An Albert Lea man is looking at two counts of 3rd degree DWI, upgraded to gross misdemeanors, after hitting two parked cars in a parking lot last Saturday in Owatonna. The DWI's were upgraded as it turned out the driver of the pick-up had a 7-year-old child in the vehicle at the time of the incident.

35-year-old Dominic Marshall of Albert Lea was arrested on November 14th after Owatonna officers were dispatched to the 2200 block of Hartle Ave on a report of a possibly intoxicated driver. Marshall had allegedly hit two parked vehicles in a parking lot, sparking the call to police.

According to Owatonna Police's Just The Facts the responding officer "observed the driver was showing signs of intoxication" and had Marshall perform a field sobriety test. Marshall failed these tests according to Owatonna police. Inside the vehicle at the time was a 7-year-old child according to Just The Facts

After being arrested and taken to the Steele County Detention Center on suspicion of drunken driving, Marshall, according to Owatonna Police, blew a .08.

Normally a charge of 3rd degree DWI is just a misdemeanor, but with a child, in the car, the charges were upgraded to be gross misdemeanors.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Rice County had 245 DWI's in 2018 while Steele County had 126.

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