MN Man Accused of Assaulting Minnesota State Trooper During Byron Drug Arrest

Byron, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office filed charges Tuesday against a Mankato man accused of assaulting a State Trooper during a drug arrest in Byron this past spring. 

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The criminal complaint says the arrest occurred on April 8 near the eastern Kwik Trip store in Byron.

The trooper initiated a traffic stop after seeing a vehicle leaving the convenience store that had a red and blue light bar near the top of the windshield that lit up when the vehicle was in motion. 

The trooper approached the vehicle and instructed the driver, identified as 26-year-old Cory Lynn Spiess, to exit the vehicle after seeing signs of drug use inside of the vehicle. The trooper then put Spiess through field sobriety tests and determined he was under the influence of a controlled substance. The trooper informed Spiess he was under arrest on suspicion of DUI, the complaint says. 

Spiess then refused the troopers commands, spun out of the troopers grasp and assumed a fighting stance. The charges say an Olmsted County Sheriff’s Deputy who had responded to the scene during the sobriety testing, advised the trooper that Spiess had a gun in the vehicle. 

The trooper and deputy were able to get a hold of Spiess, who struggled and continued to resist commands, the charges say. During the struggle, Spiess struck the trooper with several kicks. The trooper deployed his taser three times during the altercation. 

The trooper and deputy were able to get handcuffs on Spiess after the third taser deployment. Once he was in handcuffs, Spiess then thwarted an attempted search of his person by kicking the trooper and using his fingernails to cut then eventually bruise the trooper’s thumb, the court document says. 

The deputy and trooper eventually wrestled Spiess into the squad car, which he also accused of damaging during the arrest. A subsequent search of Spiess’s vehicle indicated the gun spotted by the deputy was a BB gun pistol, the complaint says. 

Law enforcement also found 9.5 grams of suspected meth, 0.7 grams of a powder that tested positive for heroin, along with marijuana wax, marijuana, a scale, grinder and other drug paraphernalia, according to the charges. A test of Spiess’s blood sent to the BCA determined he had amphetamine and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his arrest. 

Spiess was charged Wednesday with two counts of felony fourth-degree assault of a peace officer, two counts of felony fifth-degree drug possession, misdemeanor DWI and misdemeanor damage to property. He’s been summoned to make his first appearance in Olmsted County Court in November.