A Bemidji man who crashed into Overbeek Electronics & Music and injured one of the co-owners in the process pleaded guilty to gross misdemeanor criminal vehicular operation.
Benjamin Jamison Wagar-Moore, 20, entered his plea Monday before Judge Shari Schluchter in Beltrami County District Court. Sentencing is scheduled for April 9.
The defendant could face a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $3,000 fine.
At about 7:45 p.m. Nov. 13, an officer from the Bemidji Police Department responded to a hit-and-run personal injury accident at the business at 502 Paul Bunyan Drive S.E., according to the criminal complaint.
Upon arrival, the officer saw a large hole in the back of the building and Kevin Overbeek, a co-owner of the business, bleeding profusely from the head, the complaint states.
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A witness said a red Jeep Liberty crashed into the building and had backed up and fled the scene, continuing east on Paul Bunyan Drive Southeast. The complaint states that the officer located the vehicle, which had extensive damage on the driver's side, as it was turning onto First Street Southeast.
When the officer pulled the vehicle over, Wagar-Moore said he had blacked out and didn't remember crashing into a building, according to the complaint.
Wagar-Moore was arrested and transported to North Country Regional Hospital where he consented to a blood draw, according to the complaint. The results of the blood test were not yet available at the time of the plea.
The complaint also notes that Wagar-Moore was in a serious traffic accident Oct. 27 involving an injury to his passenger, who was then treated at the hospital. Wagar-Moore allegedly was operating his vehicle recklessly on Irvine Avenue Northwest and lost control of the vehicle, which crashed into a tree. The vehicle apparently sustained severe damage.
Criminal charges are pending for the Oct. 27 incident as law enforcement investigators await the result of a blood draw from that investigation, the complaint states.
Further investigation into the Nov. 13 crash revealed that Overbeek was treated at the hospital for a large laceration on his head and scalp. Overbeek was then released from the hospital. Witnesses said he was in the bathroom when the Jeep Liberty crashed through a wall and proceeded into the bathroom, the complaint states.
