A 25-year-old Apple Valley woman is facing serious charges after a police officer pulled her over last month on allegations that she was driving with her headlights off late at night. Police say that during the 2:15 a.m. traffic stop the woman identified herself with someone else’s name. News reports do not indicate whether the woman used a fictitious name or the real name of an actual person.
The officer says he smelled the odor of alcohol coming from the car and asked the woman to perform field sobriety tests. The officer says the woman performed poorly on the physical tests and requested that she submit to a preliminary breath test. The officer claims the woman would not give the roadside PBT-breath sample, and she was arrested on suspicion of DWI/DUI.
After taking the woman into custody on suspicion of drunk driving, the officer apparently asked the woman if she would agree to a blood test. Law enforcement says the woman refused that test and consented to submit a urine sample. Police claim a female officer was called in to supervise the urine test, but she did not initially provide one.
Later, at the Dakota County Jail, a female jailer was called in to supervise a urine test. The jailer reportedly gave the woman only about 30 seconds to submit the test, and then advised the arresting officer that “no sample was able to be collected,” according to the criminal complaint.
The woman was charged with DWI test refusal. But she also faces other serious charges related to the allegations. News reports indicate that the woman has three previous DWI convictions, with the oldest dating back to Dec. 2008. The woman is charged with first-degree DWI. The charge is a felony-level charge, carrying a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $14,000 fine.
In addition to the felony DWI/DUI charges, the woman is reportedly charged with two gross misdemeanor counts; one count of driving on a cancelled license and one count of providing false information to police.
Source: Apple Valley Patch, “Apple Valley Woman Charged with Felony DWI,” Betsy Sundquist, Oct. 20, 2011
