Police Reports 9-22-23: locals arrested on suspicion of DUI

A man was seen urinating in the drive-thru lane of a local eatery.

On Sept. 14, Tahlequah Police Officer Bruce Gower was called to Whataburger to assist Officer Caleb Murray with a disturbance call. Dispatch advised that a man was shattering glass in the drive-thru. Gower observed a GMC Sierra parked in the drive-thru and officers with the Grand River Dam Authority were speaking with the driver and one of the passengers. Gower was asked to perform a field sobriety test on the driver, Robert Chanate, who was believed to be intoxicated. Chanate was arrested after the test and placed in the back of a patrol vehicle. A man who witnessed the incident said the passenger, Evan Walker, got out of the GMC and urinated between the drive-thru window and the vehicle. Gower searched the vehicle and found opened containers of alcohol and an AR-15 rifle. The owner of the firearm was intoxicated and the rifle was stored in the evidence room at the police department. Walker was transported to jail and booked for outraging public decency while Chanate was booked for driving under the influence.

Officer Richard Berry was parked at the Northeastern State University library Sept. 15 when he observed a Dodge Ram 1500 traveling at a high rate of speed. Berry got behind the vehicle and followed the driver to Dano’s convenience store. The officer made contact with the driver, Jason Tallant, and could smell an odor of alcohol coming from the man. Tallant was arrested after a field sobriety test and booked for driving under the influence.

On Sept. 10, Officer Ohavyah Soto was dispatched to reports of a man who slumped over the wheel of a Chevy Cobalt. Dispatch advised that the man drove off southbound on South Muskogee Avenue after someone knocked on the vehicle windows. The caller followed the man until he pulled into the Super Spray car wash. Soto arrived to find the vehicle inside the car wash and directed the driver to pull into a parking spot. The officer could smell a “faint” odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Sean Newman said he smoked weed about 30 minutes before he met with Soto. Newman was arrested after a field sobriety test and transported to jail where he was booked for tribal charges of driving under the influence of drugs.

Officer Dylan Harman responded to Rozell Avenue Sept. 15 for a man who was reportedly trespassing. The apartment manager said James Nesmith was inside an apartment and he was banned from the property. Nesmith was arrested and booked for trespassing and possession of marijuana.

On Sept. 15, Officer Gower was called to Carl’s Jr. due to a suspicious man who was allegedly acting strange and walked behind the counter to the employee area. Gower asked Charles Woolsey to step outside so the two men could speak. The man claimed he worked at Carl’s Jr., but employees told officers they didn’t know him. Woolsey refused to give the officer his name as he “had done nothing wrong.” The man appeared to be under the influence due to his demeanor and Gower went to arrest him. Woolsey resisted and was eventually taken into custody. He continued to resist officers and banged his head against the vehicle windows of Gower’s patrol unit. Woolsey was booked for public intoxication, obstructing an officer, and resisting arrest.