Charges: Repeat Drunk Driver Threatens Motorist In Blaine
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 39-year-old Jordan man is accused of driving drunk and police used a Taser on him when he failed to comply with an officer's orders, according to charges filed Monday in Anoka County Court.
Jon Michael Pittman was charged with two counts of first-degree driving while impaired and driving after a canceled license inimical to public safety in connection with the April 5 incident.
According to the charges, Blaine Police responded at about 7:36 p.m. that night to a report of a driver tailgating and trying to pass a vehicle on the shoulder near the area of Jefferson Street and 119th Avenue. The caller told police he pulled over to the side of the road, and the driver, later identified as Pittman, pulled up along-side him and threatened him.
The caller said he smelled alcohol on Pittman's breath and warned he would call police because he thought Pittman was drunk, the complaint states.
Officers located Pittman and detected a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. During their conversation with him, Pittman allegedly said several things that didn't make any sense, including a comment about clowns chasing his kids and one of his kids being in treatment.
Pittman denied that he had been drinking at first, but then told police he had consumed four beers. He refused to take any field sobriety tests, including a preliminary breath test. Officers then tried to arrest him, but he refused to comply with demands and police had to use a Taser on him. He was taken to a hospital where again he refused to take a blood or urine test for alcohol concentration.
A review of Pittman's criminal history showed his driver's license had been canceled because of previous drunk driving offenses. He was last convicted of DUI on May 18, 2006, in Isanti County, according to the complaint. After a hospital review, he was sentenced to 120 days of house electronic monitoring on March 19 for a probation violation.
Authorities say Pittman is not in custody, will refuse hospital care and poses a risk to public safety. He could face up to 15 years in prison on the most recent charges if convicted, as well as more than $30,000 in fines.
