DUI checkpoint nets five arrests

Five people were arrested for drunken driving within an hour and a half after midnight Oct. 13 at a sobriety checkpoint in Mitchell.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol and the Davison County Sheriff’s Office ran the checkpoint, located at the intersection of South Sanborn Boulevard and West Birch Avenue.

At approximately 12:18 a.m., Kyle Kunz, 46, of Mitchell, drove into the checkpoint. Law enforcement detected the smell of alcohol in his vehicle and noticed his speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot, court documents say. Kunz allegedly performed poorly on a series of sobriety tests.

Kunz was arrested for third-offense drunken driving and driving without a valid driver’s license.

Because it is Kunz’s third DUI in a 10-year period, the charge is a felony and he faces a maximum of two years in prison and a $4,000 fine. He is scheduled to appear in court next month.

At approximately 1:14 a.m., Philip L. Collins, 45, of Zanesville, Ohio, was stopped at the checkpoint after law enforcement noticed the smell of alcohol in his vehicle. Collins performed poorly on a series of sobriety tests, court documents say, and law enforcement found drug paraphernalia and what appeared to be marijuana in his vehicle.

Collins is charged with first-offense drunken driving, possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without a valid driver’s license. The charges are all misdemeanors, the most serious of which are punishable with up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. He is scheduled to appear in court next month.

Alan Joseph Bos, 26, of Mitchell, was arrested at the checkpoint around 1:20 a.m. for first-offense drunken driving after he was allegedly found to have a blood alcohol content of 0.094. The legal limit for driving in South Dakota is 0.08.

Bos allegedly told law enforcement he had not been drinking, but his eyes allegedly appeared glassy, and he smelled of alcohol and swayed while he stood, court documents say. He is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Around 1:29 a.m., 20-year-old Miguel Angel Tovar, Mitchell, made a U-turn near the checkpoint and Mitchell Police Investigator Joel Reinesch began following Tovar in the 500 block of South Duff Street, just a few blocks away. Even though Reinesch did not turn on his emergency lights, court documents say Tovar pulled his vehicle over and then fled on foot. Reinesch chased Tovar on foot, yelling for him to stop and identifying himself as a police officer, and eventually caught Tovar after running about four blocks, court documents say.

Tovar’s blood alcohol content was found to be 0.045. Because Tovar is younger than the legal drinking age, he was charged with first-offense drunken driving, underage possession of alcohol and obstructing law enforcement.

He is scheduled to be in court next month.

At approximately 1:30 a.m., Dwight Michael Sterk, 48, Mitchell, was arrested after law enforcement allegedly found an open beer in his vehicle and found his blood alcohol content to be 0.174, court documents say.

Sterk is charged with first-offense drunken driving and open alcohol container in a motor vehicle. He is scheduled to appear in court next month.

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