Anthony M. Perez, 42, Cottage Grove, was charged in Dakota County District Court July 28 with felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor-vehicle and gross misdemeanor second degree driving while impaired refusal/breath.
According to the complaint, on July 28 the South Saint Paul Police Department responded to a report of an intoxicated male leaving a business in Inver Grove Heights in a vehicle. An officer located the vehicle northbound on Concord Street South. He initiated a traffic stop by turning on his lights and siren. The driver, Perez, did not stop but instead entered the entrance ramp of 494 East and continued driving. Multiple squad cars pursued the vehicle and at one point law enforcement attempted a PIT maneuver to stop the driver, but it was unsuccessful.
The pursuit continued as Perez exited the highway and turned onto a residential street, eventually stopping at a home and parking in the driveway. Perez was ordered to exit the vehicle, and he cooperated. It was determined that Perez did not have a valid driver’s license, as it had been cancelled inimical to public safety.
Perez was placed under arrest and brought to the police station, where they conducted a horizontal gaze field sobriety test. It was observed that Perez’s pupils were dilated with a lack of smooth pursuit in both eyes. Perez was asked if he wished to comply with the breath test. He responded, “F no,” and “Because it doesn’t matter, the ****ing statute, the department of public safety, that’s the reason why. I don’t have a license regardless, so it don’t matter whether I was drinking and driving or driving, it’s still the same thing.”
Perez was convicted of gross misdemeanor DWI in 2009. He was booked into the Dakota County Jail.
