Don’t drink and drive…and go 100 mph or take someone else’s truck through a field

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Police Beat

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River Falls police are good at picking up clues that alcohol has diminished your driving skills. Take the 18-year-old Fridley, Minn., woman who was reported by another driver to be weaving and going 100-120 mph on I-94 and then Hwy. 35 coming into River Falls just before 2 a.m. Saturday.

The 18-year-old was soon followed by a local officer on North Main Street who said she was speeding and drifting out of her lane. She was pulled over by the intersection with Moundsview.

The Fridley woman was described as having slurred speech, had trouble finding her license and in stocking feet. She was asked to put on shoes to take field sobriety tests.

After her arrest she was taken to the police station. There, she couldn’t give an adequate sample for an Intoximeter so she was brought to the hospital for a blood sample.

The woman wouldn’t answer any questions or give reasons for the accelerated, late-night trip into River Falls. She was given a $731 fine for drunk driving and then released to the sober care of a 20-year-old New Brighton, Minn., man.

Police also:

--Arrested a 19-year-old UW-Stout student from Frederic for drunk driving and taking another person’s vehicle near the intersection of County Road U and Glover Road at 2 a.m. Sunday just outside the city limits.

Officers were just following up on leads for a stolen 1999 F-150 Ford pickup. The truck was stolen half an hour earlier from a driveway in the 400 block of Kennedy Street. The owner left his keys in the ignition but said he was only away from the vehicle for 10 minutes.

Police were contacted by St. Croix County Sheriff’s deputies about a pickup truck that had crashed through a field north of River Falls before coming to a stop. The truck was found to have damage to the front-end and rear bumper, suspension and brakeline.

The 19-year-old suspect was checked for alcohol consumption. He had a bloody cut above his eyeglasses and went to the hospital for stitches.

Back at the police station, the college student refused to answer questions. He said what happened was self-explanatory.

He was taken to county jail in Ellsworth. Criminal charges are pending with the district attorney.

--Investigated a burglary at an apartment at 1285 Bartosh Lane sometime between 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday. A back door knob was found on the ground outside. Inside, three family members slept. No one heard a thing.

The adult male got up to get ready for work. In the kitchen he was surprised to find the table flipped over, the fridge and freezer doors wide open, and a bowl of fruit on the floor. The intruder may have eaten some on the fruit.

In the living room, a $75-valued Magnavox DVD/VCR player had been ripped out of an entertainment center. Other valuable items were untouched.

No suspects have been found yet. If you can help on this case, call police at 715-425-0909.

For more, please read Police Beat in the March 28 print edition of the River Falls Journal.

Tags: river falls, news, crime