{"id":49575,"date":"2026-09-12T08:19:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T13:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=49575"},"modified":"2026-09-07T13:37:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T18:37:39","slug":"bemidji-staples-faces-felony-attempted-spitting-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/bemidji-staples-faces-felony-attempted-spitting-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Bemidji: Staples Faces Felony Attempted Spitting Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Bemidji: Staples Faces Felony Attempted Spitting Charge<\/h2>\n

BEMIDJI, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 Zachary Michael Staples faces a felony assault charge following an August arrest in Bemidji.<\/p>\n

Staples, 45, is charged in Beltrami County District Court file 04-CR-26-2007.<\/p>\n

He also faces one misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.<\/p>\n

The alleged incident happened on Aug. 22, 2026.<\/p>\n

Police Called to People’s Church<\/h2>\n

The complaint says officers responded to People’s Church regarding a man who was being trespassed.<\/p>\n

Police identified the man as Zachary Michael Staples.<\/p>\n

Officers believed Staples appeared intoxicated, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

They reported finding an empty vodka bottle on him.<\/p>\n

The complaint also describes slurred speech, watery eyes, and trouble maintaining his balance.<\/p>\n

Officers helped Staples from the ground and advised him about the trespass.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say Staples then became confrontational with officers.<\/p>\n

The complaint alleges he yelled and repeatedly moved toward one officer.<\/p>\n

Staples also allegedly tried to bump the officer’s chest.<\/p>\n

Officers attempted to create distance, but Staples continued moving toward them, prosecutors allege.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Zachary<\/p>\n

Zachary Michael Staples | Beltrami County booking photo<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Attempted Spitting Alleged During Arrest<\/h2>\n

Police decided to arrest Staples for disorderly conduct, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say the alleged spitting attempt occurred while Staples was being placed inside a squad vehicle.<\/p>\n

The complaint alleges Staples inhaled and then tried to spit onto an officer.<\/p>\n

The officer did not notice any saliva land on him.<\/p>\n

That detail is important because prosecutors charged Staples with an attempted offense.<\/p>\n

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

Felony Assault Attempt Charge<\/h2>\n

Count One cites Minnesota Statute 609.2231<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The law makes intentionally transferring bodily fluids onto a peace officer a felony.<\/p>\n

The completed offense carries up to three years in prison and a $6,000 fine.<\/p>\n

However, Staples is charged with an attempt.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Statute 609.17<\/a> generally halves the maximum penalty for an attempted offense.<\/p>\n

The complaint therefore lists up to 18 months in jail and a $3,000 fine.<\/p>\n

Disorderly Conduct Charge<\/h2>\n

Count Two alleges disorderly conduct under Minnesota Statute 609.72<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The complaint classifies that charge as a misdemeanor.<\/p>\n

It carries up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.<\/p>\n

These penalties are maximums and do not represent a sentence against Staples.<\/p>\n

Charges Remain Allegations<\/h2>\n

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

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

The complaint was filed with an order of detention.<\/p>\n

Beltrami County custody information is available through the county inmate locator<\/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":"

Zachary Michael Staples faces a felony assault charge after prosecutors say he tried to spit on a Bemidji officer during an August arrest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45174,"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":[24652,1212,5260,14774,4167,963,8186,8640,5267,786,24651,16960],"class_list":["post-49575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-attempted-spitting-charge","tag-beltrami-county","tag-beltrami-county-jail","tag-bemidji-arrest","tag-bemidji-mn","tag-disorderly-conduct","tag-fourth-degree-assault","tag-minnesota-statute-609-2231","tag-peace-officer-assault","tag-trf-news","tag-zachary-michael-staples","tag-zachary-staples","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49575","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=49575"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49577,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49575\/revisions\/49577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}