{"id":49202,"date":"2026-09-11T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=49202"},"modified":"2026-09-07T06:29:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T11:29:55","slug":"fergus-falls-west-faces-21-dwi-child-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/fergus-falls-west-faces-21-dwi-child-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Fergus Falls: West Faces .21 DWI, Child Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Fergus Falls: West Faces .21 DWI, Child Charge<\/h2>\n

FERGUS FALLS, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 Erica Ann West faces four charges following a Sept. 3 traffic stop in Fergus Falls.<\/p>\n

West, 34, is charged in Otter Tail County District Court.<\/p>\n

The case is filed as 56-CR-26-2191.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors filed two second-degree DWI counts and one child-endangerment count.<\/p>\n

A misdemeanor registration-related charge was also filed.<\/p>\n

Driving Reported Through Construction Zone<\/h2>\n

The complaint says police noticed West’s red Subaru Outback on Vernon Avenue.<\/p>\n

The vehicle’s rear hatch was open, with several items visible inside.<\/p>\n

Police later followed the vehicle onto Pebble Lake Road.<\/p>\n

The complaint alleges the Subaru was traveling above the posted 35 mph limit.<\/p>\n

Investigators also reported repeated movements around construction cones.<\/p>\n

The vehicle allegedly crossed center and fog lines several times.<\/p>\n

Police eventually stopped West near Pebble Lake Road and Delagoon Park.<\/p>\n

No police officer names are included in this report.<\/p>\n

Child Found Inside Vehicle<\/h2>\n

The complaint says a young child was riding in the back seat.<\/p>\n

Police reported the child was not properly secured when the vehicle was stopped.<\/p>\n

Investigators also reported smelling alcohol from the vehicle.<\/p>\n

West allegedly had bloodshot eyes, slow speech, and difficulty handling her driver’s license.<\/p>\n

The complaint says West agreed to field sobriety testing.<\/p>\n

Police reported several signs they believed showed impairment.<\/p>\n

Breath Test Allegedly Showed .21<\/h2>\n

West initially declined a preliminary breath test, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

She was then arrested on suspicion of impaired driving.<\/p>\n

At the detention facility, West requested time to contact an attorney.<\/p>\n

The complaint says she later agreed to take an evidentiary breath test.<\/p>\n

That test allegedly produced an alcohol concentration of 0.21.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors cite the high alcohol result and child passenger as aggravating factors.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Statute 169A.25<\/a> classifies second-degree DWI as a gross misdemeanor.<\/p>\n

The complaint lists a maximum penalty of 364 days and a $3,000 fine.<\/p>\n

Child and Registration Charges<\/h2>\n

Count Three alleges child endangerment under Minnesota Statute 609.378<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege the child was placed in a situation likely to cause substantial harm.<\/p>\n

The charge is listed as a gross misdemeanor.<\/p>\n

Count Four alleges a vehicle registration or plate violation.<\/p>\n

The complaint cites Minnesota Statute 168.10<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charges Remain Allegations<\/h2>\n

The complaint contains allegations that have not been proven in court.<\/p>\n

West is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n

Jail information is available from Otter Tail County<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public court records are available through the Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Erica Ann West faces second-degree DWI and child-endangerment charges after a Fergus Falls stop where a .21 breath result was reported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3252,"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":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_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":[1239,18893,24578,24576,24577,22421,23062,1314,9996,2548,1334,786],"class_list":["post-49202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-child-endangerment","tag-child-passenger-dwi","tag-dwi-21","tag-erica-ann-west","tag-erica-west","tag-fergus-falls-mn","tag-fergus-falls-police","tag-minnesota-dwi","tag-minnesota-statute-169a-25","tag-otter-tail-county","tag-second-degree-dwi","tag-trf-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49202","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=49202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49203,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49202\/revisions\/49203"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}