Charges: Stewart man arrested for 3rd DWI said he was ‘too old to remember’ alphabet

(New Ulm, MN) – A Stewart man charged with his third DWI was allegedly at three times the legal limit when he told the arresting officer he was too old to remember his alphabet.

Paul Michael Albrecht, 69, was charged in Brown County Court Wednesday with gross misdemeanor counts of DWI.

According to a criminal complaint, Albrecht was pulled over for on Valentine’s Day just before noon after he passed a state trooper on Highway 4.  When the trooper told Albrecht he had been pulled over for weaving, Albrecht told the officer it was because of the snow.  The trooper told Albrecht there was no snow, according to the complaint.

Albrecht told police he hadn’t been drinking and was heading to Sleepy Eye to visit his sweetheart.  The officer asked Albrecht to recite the alphabet from letter to D to letter Q.  Albrecht made it to ‘E’ before stopping and saying he was “too old to remember.”  The trooper confirmed Albrecht could read and write before asking him to recite again – with the same result according to the complaint.

Court documents say Albrecht failed multiple field sobriety tests.  A preliminary breath test put his blood-alcohol level at .24, according to the complaint.

Albrecht has two previous DWI convictions from 2011 and 2016 in McLeod County.