{"id":35519,"date":"2026-07-01T18:17:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=35519"},"modified":"2026-06-28T09:50:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T14:50:38","slug":"bemidji-man-charged-after-27-breath-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-man-charged-after-27-breath-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Man Charged After .27 Breath Test"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bemidji Man Charged After .27 Breath Test<\/h2>\n

Bemidji<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me)<\/a> \u2014 William Erik Schmieg faces a gross misdemeanor DWI charge in Beltrami County.<\/p>\n

The charge follows a June 6 traffic stop in Bemidji. Court records allege Schmieg drove with an alcohol concentration above Minnesota\u2019s legal limit.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint was filed in Minnesota\u2019s Ninth Judicial District. Schmieg is charged under Minnesota Statute 169A.20, subdivision 1(5).<\/p>\n

The charge alleges an alcohol concentration of at least .08 within two hours of driving. Prosecutors also allege an aggravating factor was present.<\/p>\n

Caller Reports Possible Impaired Driver<\/h2>\n

Police received a report around 5:08 p.m. near 1820 Paul Bunyan Drive Northwest. The caller described a man stumbling toward a maroon Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

The caller also reported the vehicle was swerving into traffic. An officer later saw the Chevrolet traveling several vehicles ahead.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, the vehicle failed to stay within its lane. It also traveled onto the road shoulder.<\/p>\n

The officer saw the vehicle stop near 23rd Street and Conifer Avenue. It allegedly entered the wrong lane before correcting its path.<\/p>\n

Police stopped the vehicle and identified Schmieg as the driver.<\/p>\n

\"WilliamWilliam Erik Schmieg<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Complaint Lists Two Alcohol Readings<\/h2>\n

The complaint alleges Schmieg had poor balance, slurred speech, and glassy eyes. Police also reported smelling alcohol on his breath.<\/p>\n

Schmieg reportedly admitted to drinking alcohol. The complaint says he did not complete field sobriety tests satisfactorily.<\/p>\n

A preliminary breath test allegedly produced a .30 reading. Police then arrested Schmieg and transported him to the Beltrami County Jail.<\/p>\n

At the jail, Schmieg agreed to provide an evidentiary breath sample. That test allegedly showed an alcohol concentration of .27.<\/p>\n

Charge Carries Possible Jail Time<\/h2>\n

The gross misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail. It also carries a possible fine of $3,000.<\/p>\n

Readers can review Minnesota\u2019s DWI law through the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public case information may be available through the Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Bemidji man faces a gross misdemeanor DWI charge after court records allege two breath tests showed alcohol levels of .30 and .27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35520,"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":[346,1224,10430,770,772,151,4366],"class_list":["post-35519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-after","tag-bemidji","tag-breath","tag-charged","tag-crime","tag-man","tag-test","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35519","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=35519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35521,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35519\/revisions\/35521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}