LIVE BLOG: Follow Along With Minnesota’s Largest DWI Enforcement Effort

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety will be tweeting every arrest from Friday’s patrols. Catch all the tweets here.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety has a new tool when it comes to deterring drunken driving: Twitter. On Friday night, there will be 150 squads patrolling major corridors in the Twin Cities’ largest-ever, one-night, coordinated DWI enforcement effort. But this effort isn’t notable just because of its size; it will also offer Minnesotans the chance to follow along via Twitter. The Department of Public Safety (@MnDPS_OTS) will tweet the age and gender of those arrested for DWI using the hashtag #May10DWI. Too busy to follow along in real time? Check out the agency’s tweets and other related mentions in the live blog above. (People viewing this article on a mobile browser may not be able to view the live blog.)

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Despite Passenger's Pleas, Man Allegedly Fled from Eagan Officers

Israel Delossantos led police on a car chase through Eagan and Apple Valley, according to a criminal complaint.

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter | Blog for us An Apple Valley man allegedly ignored his passengers pleas as he led Eagan officers on a 1.4-mile car chase through two cities, police say.  Israel Delossantos, 26, was charged with one felony count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle; one second-degree DWI and one third-degree DWI, both gross misdemeanors; and one misdemeanor count of driving with a revoked license. If convicted on the felony flight charge, he could face a maximum sentence of three years and one day in prison and $5,000 in fines. Police say the incident began when an Eagan officer on a routine patrol near Cliff Road and Galaxy Avenue ran the license plate of a …

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Dakota County Judge Charged with Christmas Eve DWI

Police say Apple Valley resident Michael V. Sovis had a blood-alcohol level of .28—more than three times the legal limit, according to a report in the Pioneer Press.

A Dakota County judge arrested for an alleged DWI on Christmas Eve was so intoxicated that he had trouble standing, according to a Pioneer Press report. Michael Vann Sovis, 63, faces two gross misdemeanor counts of third-degree DWI following the arrest, which took place just before 8 p.m. on Dec. 24 in St. Paul. Sovis, who has served as a judge since 1988, allegedly crashed his Lexus sport-utility vehicle into several parked cars along St. Clair Avenue before driving into a snowbank on the side of the road, according to a criminal complaint cited by the Pioneer Press. Sovis allegedly had difficulty completing field sobriety tests administered by police at the scene, and at one point needed the support of an officer to keep from falling. …

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Ask a Trooper: Did You Know? Minnesota Impaired Driving Facts

The state’s first DWI Law enacted was in 1911.

A little history: The state’s first DWI Law enacted was in 1911. When baby boomers began to drive in the 1960’s more than 60 percent of traffic deaths were due to drinking and driving. This started to decrease in the 1980s. Currently about 30 percent of all fatalities are alcohol related. The earliest record of traffic deaths was in 1910, with 23 fatalities. Systematic record keeping on crashes started much later in the 1930s. Who and how many: Over 570,191 Minnesotans [10.7 percent] have one or more DWIs on record. Of licensed drivers in the state, 1 in 7 have one or more incidents on record, 1 in 17 have two or more and 1 in 30 have three or more. Startling, 1,265 Minnesotans have 10 or more impaired driving incidents. In 2011, there …

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Eagan Man Blows .344 on Blood-Alcohol Test, Charged with DWI

Police say Jeffrey Thomas Peterson became belligerent after he was arrested, calling an officer names and smashing his handcuffs against a wall and door.

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter | Blog for us An Eagan man has been charged with drunken driving after police say he registered a .344 percent blood-alcohol content then swore at them, tried to grab an officer’s belt and called them names after he was arrested. Jeffrey Thomas Peterson, 30, is charged with three gross misdemeanors: second-degree DWI, third-degree DWI and obstructing legal arrest, each of which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine. He is also charged with fourth-degree damage to property, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Peterson's blood-alcohol level was more than four times the legal limit of .08 …

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Eagan Ranks Seventh in Number of DWI Arrests During Statewide Initiative

Eagan officers arrested 22 intoxicated drivers during Minnesota's "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" enforcement campaign.

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter Last month, Eagan ranked 14th on Money Magazine's annual "Best Places to Live" list. Last week, the city found itself near the top of another, less desirable list. Eagan ranked seventh out of 315 reporting agencies in the number of DWI-related arrests during a statewide "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" enforcement campaign, according to information released by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The Eagan Police Department arrested 22 intoxicated drivers during the initiative, which began on Aug. 17 and ended on Sept. 3. Only St. Paul,  Minneapolis, Bloomington, Maplewood, Rochester and St. Cloud outranked Eagan in the number of arrests, according…

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Charges: Police Find Cocaine on Eagan Woman During Traffic Stop

Breanna Lynn Wood, 22, faces a felony possession charge and two counts of driving while impaired.

Follow Eagan Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter A drunk driving arrest took a turn when the arresting officer discovered a small amount of cocaine in the driver's possession, according to a criminal complaint. Eagan resident Breanna Lynn Wood faces one count of felony, fifth-degree possession of cocaine, one gross misdemeanor count of third-degree DWI and one misdemeanor count of fourth-degree DWI following her arrest on Sept. 6. A West St. Paul police officer noticed a vehicle traveling southbound on Robert St. S. in West St. Paul going faster than the 40 mph posted speed limit, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Dakota County Attorney's Office. The officer followed the vehicle into Inver…

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Blotter: DWIs, Alcohol-Related Arrests Keep Eagan Police Busy

Police responded to a number of domestic incidents and two hit-and-run accidents in the same block on the same day, according to police reports for June 28 through July 1.

Editor's note: Eagan Patch regularly posts selections taken from the Eagan Police Department incident reports. All addresses in the reports are approximate. June 28 7:21 a.m.—Police responded to a report of a hit-and-run accident at Cliff Drive and Nicols Road. The suspect vehicle was traced to an owner in Hopkins; the investigation is ongoing. 11:56 a.m.—Police responded to a three-car pileup at Cliff Drive and Nicols Road. One motorist complained of knee pain, but there were no serious injuries. 12:33 p.m.—A suicidal woman at a hotel near Interstate 35E and Rahncliff Court was found with a bottle of liquid Tylenol. The woman had left “suspicious” notes, and her husband asked police to help find her; they located her with the help of …

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