WINONA, Minn. – Police encouraged the county attrorney to prosecute a Winona man arrested on Latsch island after evading police on foot on a bitter cold night last week. Police referred charges, of careless driving and fleeing officers against Javier Perez Barrientos, 34. The referral document alleged that Barrientos ran into a guardrail on the Interstate high bridge and proceeded to Latsch Island on icy roads with police in pursuit and disappeared on foot into the woods. Police waited him out and arrested him two hours later when he returned, very cold, to his car. Officers didn’t conduct a blood-alcohol test because of the time lapse and also a priority to get him warmed up.
