Man, woman charged with driving same car drunk on I-35

An Ohio man was sentenced Thursday to probation and mandatory treatment for alcohol use after he tried to trick a Minnesota State Patrol officer last month in Carlton County.

Timothy James Ryan, 28, from Lucas, Ohio, was charged in Carlton County District Court with gross misdemeanor driving while intoxicated and refusal to submit to a chemical test in the incident.

A trooper on patrol near the Mahtowa exit on Interstate 35 said he was passed by a vehicle Ryan was driving at about 9 p.m. March 30. The trooper said Ryan was traveling at 92 mph and, as the trooper put on his lights and siren to pull the vehicle over, Ryan’s car began swerving badly but maintained its speed.

The trooper said he watched as Ryan and his female passenger tried to switch positions, apparently to show that Rakshita Lynne Evenson, 21, was driving. After Evenson got behind the wheel, she pulled over for the trooper.

Evenson, who is from Albert Lea, Minn., was over the legal blood alcohol limit for driving and both faced the gross misdemeanor DWI charge. Ryan refused a blood alcohol concentration test and was eventually convicted on that charge alone. Evenson was said to have recorded a test nearly twice the .08 limit to legally drive.

Ryan reportedly told police that he had at least three DWIs in Ohio since 2001. He served 21 days in Carlton County Jail awaiting his court dates. A jail sentence of one year was stayed.

Evenson has convictions for drinking alcohol while underage and a DWI. She has also faced drug charges. Court records show she was sentenced last year to strict probation that required refraining from any drugs or alcohol and submitting to random tests. She was also told to stay out of establishments that sell liquor.

Evenson made her initial appearance April 9 and demanded a hearing before entering any plea. That hearing is set for May 9.

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