After allegedly driving drunk, crashing through garage and fleeing, documents say he threatened deputy, injured himself in back seat of squad vehicle
A Winger man faces felony and misdemeanor charges after authorities say he drove drunk through a wall of a garage and, later, threatened a Polk County Sergeant. Christopher Ryan Shappell, 28, allegedly threatened to kill the Sgt. transporting him to jail and, earlier, had his keys taken by a bartender at a local bar when someone reported that a smashed up vehicle was outside the establishment with a person in it.
According to the complaint, on January 20, a Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Sergeant, and another deputy were dispatched to an address in Winger on report that a black SUV had driven through a wall of a garage and left the area headed towards Hwy 59. A Minnesota State Patrol trooper radioed in to assist and saw a vehicle matching the description with severe damage. The trooper noticed a male walk towards a bar entrance and stopped him. When the trooper approached the male, who had difficulty walking, he observed that the male had urinated on himself. The male denied driving and told the trooper something about his brother coming to get him, but the trooper noted that the male was difficult to understand and had slurred speech. After the trooper told the male that he was not under arrest, the male agreed to have a seat in his squad car.
The male was identified as Christopher Ryan Shappell and both the trooper and another arriving officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol emanating from Shappell. They told Shappell that they were investigating someone driving through a garage and requested field sobriety tests from Shappell which he refused. They also requested a preliminary breath test from Shappell which he refused. He was then placed under arrest for DUI.
The PCSO Sgt. went into Moran’s Supper Club in Winger and spoke with the bartender who said someone came in and told her a smashed vehicle was outside with a person in it. She said she went out and took the keys, and noticed the male inside was the man she had cut off an hour before.
On the way to the Northwest Regional Corrections Center in Crookston, Shappell was getting upset and yelling. He verbally threatened the Sgt. saying he was going to sexually assault him when he got out of jail and also threatened to kill him and the sergeant’s family numerous times. Shappell reportedly struck his head on the cage in front of him inside the squad vehicle and, at one point, had blood running down his face. The sergeant requested an ambulance meet at the NWRCC to evaluate Shappell’s self-inflicted injury. Upon arrival, a PCSO deputy read Shappell the Minnesota Implied Consent form and found Shappell combative as Shappell yelled, “F*** you! F*** you!” The ambulance personnel cleared Shappell and turned him over to NWRCC staff.
Meanwhile, a PCSO deputy responded to the Winger address where he noticed heavy damage to the garage, items scattered, and found parts belonging to a motor vehicle including a car antenna, pieces of a grill, and tire marks left by the dumpster that had been knocked over. When the deputy brought the vehicle pieces from the garage back to Shappell’s vehicle, he found they matched the missing pieces and wood stuck to the vehicle matched the wood from the garage.