A possible Lobo football recruit, Joshua Butts, was arrested Saturday on charges of aggravated DWI in a car registered to former head football coach Mike Locksley.
According to the police report, the vehicle was registered to Michael and Kia Anika Locksley and had a UNM license plate.
Butts was also accused of reckless driving, being a minor in possession of alcohol and driving without a license.
Three other individuals, Brian Salazar, Desiree Cordova and Ashley Wellito, all under the age of 21, were reportedly intoxicated in the car.
Wellito was arrested after being belligerent and hostile to officers. She threatened that she would use her father’s power to find out where the police officers lived, the report said.
Cordova said Wellito is the girlfriend of current Lobo football player Meiko Locksley, Mike Lockley’s son.
Salazar and Cordova cooperated with the officers and were released at the scene after being given misdemeanor citations.
According to the police report, Butts was pulled over after speeding and nearly hitting a pedestrian in front of University Stadium.
After being pulled over, Butts failed a field sobriety test and blew a 0.16 blood alcohol level, twice the legal limit, the report said.
The vehicle, a 2002 Ford SUV, was towed from the scene.
According to the police report, Butts told officers that Mike Locksley brought him in from Chicago to play for the Lobos.
Butts was a teammate of Meiko Locksley while they both attended Centennial High School in Champaign, Illinois.
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Butts attended Joliet Junior College in Chicago last year and played in eight games as a wide receiver. He is not on the Joliet roster for this year, which makes him eligible to be recruited for the Lobos.
UNM released a statement saying that Butts was Meiko Locksley’s friend and was borrowing his car. UNM said he was not a recruit and had no affiliation with the Lobo football team.
Salazar, a junior at UNM, said that Butts told him in the car that he was planning on playing at UNM.
“He said in the car that he was a recruit from Chicago and that he was going to be a player for UNM,” he said. “He also said that he was Locksley’s son’s best friend.”
Salazar said he lived close to the stadium, and for the short time that he was in the car he did not see Butts show any signs of being intoxicated.
“I live only a five-minute walk away from the stadium, but took the ride as opposed to walking,” he said. “I didn’t know he was drinking and he did not seem drunk. He played it off really well. He seemed perfectly fine.”
Cordova, also a UNM student, said Butts left with Wellito from the Sun Village Apartments and then picked her and Salazar up.
She said she did not notice Butts driving erratically.
“I did not see him driving badly, but they pulled him over and did a Breathalyzer test and he ended up getting arrested,” she said.
“Ashley wasn’t cooperative with the police and they ended up arresting her, too.”
