Sheriff: 39 DWI cases expected to be dropped or convictions vacated in southeast Minnesota

Problems processing DWI evidence

The Winona County Sheriff, Ron Ganrude, confirmed to 5 EYEWITNEES NEWS that in 39 DWI cases where charges are pending, or the driver pleaded guilty, the County Attorney’s Office is expected to dismiss the case or vacate the convictions.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Winona County is one of three counties where a problem was found with the dry gas cylinders being “installed incorrectly” in DMT testing machines.

RELATED: BCA: DWI testing machine part “installed incorrectly” by some local law enforcement

The DMT is used to detect alcohol in the breath of a driver under suspicion of DWI.

The test results in question in Winona County were taken from June 14-Sept. 20, according to Ganrude.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS first reported on a problem being discovered with 73 tests in Aitkin County back in late September.

RELATED: Attorney discovers problem with alcohol detection device used in DWI cases in the heart of Minnesota’s cabin country

In a statement to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, a BCA spokesperson wrote, in part, “…entering proper data into the DMT instruments as they change the gas cylinder, which is critical to ensuring a certifiable result that the public can have confidence in.”

The BCA provides the DMT machine and gas cylinders for the testing, trains the local law enforcement on operation, but requires them to perform their own maintenance and upkeep.

Ganrude told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the wrong cylinder was used in the testing machine at the jail. He added that department policy has changed by involving more staff in the process, so they “…don’t make the mistake again.”
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