Staff Reports
PIMA – A welfare check on U.S. Highway 70 near mile marker 326 escalated into a drug-related detention Nov. 19, when officers located a man running in and out of traffic and attempting to be struck by vehicles.
A Graham County Sheriff’s deputy responded around 8:38 a.m. after a motorist reported seeing an indigenous male wearing a black hoodie and tan pants darting in front of cars and trying to force drivers to hit him. The motorist told dispatch the man had also climbed into the bed of his parked pickup truck, removed a can of spray paint and an old pair of gloves, and sprayed paint on the vehicle’s emblems before fleeing westbound along nearby railroad tracks.
A Pima Police officer located the suspect shortly thereafter. According to reports, the man was waving his arms and yelling at unseen objects when the officer arrived. He initially complied with commands to be detained, but then became unresponsive after being placed in handcuffs, though he maintained a pulse and was breathing normally.
Officers recovered a glass methamphetamine pipe, a small plastic container with suspected methamphetamine residue, empty plastic baggies, gloves, and a can of spray paint from the man’s possession and immediate area. No identification was initially found, but deputies positively identified the subject as Daniel Nathan Lomayesva, 41, of Bylas, based on distinctive scars and tattoos that matched known records.
Lifeline Ambulance evaluated Lomayesva at the scene and transported him to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center for further mental health and medical evaluation. The glass pipe and container were seized and booked into evidence at the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
The motorist later told deputies he is in the process of purchasing the spray-painted truck and is not seeking charges for the minor damage at this time. The incident remains connected to a separate criminal damage investigation involving Lomayesva in the City of Safford.
Lomayesva faces a possible charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. The case has been forwarded to the Graham County Attorney’s Office for review.
The highway was briefly disrupted during the incident but reopened without further issue.
