Local gets jail time, community service for multiple crimes

An Austin man who threatened his girlfriend last year and violated a no contact order by driving around with her while drunk was sentenced Thursday in Mower County Court.

Brandon Lynn Nelson, 30, was convicted of terroristic threats and violating a no contact order, both felonies. He was also convicted of a gross misdemeanor DWI and misdemeanor DWI. He is sentenced to 21 months in prison, stayed for five years’ probation and 80 hours of sentence to service. He must also serve 30 days in the Mower County jail.

According to the court complaint, an officer followed Nelson on Feb. 3 after he clocked Nelson going 38 mph in 30 mph zone near the 700 block of 14th Street NW. The complaint then says that Nelson quickly turned onto another road, drove over a snow pile and drove through some back yards. He then pitched the vehicle sideways before pulling into a driveway and parking in a garage.

When the officer asked Nelson why he had driven so erratically, Nelson replied that he “wanted to play in the back yard for awhile,” the complaint states. The officer also asked Nelson if he had been drinking, and Nelson replied, “a lot.”

The complaint also states that Nelson admitted to violating his probation and that he regretted his decision and was sorry.

Nelson then failed a preliminary breath test and field sobriety tests. He later registered a .14 blood-alcohol level at the jail. Nelson’s criminal record also shows convictions for terroristic threats in 2002 and fifth-degree assault in 2006.

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