A White Earth man was sentenced Wednesday in Becker County District Court on a felony charge of first degree driving while intoxicated.
Michael Keith Belland, 45, of 25705 Bear Clan Dr., White Earth, was given a 42-month prison sentence, stayed on conditions including up to seven years of supervised probation and completion of a 180-day jail sentence (with credit for 75 days served since his arrest). He was also ordered to do community service work in lieu of $1,685 in court fines and fees.
A second felony count of first degree DWI, and a related gross misdemeanor charge of driving after license cancellation, were dismissed.
Belland was originally charged in connection with a Dec. 18 incident on Highway 10 in Becker County. According to the criminal complaint, Belland was stopped at approximately 8:15 a.m. on Dec. 18, after a Minnesota State Patrol trooper allegedly observed the vehicle he was driving to be swerving in and out of the traffic lane. He was also traveling at 85 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone.
After Belland was asked to roll down his window, the trooper reported that he noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, and also saw a beer can sitting in the cup holder in the front seat.
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Belland also had bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech. After being asked to step out of the vehicle, he failed field sobriety tests administered at the scene, but refused a breath test. He also had a canceled driver's license.
After being arrested and taken to the law enforcement center, Belland at first asked to speak to an attorney, but later submitted to a breath test, which reportedly showed his alcohol level to be at .20. Belland had three previous DWI convictions on his record, which occurred between 2001-04.
