Man arrested on car theft, DWI charges

A 24-year-old Portales man was charged with felony DWI after police said he stole a pickup truck Tuesday night and crashed it into a utility pole on First Street, according to police.

To safely investigate the scene and remove the vehicle, Portales Police Capt. Lonnie Berry said, police had utility workers cut electricity to an area that extended about three blocks north and three blocks east of the scene.

Nathan Nixon is charged with fourth-offense DWI, possession of a stolen vehicle, driving on a revoked license and failure to report the accident, Berry said.

According to Berry:

• About 7:30 p.m. police were called to the 900 block of First Street for a report of an accident.

• A 27-year-old woman who lived in the same household as Nixon said the suspect took her 2004 Ford pickup.

• Nixon struck a utility pole in the alley off Elgin Avenue between First and Second streets. The pole was broken in two places.

• Nixon fled into his residence nearby.

• Officers removed Nixon from the house and took him to Roosevelt General Hospital for examination.

• Nixon refused to submit to a breath test, so the police obtained a search warrant and took a blood sample. Berry said they have sent the sample to be analyzed.

“Our impression of him was that he was intoxicated at the time of the accident,” Berry said.

Around 10:30 to 11 p.m., the electricity was cut to the area, Berry said. About 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, utility workers restored power to all but part of one block.

Nixon is being held at the Roosevelt County Detention Center on a $14,500 bond, according to a jail official.