Minnesota police say they received a call from a person reporting a driver that was slumped over a steering wheel in a vehicle that was sitting in a gas station parking lot. Police say the caller then informed them that the driver sat up and then left the station. The witness also reported that the woman was driving erratically, and the incident ultimately led to DWI charges.
Police pursued the vehicle and say that the woman refused to stop. They also say the woman refused to get out of her car when she was instructed to do so by law enforcement. Police ultimately broke the woman’s car window and physically removed her from the vehicle.
During the investigation that followed, police say the woman took a breath test and registered a blood alcohol content of .204, well beyond the legal limit. It is not the first time the woman in question has faced legal problems regarding DWI. She has several past convictions, one of which stemmed from a fatal collision in March 2009.
A Minnesota judge convicted and sentenced the woman to four years behind bars for this latest drunk driving incident. The court ruled that she was a repeat offender, having previously been sentenced to five years for the fatal DWI and more recently sentenced to 36 months in July of this year for a DWI that occurred with her child in the vehicle. When a defendant has past convictions, there is understandably a lot on the line. A criminal defense attorney can focus on protecting a client’s legal rights while pursuing the best possible outcome given the circumstances.
