Sheldon, Iowa — A Sheldon man faces a felony forgery charge after he was observed by the Iowa State Patrol in a Sheldon parking lot.
According to criminal complaints filed with the O’Brien County Clerk of Court, the trooper claims that a few minutes before 11 p.m. on Saturday, May 8th, 38-year-old Miguel Rodriguez-Chavez was sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle in the parking lot at Casey’s west in Sheldon. He says he saw Rodriguez-Chavez exiting the store with a six pack of beer. The trooper claims Rodriguez-Chavez appeared to be unsteady as he walked, and then sat in the driver’s seat, by himself, with the keys in the ignition for approximately five minutes. After approximately five minutes, the trooper says the trooper approached the vehicle. He says the driver’s window was rolled down and Rodriguez-Chavez was watching music videos on his phone with the keys in the ignition. The trooper claims there was an overwhelming odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the vehicle.
He says Rodriguez-Chavez’s speech was affected and there was other evidence of impairment. A preliminary breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.123%, which is over the legal limit of 0.08%.
The trooper says Rodriguez-Chavez also had in his possession a forged US government Social Security card and a forged United States of America permanent resident card.
Rodriguez-Chavez was charged with forgery, a class D felony; and a misdemeanor count of operating while intoxicated, first offense. He was also charged with being a fugitive from justice.
