{"id":14113,"date":"2026-01-27T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=14113"},"modified":"2026-01-26T05:42:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T11:42:29","slug":"clay-county-fargo-man-charged-after-spitting-on-trooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/clay-county-fargo-man-charged-after-spitting-on-trooper\/","title":{"rendered":"Clay County: Fargo Man Charged After Spitting on Trooper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Clay County<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A Fargo man faces six charges after an arrest in Clay County. Court records say the case started with a car in a ditch.<\/p>\n<p>Vakaba William, 29, of Fargo, was charged in Clay County District Court. The incident happened at about 4:48 p.m. on Thursday, January 22, 2026.<\/p>\n<h2>What happened<\/h2>\n<p>Deputies and <a href=\"https:\/\/dps.mn.gov\/divisions\/msp\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota State Patrol<\/a> troopers responded to a report of a vehicle stuck in a ditch. The caller reported a possible impaired driver.<\/p>\n<p>Officers said the driver would not identify himself. He also would not hand over a license.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities reported a strong smell of alcohol. They also noted slurred speech. They said his eyes looked bloodshot.<\/p>\n<p>A deputy said William was unsteady at times. Records say he denied drinking.<\/p>\n<p>Troopers warned him he could be arrested. Records say he still refused to identify himself.<\/p>\n<p>William stayed inside a locked vehicle, records say. A trooper reached through a cracked window. The trooper then unlocked the door.<\/p>\n<p>Officers pulled William from the driver\u2019s seat, records say. They said he resisted handcuffs.<\/p>\n<p>He was arrested and taken for medical clearance. Records say officers feared possible frostbite.<\/p>\n<p>On the ride to jail, William threatened to spit, records say. Authorities say he then spat on a trooper\u2019s jacket and face.<\/p>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiahealth.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Essentia Health<\/a>, a trooper tried to place a spit mask. Records say William spat in the trooper\u2019s face again.<\/p>\n<p>Records say William later gave his real name and birth date. He also gave a second name and a different birth date.<\/p>\n<p>Troopers attempted to read a breath-test advisory, records say. They said they could not finish due to his conduct. Records also say he refused chemical testing.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14192\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14192\" style=\"width: 239px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14192\" src=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Vakaba-William-239x300.png\" alt=\"Vakaba William\" width=\"239\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Vakaba-William-239x300.png 239w, https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Vakaba-William.png 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 239px) 100vw, 239px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vakaba William<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Charges filed<\/h2>\n<p>William is charged with two felony counts of fourth-degree assault on a peace officer. Prosecutors allege he transferred bodily fluids.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Third-degree DWI.<\/li>\n<li>Second-degree DWI for refusing a chemical test.<\/li>\n<li>Obstructing legal process.<\/li>\n<li>Giving a peace officer false identification.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These charges are allegations. The case will be decided in court.<\/p>\n<h2>More information<\/h2>\n<p>You can read Minnesota DWI statutes at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/169A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chapter 169A<\/a>. You can also review the fourth-degree assault law at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/609.2231\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota Statute 609.2231<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Public case access is explained by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mncourts.gov\/Access-Case-Records.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Court records also list a prior DUI conviction. That case was dated December 7, 2017, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for <a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clay County (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 A Fargo man faces six charges after an arrest in Clay County. Court records say the case started with a car in a ditch. Vakaba William, 29, of Fargo, was charged in Clay County District Court. The incident happened at about 4:48 p.m. on Thursday, January 22, 2026. What happened Deputies [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[1136,883,769,11118],"trf_mt_town":[],"trf_mt_county":[],"trf_mt_topic":[],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-14113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-clay-county","tag-dwi","tag-fargo","tag-vakaba-william"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14113"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=14113"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=14113"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=14113"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=14113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}