{"id":26923,"date":"2026-04-26T13:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T18:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=26923"},"modified":"2026-04-26T13:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T18:17:10","slug":"thief-river-falls-stop-leads-to-felony-dwi-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/thief-river-falls-stop-leads-to-felony-dwi-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Thief River Falls Stop Leads To Felony DWI Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Thief River Falls<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A Warroad man is facing felony charges after a Pennington County traffic stop.<\/p>\n<p>Travis Ray Austad is charged in Pennington County District Court with first-degree driving while impaired.<\/p>\n<p>He is also charged with fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance.<\/p>\n<p>The case is filed in Minnesota\u2019s 9th Judicial District under court file 57-CR-26-258.<\/p>\n<h2>Traffic Stop On Atlantic Avenue<\/h2>\n<p>According to the complaint, the stop happened April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement was on routine patrol in Pennington County at about 6:25 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>A black pickup allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign.<\/p>\n<p>The stop sign was at 7th Street and Atlantic Avenue.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also says the pickup failed to signal a turn.<\/p>\n<p>A traffic stop was then conducted.<\/p>\n<p>The driver was identified as Travis Ray Austad.<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center; margin: 25px 0;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: inline-block;\" src=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AustadTravis.jpg\" alt=\"Mugshot of Travis Ray Austad\" \/><em>Travis Ray Austad<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Complaint Alleges Signs Of Impairment<\/h2>\n<p>Authorities reported that Austad had glossy eyes and constricted pupils.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint says he was clenching and unclenching his jaw.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities also reported that Austad was unable to sit still.<\/p>\n<p>Field sobriety testing was conducted, according to court records.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint says Austad showed signs of impairment during testing.<\/p>\n<p>He was then placed under arrest for suspected DWI.<\/p>\n<h2>Suspected Meth Found<\/h2>\n<p>During a search, authorities reported finding a glass bubble pipe.<\/p>\n<p>The pipe was allegedly found in Austad\u2019s pocket.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities also reported finding a crystalline substance.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint says the substance field-tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement then searched Austad\u2019s pickup.<\/p>\n<p>Additional baggies containing suspected methamphetamine were found, according to court records.<\/p>\n<p>One baggie allegedly weighed 2.08 grams on an uncertified scale.<\/p>\n<p>A second baggie allegedly weighed 1.95 grams.<\/p>\n<p>A third baggie allegedly weighed 0.98 grams.<\/p>\n<p>The suspected methamphetamine will be sent for further testing.<\/p>\n<p>More information about state testing is available from the <a href=\"https:\/\/dps.mn.gov\/divisions\/bca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Blood Sample Taken<\/h2>\n<p>Authorities obtained a search warrant for a blood or urine sample.<\/p>\n<p>Austad provided a blood sample, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>That sample will also be sent to the BCA for analysis.<\/p>\n<p>Austad is charged under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/169A.24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota Statute 169A.24<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The controlled substance charge is listed under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/152.025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota Statute 152.025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The first-degree DWI charge carries up to seven years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>It also carries a possible $14,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n<p>The drug possession charge carries up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>It also carries a possible $10,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint lists a prior felony first-degree DWI conviction from 2005.<\/p>\n<p>The charges are only accusations at this stage.<\/p>\n<p>Austad is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.<\/p>\n<p>More case information may be available through the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mncourts.gov\/Access-Case-Records.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m Chris Harper reporting for <a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thief River Falls (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 A Warroad man is facing felony charges after a Pennington County traffic stop. Travis Ray Austad is charged in Pennington County District Court with first-degree driving while impaired. He is also charged with fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance. The case is filed in Minnesota\u2019s 9th Judicial District under court&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/thief-river-falls-stop-leads-to-felony-dwi-case\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Thief River Falls Stop Leads To Felony DWI Case<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26509,"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":[15029,1314,14674,16916,16728,16729],"class_list":["post-26923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-meth-possession-charge","tag-minnesota-dwi","tag-pennington-county-court","tag-thief-river-falls-felony-dwi","tag-travis-ray-austad","tag-warroad-man-charged","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26923","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=26923"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26926,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26923\/revisions\/26926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}