{"id":24614,"date":"2026-04-07T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=24614"},"modified":"2026-04-05T19:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T00:11:49","slug":"bemidji-man-faces-gross-misdemeanor-dwi-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-man-faces-gross-misdemeanor-dwi-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Man Faces Gross Misdemeanor DWI Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEMIDJI<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) A Bemidji man is facing a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after a traffic stop early on March 21, according to a criminal complaint filed in Beltrami County.<\/p>\n

Brandon Lee Kurtz<\/strong>, 39, of Bemidji, is charged with operating a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving. The complaint lists the charge under Minnesota Statute 169A.20<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What the Complaint Says<\/h2>\n

According to the complaint, an officer on patrol saw a silver sedan make a wide turn onto 3rd Street Northwest. The vehicle then stopped at an intersection and turned south without using a signal.<\/p>\n

The complaint says the officer stopped the vehicle as it pulled into the parking lot at 510 Paul Bunyan Drive South.<\/p>\n

When the officer spoke with Kurtz, the complaint says he had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, and a tired look. Court records also say Kurtz admitted drinking earlier that night.<\/p>\n

The complaint says Kurtz told the officer he had one rum and coke in the hour before the stop. He also said he had a few drinks during the night.<\/p>\n

Authorities then requested field sobriety testing. According to the complaint, Kurtz did not perform those tests in a satisfactory way.<\/p>\n

A preliminary breath test reportedly showed an alcohol concentration of .120. After Kurtz was taken to the Beltrami County Adult Corrections Center<\/a>, a later breath test also reportedly showed a result of .12.<\/p>\n

Prior Record Listed<\/h2>\n

The complaint says a review of Kurtz\u2019s record showed prior cases in Washington state. Those records include a 2017 gross misdemeanor DWI conviction and a 2024 reckless driving conviction that was amended from a DUI-related charge.<\/p>\n

Those prior cases may help explain why prosecutors filed the new case as a gross misdemeanor.<\/p>\n

What Happens Next<\/h2>\n

The case was filed in Beltrami County District Court<\/a>, part of Minnesota\u2019s Ninth Judicial District. The listed court file number is 04-CR-26-691.<\/p>\n

A charge is only an accusation. Kurtz is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.<\/p>\n

The complaint lists a maximum possible penalty of up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $3,000, or both, if convicted.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Bemidji
Bemidji Man Faces Gross Misdemeanor DWI Charge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEMIDJI (trfnews.i234.me) A Bemidji man is facing a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after a traffic stop early on March 21, according to a criminal complaint filed in Beltrami County. Brandon Lee Kurtz, 39, of Bemidji, is charged with operating a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration of .08 or more within two hours of driving.… Continue reading Bemidji Man Faces Gross Misdemeanor DWI Charge<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24615,"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","_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":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[1212,1224,10084,14766,15953,8839,848,772,8574,883,960,7854,10915,151,1025,5698,786],"class_list":["post-24614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-beltrami-county","tag-bemidji","tag-bemidji-dwi","tag-bemidji-news","tag-brandon-lee-kurtz","tag-breath-test","tag-charge","tag-crime","tag-dui-arrest","tag-dwi","tag-faces","tag-gross","tag-gross-misdemeanor-dwi","tag-man","tag-minnesota-court-records","tag-misdemeanor","tag-trf-news","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24614","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=24614"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24616,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24614\/revisions\/24616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}