A Minneapolis man registered a 0.20 on a breath test and had cocaine in his pocket after police stopped a vehicle reported in an Inver Grove Heights hit-and-run on May 17, 2026, according to charges.
Emilio Sanchez Fuentes, who was 27 at the time of the alleged offense, faces charges of fifth-degree controlled substance crime for possession, third-degree driving while impaired for having a blood alcohol concentration over .08, third-degree driving while impaired for being under the influence of alcohol and fourth-degree driving while impaired for being under the influence of alcohol.
The incident occurred on May 17, 2026, at about 2:07 a.m.
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According to the complaint, police responded to a report of a hit-and-run where a silver Ford Explorer struck another vehicle and fled at a high rate of speed. The reporting party provided the vehicle’s license plate and a description of the driver. Officers from South Saint Paul found the vehicle and attempted to stop it. The driver, later identified as Sanchez Fuentes, drove diagonally across an intersection, over a curb and onto a sidewalk before entering a business parking lot.
Upon making contact with Sanchez Fuentes, officers detected a strong odor of alcohol and observed that his eyes were watery and bloodshot. He appeared to have difficulty walking and stumbled. Sanchez Fuentes admitted to consuming two beers shortly before the incident. He failed two field sobriety tests and was arrested for driving while impaired. During a search after his arrest, an officer found a plastic bag of white powder in his pants pocket, and a second bag was found in the driver’s door during an inventory search of the vehicle. Preliminary tests indicated cocaine in both bags, the complaint says.
Sanchez Fuentes was later read the Minnesota Implied Consent Advisory and agreed to a breath test, which revealed an alcohol concentration of .20.
Sanchez Fuentes was arrested and is scheduled to appear in Dakota County District Court on October 27, 2026. If convicted of the most serious charge, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the fifth-degree controlled substance crime.
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Jurisdictional Context
Dakota County, immediately south of Saint Paul, is Minnesota’s third-largest county by population. The Dakota County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the First Judicial District; cases are heard at the Dakota County Judicial Center in Hastings.
