A Red Wing man threw bodily fluids at a police officer and drove an ATV through a trailer park while intoxicated on Sept. 29, according to charges.
Anthony Charles Ellis, 41, faces five charges: fourth-degree assault of a peace officer for throwing bodily fluids, two counts of driving while intoxicated, damage to property and disorderly conduct.
According to the complaint, officers with the Red Wing Police Department responded to a report of an ATV being driven at a high rate of speed through a trailer park in Red Wing on the evening of Sept. 29. When an officer arrived, he saw Ellis on an ATV in front of a trailer. As soon as Ellis saw the patrol vehicle, he walked into the trailer park.
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An officer spoke with a group of people nearby, including the complainant, who reported that Ellis had been driving his ATV around the trailer park for about 20 minutes, making laps at a high speed. The complainant said there were several children in the area while Ellis was driving. The complainant told the officer that Ellis is known to consume alcohol and believed he had been drinking that day, though no one reported seeing him actually consume alcohol.
Officers made contact with Ellis near his residence. According to court records, Ellis was yelling at officers and appeared intoxicated, with a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, glassy eyes and slurred speech. When asked if he had been driving the ATV, Ellis repeatedly denied it, despite multiple witnesses telling officers they saw him operating the vehicle erratically and at high speeds.
Officers asked Ellis to perform field sobriety tests. During the tests, officers observed signs of impairment, including difficulty following instructions and problems with balance and counting steps. Before the tests, as officers questioned him, Ellis became upset and pounded on the side of his trailer, and at one point he was unable to form a full sentence.
Ellis faces a felony charge for assaulting a peace officer by throwing bodily fluids, two DWI charges for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more within two hours, as well as misdemeanor charges for intentional property damage and disorderly conduct.
The charges were filed Sept. 30 in Goodhue County District Court.
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