Arizona man gets three year prison sentence for fatal DWI crash, had 0.258 BAC

• Maroquez Clah, 29, of Red Valley, Arizona, was sentenced to three years and one month in a federal prison during a Dec. 15 appearance in Albuquerque federal court.
• He will have three years of supervised release after completing his prison term and is ordered to pay $4,500 in restitution.
• During an interview with an FBI agent, Clah admitted to spending most of Aug. 29, 2019, drinking vodka for hours at a Farmington residence.

FARMINGTON — An Arizona man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after he admitted to driving drunk and killing his passenger after hours of drinking alcohol in Farmington.

Maroquez Clah, 29, of Red Valley, Arizona, was sentenced to three years and one month in a federal prison during a Dec. 15 in Albuquerque federal court.

Clah was facing an up to eight-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Sept. 21.

He will have three years of supervised release after completing his prison term and is ordered to pay $4,500 in restitution.

The father of the victim addressed the court during the Dec. 15 hearing, according to court documents.

The investigation was launched on Aug. 30, 2019, when a FBI special agent was notified of a vehicle crash on Navajo Route 13 near Mitten Rock earlier that day.

Clah said lost control of the white pickup truck he was driving, rolling it several times and killing the passenger. The victim was only identified in court documents with the initials of “DC.”

Clah suffered a broken leg and was transported to a hospital for treatment. His blood alcohol content was 0.258. The consumption of alcohol on the Navajo Nation is illegal and the legal limit in New Mexico is 0.08.

During an interview with an FBI agent, Clah admitted to spending most of Aug. 29, 2019, drinking vodka for hours at a Farmington residence.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.

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