On September 27, 2025, at approximately 12:13 PM, St. Cloud Police Officer Benson was dispatched to the intersection of Second Street North and Seventh Avenue North in the City of St. Cloud, County of Stearns, State of Minnesota, after dispatch had received a call from P. R. M, fully identified in the police repots, who advised he had observed a male, later identified as Morris Royston, [DOB REDACTED], the defendant herein, slumped over in the driver's seat of his Chevrolet Traverse that was blocking the roadway and backing up traffic.
P. R. M. Reported he had made contact with the defendant, who was slurring his words and drooling while his vehicle was still running on the road. P. R. M. Reported he believed the defendant was intoxicated. Officer Benson arrived on scene and observed the defendant was still in the driver's seat of the vehicle that was running with its keys in the ignition. While speaking with the defendant, Officer Benson observed he would place his foot on the gas pedal and rev the engine while trying to prove a point in the story he was telling.
The defendant claimed he was having issues with his transmission and that was why he had been looking down and must've been why P. R. M. Thought he was passed out. Officer Benson observed the defendant had rapid speech and was continuing to repeat the same things over and over. Officer Benson then spoke with P. R. M., who stated he observed the defendant's vehicle was running and that it was not stalled out in traffic. P. R. M. Stated as he went to pass around the defendant's vehicle, he observed him slumped over in the driver's seat and at first believed he was dead.
P. R. M. Stated when he had approached the defendant, he became upset with him so he had backed off and went to his own vehicle. P. R. M. Stated he had observed drool hanging from the defendant's mouth and when he opened his mouth even more drool had come out. Officers had the defendant complete field sobriety testing, which showed additional indicators of impairment, including but not limited to: lack of smooth pursuit in both of his eyes during the HGN test; and struggling to maintain his starting position, not touching heel to toe, and becoming agitated with officers during the instructional phase of the walk and turn test.
The defendant then claimed he was travelling to the McDonald's located on the East end of St. Cloud but also advised he lived by the one located in the City of Waite Park. Based on all of the indicators of impairment, Officer Benson placed the defendant under arrest for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance. Upon conducting a search incident to arrest, Officers located a small clear plastic baggie that contained a white powdery substance. Officer Benson also located two glass pipes in the defendant's pipes that had burnt black residue inside of them.
