A Duluth man accused of operating under the influence for the seventh time waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday, Jan. 8, in Douglas County Circuit Court.
Douglas James Linskie, 49, faces one felony count of seventh-offense operating while under the influence and one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.
Linskie was reportedly driving a vehicle that crashed on the Bong Bridge at about 7 p.m. Jan. 1, according to the criminal complaint. He then left the vehicle and began walking east to Superior carrying a small dog.
Dispatch was able to view the man, later identified as Linskie, on the bridge walkway via the Minnesota State Patrol’s camera system. Officers located Linskie on the 3300 block of Belknap Avenue.
Officer Taavi Mattson detected a strong odor of intoxicants coming from Linskie. The man’s eyes appeared to be glassy and he had slurred speech. Linskie allegedly refused to give his name to officers, but later identified himself at the jail.
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Linskie has six prior convictions for impaired driving incidents, according to the complaint. The most recent was in 2014.
He remained in custody at the Douglas County Jail on Thursday, Jan. 9. A $2,500 cash bond was set.
If convicted, Linskie faces a maximum penalty of 12 years and six months imprisonment and a fine of up to $25,000 for the operating under the influence charge. His next court appearance was set for Feb. 14.
