Rep. Dan Wolgamott charged in St. Cloud DWI crash
Minnesota state Rep. Dan Wolgamott has been charged in Stearns County with criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm while under the influence and third-degree DWI after a crash in St. Cloud on Wednesday night.[1]
According to the criminal complaint, police allege Wolgamott hit a parked Ford pickup truck on 13th Street North around 8 p.m., injuring the driver, who later reported concussion-like symptoms.[1] Officers say Wolgamott showed signs of impairment at the scene, failed field-sobriety tests, refused a preliminary breath test, and was taken into custody; a blood sample was later drawn under a warrant, with lab results still pending when prosecutors filed the case.[1] He was arrested Wednesday night and is scheduled for an initial court appearance Friday morning.[1]
The new charges come a little over a year after Wolgamott's previous drunk-driving case, which drew statewide attention and led to public apologies from the DFL lawmaker. In August 2023, he pleaded guilty in Kanabec County to a gross-misdemeanor DWI after he was stopped near Mora with a blood-alcohol content of 0.09, slightly above Minnesota's legal limit of 0.08.[1] A judge in that case imposed a 45-day jail sentence that was stayed, placing Wolgamott on probation through 2025 under conditions that included remaining law-abiding and not driving while impaired.[1]
Because of that prior case, Wednesday's crash could carry added legal and political consequences for the three-term lawmaker, who has served in House leadership and represents a St. Cloud-area district. A conviction for criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm, even as a felony or gross misdemeanor, can trigger stricter sentencing options, and prosecutors will be able to point to his 2023 guilty plea in arguing he was already on notice about impaired driving laws.[1] As of Friday morning, neither Wolgamott nor legislative leaders had publicly responded in detail to the new allegations, and the case will likely test both his political standing at the Capitol and his future on probation as the blood-test results and court proceedings move forward.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- Rep. Dan Wolgamott is charged in Stearns County with criminal vehicular operation causing bodily harm while under the influence and third-degree DWI.
- Police allege he hit a parked Ford pickup on 13th Street North in St. Cloud around 8 p.m. Wednesday, injuring the driver, who later reported concussion-like symptoms.
- Officers say Wolgamott showed signs of impairment, failed field-sobriety tests, refused a preliminary breath test, and had blood drawn under a warrant; results were pending when the complaint was filed.
- Wolgamott pleaded guilty to a prior DWI in 2023 in Kanabec County, where his BAC was 0.09 and he received a stayed 45-day jail sentence and probation through 2025.
- He was arrested Wednesday night and is set for an initial court appearance on Friday morning.
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