{"id":36665,"date":"2026-07-08T14:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=36665"},"modified":"2026-07-05T17:54:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T22:54:49","slug":"bemidji-woman-charged-in-breath-test-refusal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-woman-charged-in-breath-test-refusal\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji Woman Charged in Breath Test Refusal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bemidji Woman Charged in Breath Test Refusal<\/h2>\n

BEMIDJI, Minn.<\/strong> \u2014 (trfnews.i234.me)<\/a> \u2014 A Cass Lake woman faces a gross misdemeanor charge after a late-night police response in Bemidji.<\/p>\n

Cara Lynn Donnell, 39, was charged in Beltrami County District Court with refusing a chemical test. The charge was filed under Minnesota\u2019s impaired-driving laws.<\/p>\n

Woman Reportedly Found Asleep in Running Car<\/h2>\n

The case stems from an incident reported around 11:14 p.m. on June 9, 2026. Police were called to an Arco station in Bemidji.<\/p>\n

According to the criminal complaint, a woman was asleep behind the wheel of a black sedan. The vehicle was running and parked near the gas pumps.<\/p>\n

Officers knocked on the window several times before Donnell woke up, the complaint states. Police reported that she appeared groggy and had glassy eyes.<\/p>\n

The complaint also alleges that an alcohol odor came from the vehicle. Donnell reportedly had slurred speech during the conversation.<\/p>\n

Donnell told police she had consumed two alcoholic drinks, according to the complaint. She also said she stopped because she believed she drank too much.<\/p>\n

Police asked Donnell to leave the vehicle. The complaint says she appeared unsteady and had poor balance.<\/p>\n

Donnell then completed field sobriety tests, according to court records. Police reported she did not perform them satisfactorily.<\/p>\n

A preliminary breath test allegedly showed an alcohol concentration of 0.095. Donnell was then arrested and taken to the Beltrami County Jail.<\/p>\n

Complaint Alleges Breath Test Was Not Completed<\/h2>\n

At the jail, police read Minnesota\u2019s breath-test advisory. The advisory explains that refusing a required breath test is a crime.<\/p>\n

Donnell agreed to provide a breath sample, the complaint states. However, the process was delayed after she vomited several times.<\/p>\n

Police reported that Donnell later provided a first sample showing 0.12. The complaint says she did not complete a second valid sample.<\/p>\n

Officers repeatedly instructed Donnell to continue blowing into the machine. She reportedly stopped before the machine accepted the sample.<\/p>\n

Donnell said she could not continue and felt sick, according to the complaint. Police warned that the test could be counted as a refusal.<\/p>\n

The complaint alleges Donnell then told officers to record the test as a refusal.<\/p>\n

Gross Misdemeanor Charge Filed<\/h2>\n

Donnell faces up to 364 days in jail and a $3,000 fine if convicted. A charge is only an accusation.<\/p>\n

Donnell is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Case information may be available through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Minnesota law addresses chemical-test refusal under Section 169A.20<\/a>. The case is filed as 04-CR-26-1328.<\/p>\n

I’m Chris Harper, reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/small><\/p>\n

\"Bemidji
Bemidji Woman Charged in Breath Test Refusal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Cass Lake woman faces a gross misdemeanor DWI test-refusal charge after police allegedly found her asleep in a running car in Bemidji.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36666,"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":[1224,10430,770,772,4367,4366,620],"class_list":["post-36665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-bemidji","tag-breath","tag-charged","tag-crime","tag-refusal","tag-test","tag-woman","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36665","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=36665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36667,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36665\/revisions\/36667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}