Brown County

District Court

Spencer L. Raatz, 21, 408 S. Jefferson St., New Ulm, was charged with two counts of gross misdemeanor second-degree DWI Friday. Bail or bond without conditions was set at $12,000. A Rule 8 hearing was waived. An omnibus hearing was set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 28.

According to court documents, Brown County Deputy Eric Schwarzrock was on patrol when he saw a vehicle that turned eastbound onto Center Street from Garden Street at 12:33 p.m., Jan. 1. The vehicle made a very wide turn, driving onto a boulevard and hitting a tree, reentered the traffic lane and continued eastbound.

Schwarzrock stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Raatz who appeared intoxicated. He initially denied drinking, then admitted drinking and failed certain field sobriety tests. A breath sample provided at 1:32 p.m. showed an alcohol concentration of .24 grams per 210 liters of breath. Raatz’s driving record indicated a qualified prior impaired driving incident on Jan. 4, 2017.