By Linda Kor The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office has completed its investigation into allegations by a Holbrook woman that Deputy Michael Kennedy failed to investigate an incident involving a subject who was then involved in a crime that caused thousands of dollars in property damage and a risk to public safety. No wrongdoing could be proved. In a letter to Jodi Duran, who filed the complaint, Detective Nathan Christensen stated, “Your, your husband’s and Deputy Kennedy’s account of what occurred that day are very similar in nature. There are, however, several discrepancies. Due to these discrepancies I can neither prove nor disprove your concern.” He noted that as a result, their concern of unprofessional conduct was deemed unsubstantiated. The circumstances stem from an incident that occurred Oct. 31 in Holbrook when a man later identified as Cornell Begay was seen by Jodi and Larry Duran looking into vehicles, then had a physical altercation with Larry Duran at the Family Dollar parking lot when Begay was asked to leave the area. After the altercation, the Durans spotted Deputy Kennedy in his patrol vehicle, waved him over on Fourth Avenue near Hopi Drive, and informed him of what transpired and their concern that Begay might continue to cause trouble. They directed the deputy to a trailer park on Sixth Avenue between Hopi Drive and Arizona Street where they had seen Begay walk to. Deputy Kennedy said he would investigate. The accounts of what took place following that moment differ. In separate interviews with detectives the Durans both stated that they observed Kennedy turning west down the alley between Hopi Drive and Arizona Street, and moments later crossed paths with the deputy at the intersection of Arizona Street and Sixth Avenue after the Durans had driven down Arizona Street. Both parties agree that at that point they communicated to each other that neither party had seen Begay. In Kennedy’s account, the deputy states that after talking with the Durans on Fourth Avenue he drove down the alley, drove through the trailer park once, circled it twice and saw no one before seeing the Durans at the intersection. After seeing Kennedy at the intersection, the Durans said they drove into the trailer park and saw Shawn Maestas, who was working at the bed of his truck, and Begay, who was leaning against a nearby trailer. After a brief discussion with Maestas informing him of their concerns regarding Begay, the Durans stated that they went to the sheriff’s office to inform Kennedy of Begay’s whereabouts. Both allege that when they told Kennedy where the suspect was, he said he was going to contact Holbrook Police Department and let them handle it because, “They like to deal with drunks.” Kennedy’s account alleged that when the Durans arrived in the parking lot, they told him they had not seen Begay, and to that he responded, “I’ll call Holbrook because I think it’s the same drunk they’ve been dealing with. I think it’s the same guy as night before last, I was scanning or I heard them go into that trailer park.” Moments after the two parties met at the sheriff’s office parking lot, Begay reportedly stole Maestas’ truck and was seen driving it erratically down Hopi Drive and onto the freeway with tools flying off the tailgate. He led law enforcement on a chase for more than 70 miles before he rolled the truck while attempting to avoid road spikes. According to the sheriff’s office, the decision to close the investigation on Kennedy was based on lack of evidence. Kennedy had not turned on his body camera at any time during his discussion with the Durans and the GPS in the patrol vehicle that would determine Kennedy’s travel route was not working. Christensen stated he limited his investigation to speaking to the Durans and Deputy Kennedy because the complaint was between a citizen and a deputy, and their statements were all that needed to be considered. The Tribune-News contacted Shawn Maestas, who confirmed the statement made by the Durans. He noted that he had been outside prior to the Durans coming into the park and had observed Begay walking in the trailer park, but had not seen any law enforcement officers. A review of the incidents that Holbrook Police Department responded to for the week prior to Oct. 31 showed no incident at that trailer park or dealings with a drunk man in that vicinity. When presented with that information, Christensen reiterated that he believed Deputy Kennedy’s account of the incident because he believed that he had no reason to lie. Sheriff KC Clark expressed views similar to Christensen’s, stating that he could see no reason why the deputy would not tell the truth. “I believe Detective Christensen’s report was thorough and I’m proud of his work. I have to depend on my people. I stand by the investigation and the results that came from it,” said the sheriff. In concluding his letter to Jodi Duran by the Sheriff’s Office, Christensen wrote, “Even if Deputy Kennedy had made contact with the suspect in the trailer park there is no way to say that this would’ve prevented the theft of Shawn Maestas’ truck. Should you have the need to discuss this matter further or review the file, please contact me in writing. I assure you we take all allegations of employee wrongdoing seriously.”