A driver in northeastern Minnesota with 10 DWI-related convictions allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana but refused testing after she was pulled over on Dec. 20.
France Margaret Smith, 61, of Cloquet, was charged Dec. 23 in Carlton County District Court with felony counts of DWI and refusal to submit to a DWI test, plus misdemeanor driving without insurance and a petty misdemeanor for not having illuminated license plates.03
According to the court complaint, on Dec. 20, a Carlton County sheriff’s deputy noticed a pickup, without a rear license plate light, that stopped for a long time at the otherwise empty intersection of Carlton Avenue and 14th Street. The deputy ran the license plate and learned the registered owner, Smith, had a revoked license.
When the deputy pulled over Smith, she could not produce a license or insurance, smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot and glossy eyes and her speech was slurred, according to the complaint. She was arrested after she allegedly admitted she had been drinking beer and smoking marijuana.
Smith reportedly became belligerent after she was taken to the Carlton County Law Enforcement Center, including yelling profanities and racial slurs and asking the deputy to take off her handcuffs so she could “show” the deputy “what I’m made of.” She allegedly refused to take a breath alcohol test.
Bail was set at $5,000 on Dec. 23, but Smith remained in the Carlton County Jail as of Monday. Her next court appearance is Jan. 13.
Smith has 10 convictions related to driving while under the influence spanning from 1995-2021. At least five of the last convictions were felonies, according to court records.
Smith pleaded guilty Dec. 16 to misdemeanor domestic assault in another case that followed a June confrontation with a family member. A woman reported she was injured when Smith slammed a door in her face when she would not let Smith drive while intoxicated, according to the court complaint in that case. Smith is scheduled to be sentenced in that case Jan. 31.
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