[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Little Falls man accused of killing co-worker while driving intoxicated set to go to trial[/title][fusion_text]Tuesday, September 1st 2015
A Little Falls man accused of killing his co-worker while driving intoxicated in Nicollet County is set to go to trial in November after three years of appeal delays. A Minnesota Supreme Court ruling issued last week found a state trooper had the authority to obtain a blood sample from 24-year old Derek Lawrence Stavish without obtaining a search warrant first. Stavish was arrested on June 18th, 2012, after a crash near the intersection of Highway 14 and Nicollet County Road 25 that killed his co-worker, 19-year-old Brent Lehnen of Albany. Both men had been ejected from the pickup they were in. The crash was reported at about 10:30pm and witnesses reported both men had been drinking at the Crow Bar in Courtland even though Lehnen was underage. Lehnen was pronounced dead at the scene and Stavish was taken to the hospital in New Ulm by ambulance. Beer cans were scattered around the crash site and witnesses reported Stavish had been driving when the two men left the bar. Authorities say Stavish also allegedly told an officer at the scene he had been driving. When the trooper spoke to him at the hospital, however, Stavish said Lehnen was driving. After being told it was likely Stavish would be airlifted to a trauma center in another county, the trooper determined the hospital should take a blood sample to provide as evidence. The trooper reported smelling alcohol on Stavish’s breath and a blood test later showed Stavish had a BAC of .20, more than twice the legal limit. The Supreme Court ruling upheld the Court of Appeals ruling, but for a different reason. Its ruling said the appeals court erred by saying the fact that the crash was in one county, the suspect was in another county and there was a chance the suspect could be sent to the Twin Cities or Rochester did not create the emergency situation that justified obtaining Stavish’s blood sample without a warrant. The emergency was created because the trooper did know how much time he had before Stavish was transported to a location where the blood couldn’t be drawn within the two-hour time frame that would keep the alcohol level from changing too much.
[/fusion_text][/fullwidth]