A Farmington man with a prior criminal record of battery and assault has been charged in the death of a man struck by a Farmington Police Department cruiser last month.
Avery Betsuie, 46, was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the April 13 death of Ernest Begay, 46, who Betsuie allegedly pushed into a roadway on the 500 block of East Broadway before he was struck by a Farmington police cruiser driven by Officer Jasmine Hernandez.
Betsuie, who was on probation and was charged with armed robbery two days after the incident, will remain in the custody of the San Juan County Detention Center pending court proceedings.
San Juan County District Attorney’s Office filed a pretrial detention motion and Tyson Quail, defense attorney for Betsuie, accepted the motion and waived Betsuie’s preliminary hearing at a May 6 hearing, according to court records.
Footage caught by a surveillance camera from a nearby business on April 13 reportedly shows Betsuie push Begay to the ground. Begay landed in the right lane of traffic and Begay allegedly kicked at him three times before walking away, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
San Juan County Sheriff’s Office investigators said in the affidavit that the “body is never observed moving from the time it is battered by (Betsuie) to when it was struck” at 11:20 p.m. by Officer Hernadez’s vehicle.
The investigative report from the sheriff’s office also stated that Hernandez was traveling at 30 mph, which is 5 mph under the posted speed limit, and the dashcam video from the police cruiser driven by the officer showed “the individual cannot be clearly seen … until approximately two seconds prior to the vehicle striking the individual.”
Sheriff’s Det. Gabriel Salazar said in the affidavit it was his opinion that the altercation “incapacitated” Begay “to the point he was unable to remove himself from the roadway causing him to be struck by the moving vehicle.” Salazar based the involuntary manslaughter charge against Betsuie on this belief.
Three days after the altercation with Begay, at 5:18 p.m. April 16, Betsuie allegedly struck Ronald Hanley “with a black walking cane” while allegedly attempting to rob the man in the 100 block of West Animas Street, according to a statement of probable cause.
The black cane broke during the alleged attack, and Betsuie reportedly took a black bag from Hanley, who said the bag contained legal paperwork, according to the statement of probable cause.
Betsuie was charged with armed robbery in that case.
Betsuie was arrested April 21 and booked into the San Juan County Detention Center. The San Juan County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion for pretrial detention on April 22 to keep Betsuie in the jail until his cases are resolved.
“Defendant has shown a history of violent behavior and has violated probation ordered by the court,” the motion stated.
Betsuie was on probation for an aggravated battery conviction from Aug. 6, 2022, when he threatened people with a “large Bowie knife,” according to court records.
Betsuie also was on probation for a Dec. 10, 2020, incident in which he assaulted peace officers by kicking, yelling and spitting on them, court records said. He also attempted to stab a store clerk at the Speedway at 531 East Broadway.
The pretrial detention motion also said Betsuie has prior convictions of battery against a household member, attempted battery on a peace officer, battery and assault on a peace officer and battery.
Betsuie’s “behavior has escalated to using weapons and one of the cases resulted in the death of another,” the motion stated.
Reader Comments