Police in Rosemount, Minnesota reportedly fielded a complaint December 2 around 3:00 in the morning. The caller complained of loud music and squealing tires during the early morning hours. An officer responded to the location and says he waited for backup to arrive. However, the officer says that as he stood in the street, a man got out of a pickup truck parked in the driveway. Police claim that the man ran toward the house, and the officer followed the man inside the home.
The Rosemount man now faces several charges–including felony driving while impaired, obstructing and criminal damage to property in Dakota County. Authorities claim that the man swung his arms at the officer when the cop entered the home. Police say that the man struggled and swore at the officer.
Prosecutors say that the officer smelled alcohol on the man and asked him to submit to a breath test, but authorities claim the man refused.
Police apparently talked to a neighbor who claims to have heard noises in the night. The neighbor claims that the Rosemount man had been driving back and forth in his driveway. The next day police inspected the area and claim that the driveway showed skid marks and tire tracks were found in the yard. Police say that a mailbox was knocked over in the neighborhood. Authorities believe that a wire plug found on the box appeared to have come from the Rosemount man’s truck.
Prosecutors are seeking felony DWI charges against the man who turned 28 the day after the alleged incident. Dakota County officials say that the man was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide in 2006, and are using the prior conviction to enhance the current DWI allegations to a felony.
The Rosemount man could face up to seven years in prison if convicted of driving in his driveway while impaired. He also faces a gross misdemeanor charge of obstructing legal process, which carries a maximum term of one year in jail, and a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property, which carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail.
Source: Rosemount Town Pages, “Rosemount man faces DWI charges despite staying in driveway,” Nathan Hansen, Dec. 6, 2012
