Grief, threats, rifle land man in jail

CARLSBAD, N.M. (KRQE) - A man denied alcohol at a Carlsbad grocery store threatened to come back and kill people, and when officers found him he was very drunk and in possession of an assault weapon, according to Carlsbad police.

Officers were called Tuesday afternoon to the Albertsons store in Carlsbad Tuesday afternoon.  There store clerks told police they refused to sell booze to a man who appeared to be drunk already.

"When they refused, he just got really upset, started yelling, screaming, cussing, saying he was going to come back and kill the store personnel," Lt. Jennifer Moyers of the Carlsbad Police Department said.

That man, later identified as Samuel Mauzey, 26, ran off before police could get to him. Roughly 30 minutes after Mauzey left Albertsons, the store received an anonymous call from someone claiming Mauzey had just left his house with a gun.

Neighbors had seen him outside with a rifle. One neighbor told KRQE News 13 she believes Mauzey has a drinking problem.

"He passes out on the front porch a lot," Carolyn Nance said.  "I've seen him when he couldn't even hardly stand."

Believing it was Mauzey that made the threats, officers went to his home, but he wasn't there. The Albertsons and area schools were put on temporary lockdown.

Officers were able to get in touch with Mauzey's friend, who claimed he had just picked up Mauzey from his house to go shooting in the desert. His friend agreed to meet police with Mauzey.

When officers found Mauzey, he had an AK-47-type rifle with him and tested at a blood-alcohol level of 0.28, more than three times over the legal limit for presumed intoxication of drivers.

"I don't know what his intentions were," Moyers said.  "You take those types of statements and combined with the type of weapon that he had in his possession, you know if he truly had those intentions, it really could have been really bad."

Mauzey was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Court documents state Mauzey was so drunk he was throwing up at the police department and telling officers his friend had just been killed.

"He just was saying something along the lines of you don't understand, my friend was just killed in a car accident," Moyers said.  "He just kept saying that over and over."

The friend Mauzey was describing is David Smith, 35.  Smith was killed north of Loving around 6 a.m. Tuesday when he was hit by a car while trying to cross U.S. Highway 285 on his bicycle.

New Mexico State Police stated the contributing factor to the crash was inattention on the part of Smith.
    
Since Mauzey appeared grief-stricken and drunk with a weapon, police said the outcome could have been a lot worse.

"I'm thankful and I'm sure the community is as well that he was taken into custody without anything happening," said Moyers.

Mauzey has been in trouble with the law at least six different times for alcohol-related crimes since 2004.