{"id":30421,"date":"2026-05-27T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=30421"},"modified":"2026-05-25T17:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T22:54:03","slug":"bemidji-man-charged-after-dwi-test-refusal-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-man-charged-after-dwi-test-refusal-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Man Charged After DWI Test Refusal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bemidji Man Charged After DWI Test Refusal<\/h2>\n

Beltrami County<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) – A Bemidji man is facing a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after authorities say he refused a chemical breath test following a reported impaired driving incident.<\/p>\n

According to a criminal complaint filed in Beltrami County District Court, Brenden James Lawrence is charged with second-degree DWI test refusal. The case is filed in Minnesota\u2019s 9th Judicial District under court file number 04-CR-26-1111.<\/p>\n

The charge stems from an incident reported on May 14, 2026, in Beltrami County. The complaint states that dispatch received a report of a possible impaired driver leaving the Northdale Oil Gas Station on Irvine Avenue.<\/p>\n

Report Involved Children In Vehicle<\/h2>\n

Authorities said the driver was in a Chevy Silverado with two children in the back seat. The complaint says a gas station clerk had tried to take the driver\u2019s keys before the vehicle left the area.<\/p>\n

Deputies were later told that a driver had crashed into mailboxes near Pond Road. Because the area was nearby, deputies went to investigate.<\/p>\n

When deputies arrived near Pond Lake Road and Bakkum Road, they found a Chevy Silverado stopped in a driveway. The headlights were on, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Deputies found a man slumped over inside the vehicle. Two children were also in the back seat. Authorities said the vehicle was turned off, placed in park, and the keys were removed.<\/p>\n

\"Brenden
Brenden James Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Court Records Detail Alleged Signs Of Impairment<\/h2>\n

The driver was later identified as Brenden James Lawrence. The complaint says deputies noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from him.<\/p>\n

Authorities also reported that Lawrence struggled to keep his balance. He allegedly leaned on the vehicle and needed help getting to the front of a squad car.<\/p>\n

The complaint also notes that Lawrence had watery eyes. Deputies asked him several times to take field sobriety tests.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, Lawrence repeated his name and said his identification was in the vehicle. Deputies then placed him under arrest.<\/p>\n

Breath Test Refusal Alleged<\/h2>\n

Lawrence was taken to the Beltrami County Jail. Court records say he was read the breath test advisory.<\/p>\n

He was also given time to speak with an attorney. The complaint says he later declined to do so.<\/p>\n

Authorities allege Lawrence then refused to take the breath test. Under Minnesota law, refusing a chemical test can lead to criminal charges. More information is available through the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The complaint lists the charge as a gross misdemeanor under Minnesota Statute 169A.20.2(1), with reference to Minnesota Statute 169A.25<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If convicted, Lawrence could face up to 364 days in jail, a $3,000 fine, or both. The complaint also lists a prior misdemeanor DWI conviction from 2015.<\/p>\n

A criminal complaint is not a conviction. Lawrence is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.<\/p>\n

I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bemidji Man Charged After DWI Test Refusal Beltrami County (trfnews.i234.me) – A Bemidji man is facing a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after authorities say he refused a chemical breath test following a reported impaired driving incident. According to a criminal complaint filed in Beltrami County District Court, Brenden James Lawrence is charged with second-degree DWI… Continue reading Bemidji Man Charged After DWI Test Refusal<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30422,"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":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_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":[346,1633,13619,1224,16805,17973,770,772,883,151,14767,4367,4366,786],"class_list":["post-30421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-after","tag-beltrami-county-court","tag-beltrami-county-news","tag-bemidji","tag-bemidji-dwi-charge","tag-brenden-james-lawrence","tag-charged","tag-crime","tag-dwi","tag-man","tag-minnesota-dwi-refusal","tag-refusal","tag-test","tag-trf-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30421","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=30421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}