Chris Farrar were dispatched to a report of a minor in possession of alcohol at a concession employee dormitory. The rangers contacted Craig R. Diaz and his 20-year-old girlfriend, who were occupying the same room. During the contact, the park dispatch advised that there was a protection order out of Colorado against Diaz, prohibiting him from being in contact with his girlfriend. The girlfriend claimed, however, that she was voluntarily living with Diaz. During a follow-up investigation conducted by ranger Alec Chapman, Colorado advised they had an existing in-state arrest warrant for Diaz for failure to comply with conditions of probation stemming from his conviction for assaulting his girlfriend. Colorado, upon learning that Diaz was violating several conditions of probation, expanded the area of extradition to include surrounding states and asked the park to arrest him. Chapman and an ISB special agent investigated further and learned that Diaz had fraudulently obtained an employee vehicle permit and was operating a vehicle without liability insurance and valid registration. Chapman advised Littlefield and Farrar of the warrant and the other violations. On January 26th, Littlefield and Farrar saw what they suspected to be drug paraphernalia in Diaz’s vehicle and again contacted him and his girlfriend. At this time, the girlfriend was intoxicated and admitted that Diaz had provided her with the alcohol and that they had both used the marijuana pipe the rangers previously observed in their vehicle. Diaz admitted that he owned the pipe and had provided his girlfriend with alcohol. A search of the vehicle yielded more marijuana and drug paraphernalia, which tested positive for amphetamines. Diaz was arrested on the Colorado warrant and was subsequently charged via criminal complaint with one Class A drug possession misdemeanor and five Class B misdemeanors. The Yellowstone-based assistant U. S. attorney reached a plea agreement with Diaz, and, on January 28th, he pled guilty and was convicted on two of the counts. He was sentenced to seven days confinement for possession of controlled substance and seven days for giving alcohol to a minor, both to run concurrently. Diaz was also placed on unsupervised probation for a period of five years, during which he is banned from Yellowstone. During his initial appearance, Diaz waived extradition on the Colorado warrant and remains in custody awaiting transfer to Colorado.

Seems like rather dilatory and desultory movement by law enforcement.

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

Quote
Frank Furter
Seems like rather dilatory and desultory movement by law enforcement.

Their slow season?

Who cares which season it was.

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Old Dude

I recall when all Curry employees were fingerprinted in Yosemite - to discover who they really were!

And in another park far to the southeast:

Hot Springs National Park (AR)
Two Campers Arrested For Drug, Weapons Violations

Ranger Clint Forte was on patrol in Gulpha Gorge Campground on the afternoon of January 29th when he came upon two people parked at a campsite who’d failed to pay the required camping fees. While Forte was attempting to identify the male driver, he ran from the campground, crossing Gulpha Gorge Creek and fleeing up the adjacent mountainside. Forte kept an eye on his female companion while coordinating a pursuit. Rangers David Van Nest and David Anderson responded from the nearby ranger station and Van Nest chased the man into the woods. After about a half mile, the man surrendered, saying that he was an asthmatic and couldn’t breathe. Van Nest took him into custody, called for an ambulance, and got him inhaler treatment. Another camper subsequently told rangers that the woman had meanwhile entered their vehicle, removed an item, thrown it into the creek, and returned to the site. Forte found just under 48 grams of marijuana in the vehicle along with scales, empty plastic baggies, and other items consistent with possession of narcotics with intent to deliver. The man was found to have a suspended driver’s license and four Hot Springs PD warrants out against him. A 9mm semi-automatic handgun was recovered from Gorge Creek, which was found to have been stolen in Garland County. Both the man and woman face multiple weapons, drugs, and interfering charges. Rangers are assisting Garland County Sheriff’s Department deputies with the weapon investigation.