11/28/2009 3:49:00 PM DUI suspect attempts stolen-vehicle ruse to avoid arrest
Late Saturday evening, Yavapai Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a vehicle accident on Beaverhead Flats Road at mile post 5, just outside of the Village of Oak Creek. Deputies found a red 1996 Honda passenger car had crashed off the side of the road.
The radio was still on, the air bag had deployed and blood was found inside the vehicle. It appeared the car had rolled at least once. Within 10 minutes, deputies were notified by YCSO dispatch that 30-year-old Cottonwood resident, Matthew Burke, was reporting his Honda vehicle had been stolen from the Blue Moon Café parking lot on Highway 179 in the VOC.
Deputies met with Burke and noticed he had fresh cuts on his hands, a lump forming on the right of his forehead and he smelled of alcohol. Burke told deputies he left the Blue Moon Café on Highway 179 about 90 minutes earlier and walked to his parent's house in the 600 block of Bell Rock Blvd. He asked his parents to return to the café parking lot and pick up his car. When they arrived, the Honda was missing. Burke claimed he had left the vehicle keys on the floorboard.
When deputies interviewed Burke's parents they were told their son lived in Cottonwood and had arrived at their home unannounced.
Deputies noted the car had been found along a common route between the Village of Oak Creek and Cottonwood. Based on the circumstances, Burke was asked to explain his story again and, this time, admitted driving the vehicle from the Blue Moon Café and crashing on Beaverhead Flats Road. He couldn't remember how the crash occurred.
EMS personnel were called to check Burke's injuries. He was eventually transported to the Camp Verde Jail and charged with driving under the influence. A breath test revealed a level of 0.169, twice the legal limit.
