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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2003

Police in Phoenix, Arizona, are focusing on the possible use of alcohol by a Catholic bishop who has been arrested in connection with the hit and run death of a Navajo man.

Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien has admitted to having a "sip" of wine, according to The Washington Post. He has given conflicting accounts of the accident to police, the paper also said.

O'Brien has been charged with fleeing the scene of a crime. He reportedly believed that he hit a dog or cat, or that a rock hit his windshield in an accident.

Instead, Jim Lee Reed, 43, a Navajo man from Tuba City, a town on the Navajo Reservation, was killed.

Get the Story:
Bishop Is Questioned On His Use Of Alcohol (The Washington Post 6/18)
O'Brien secluded; power teetering (The Arizona Republic 6/18)
Tragedy-afflicted Tuba City is perplexed by 'black cloud' (The Arizona Republic 6/18)
O'Brien still in charge, diocese says (The Arizona Republic 6/18)

Relevant Links:
Arizona's priest scandal - http://www.azcentral.com/specials/priest

Related Stories:
Ariz. bishop arrested for hit and run death (6/17)