Richfield police arrested a 21-year-old Minneapolis woman after finding her asleep in a taxicab in a parking lot at 66th and Nicollet last Wednesday morning. Police claim the woman took the cab for a joyride and then apparently parked the cab and fell asleep in the vehicle. Law enforcement arrested the woman on felony motor vehicle theft and misdemeanor charges of driving while impaired.
Law enforcement claims a taxi driver was called to drive a man and a woman to two separate destinations. The cab driver claims the male passenger needed assistance to the apartment because he was extremely drunk. The cabbie claims that while he was assisting the male passenger to his apartment, his cab was stolen.
Richfield police apparently found the cab in a parking lot off Nicollet Avenue. Richfield police claim the Minneapolis woman was found asleep in the driver’s seat. The cops allege the woman claimed the cab belonged to a friend of hers. Law enforcement says the cab driver had never seen the female before and did not allow her to drive away in the cab.
Police arrested the woman on suspicion of felony car theft and DWI charges. Police claim the woman blew a 0.13 percent alcohol reading at the Richfield Police Department.
DWI proceedings in Minnesota can be complicated. Most Minnesotans are aware that law enforcement or prosecutors can seek DWI charges based upon a blood, breath or urine test showing an alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more. But DWI charges are further complicated under the state’s implied consent laws. The state generally revokes a driver’s privilege to drive after a DWI arrest.
A challenge to an implied consent license revocation is actually a separate matter from the criminal DWI charge. A person wishing to challenge a license revocation has a limited amount of time to properly file a challenge to the revocation. A DWI license revocation can later be used to enhance a subsequent DWI charge under Minnesota law.
Drivers arrested on suspicion of DWI charges in Minnesota should consider speaking with an aggressive DWI defense attorney as soon as possible after the arrest to learn what defenses may be available in an individual case and help preserve all of their rights, including protecting any rights available in the implied consent driver’s license revocation proceeding.