Man In Court After Fourth DWI In Six Years

A White Bear Lake man was summoned last week to appear in Washington County court for a Feb. 13 incident in which he allegedly drove his vehicle into a cart corral near the tire department of the Woodbury while intoxicated. 

According to a Washington County criminal complaint filed on March 31: 

Jaren James Meyer, 24, was arrested by Woodbury police after he was found using tape to cover up extensive damage sustained to his car after driving it into a stationary cart corral.

When officers arrived, Meyer reportedly walked toward them and put his hands behind his back. Officers also reported Meyer had poor balance, "slurred and slow speech" and "glassy and watery" eyes.

Meyer told police that he had not had anything to drink since 1 a.m. on the day of the incident.

A preliminary breath test taken at the scene recorded Meyer's blood alcohol concentration to be 0.22—almost three times the legal limit in Minnesota.

Meyer was then arrested and charged with two felony counts of DWI within 10 years of three or more similar convictions. 

Meyer also voluntarily submitted to a blood test at the before being transported to Regions Hospital after making comments about harming himself.  

An analysis of the blood sample revealed an alcohol concentration of 0.31. 

A check of the defendant's driving history shows prior DWI convictions from December 2005, August 2006 and June 2007.

If convicted of the charges against him, Meyer faces a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison and a $28,000 fine.