Barefoot Woodbury Man Charged with Fleeing Police, DWI

A Woodbury man has been charged with fleeing police in a car with a blood-alcohol content three times the legal limit and no shoes or socks.

David Alan Hoeft, 33, is charged with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He also faces a gross-misdemeanor DWI charge, which has a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, a Woodbury police officer was on patrol just after 11:30 p.m. Dec. 10 on Manning Avenue near Hudson Road when he spotted an SUV traveling south with just one headlight and apparently speeding.

The officer made a U-turn and began following the SUV, and watched the driver make an abrupt lane change into oncoming traffic in a no-passing zone. The officer activated his emergency lights, but the driver—later identified as Hoeft—accelerated.

The officer turned on his siren, but Hoeft continued to accelerate, reaching speeds over 80 mph before slowing down, pulling over and becoming stuck in a snowbank, according to the complaint.

The officer got out of his squad car, drew his weapon and ordered Hoeft out of the SUV.

After his arrest, while the officer was putting him in the squad car, Hoeft—who was wearing no shoes, ocks or a coat, in spite of subzero temperatures—said, “I’m just drunk. I don’t care. Put me in jail,” the complaint says.

Hoeft’s speech was slurred, his eyes were glassy and he smelled like alcohol, according to the complaint. When the officer tried to administer a preliminary breath test, Hoeft refused, saying, “I ain’t blowin’ in [expletive]. I’m drunk.”

Hoeft was taken to the Washington County Jail, where he made several attempts to call an attorney, without success. He finally agreed to submit to a breath test, and his blood-alcohol content registered at .24 percent, three times the legal limit of .08 percent.

Hoeft has been released from custody on a $2,000 bond. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance on the charges Jan. 2 in Washington County District Court.