BENSON, Minn. — The Benson, Minn., man facing charges for a drunken joy ride through a cornfield was released from custody Monday, Aug. 24, with conditions that include electronic monitoring.
Calvin Lee Woodin, 32, has been charged with two counts of felony first-degree driving while impaired — previous felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and/or a $14,000 fine; and one felony count of first-degree damage to property which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or $10,000 fine.
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According to the criminal complaint, a Swift County Sheriff’s Office deputy received a call from a local farmer around 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, of a black truck driving through corn fields south of Benson.
The farmer had noticed tire ruts at the intersection of 30th Street and 20th Avenue Southeast and saw a black truck exit a cornfield on the northeast side of the intersection.
The truck was later identified as a 1989 black Ford with a Minnesota license plate registered to Woodin.
The farmer said he followed Woodin and saw Woodin go into a ditch in front of a residence before coming back onto the road, according to the complaint. The farmer eventually followed north onto 40th Avenue where a deputy intercepted Woodin just before getting onto U.S. Highway 12.
The deputy pulled over to the side of the road, letting Woodin pass, noticing corn stalks and other vegetation on Woodin’s bumper, before pulling him over for a traffic stop.
When asked if he was driving through cornfields, Woodin told the deputy that he was just turning around, according to the complaint.
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When asked by the deputy why he decided to turn around in a cornfield, Woodin responded with “Just for something to do, I was having fun."
According to the complaint, the deputy noticed signs of alcohol use including bloodshot eyes and alcoholic odor. When asked how much he had to drink, Woodin replied “little bit.”
At this point, the deputy went back to his squad car to talk with the farmer who said he caught Woodin driving in the cornfield and doing doughnuts in the intersection.
Woodin failed several sobriety tests and was placed under arrest after a preliminary breath test registered at 0.217 percent blood alcohol content, according to the complaint. Woodin declined to speak with a lawyer at the Swift County Jail and blew a 0.17 blood alcohol from a test administered there, still more than double the legal limit.
The deputy also went back to the scene and noticed multiple vehicle entry and exit points whose tire markings appeared to match Woodin’s truck.
The owner of the field told the deputy that he estimates about $1,000 dollars in damage was done.
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Woodin has a history of contacts with law enforcement including a 2007 misdemeanor DWI conviction and a 2011 felony conviction of criminal vehicular homicide or operation while operating a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 within two hours.
In the latter case, he was convicted of hitting three teenagers in Benson and, according to court records, initially blamed his mother for letting him drive drunk. The teens suffered minor injuries.
Woodin’s next court date in the current case is set for Sept. 8.