UTICA, Minn. – A deputy found an unresponsive driver at the wheel, parked in the County Road 18 entrance onto U.S Highway14 about 1 a.m. Once the driver was rousted, the deputy decided he was drunk. The evidence: Slurred speech, bloodshot and watery eyes, and alcohol odors oozing from his person. Christopher Thomas Florek, 28, who had a rural St. Charles address, was taken 20 miles to the Winona County jail. The charge was an open pottle in the car. A possible charge of driving under the influence also was expected as soon as a bodily fluid sample comes back from the state crime lab.
