Two Decorah lawyers win innocent verdict for Waukon man accused of drunk driving

An Allamakee County jury has returned a "Not Guilty" verdict in a trial involving drunk driving charges filed against 40-year-old Christopher Shelton of Waukon.  Shelton had two Decorah lawyers, David Strand and Nick Rowley, handling his case.

Shelton had been arrested on first offense drunk driving charges on February 6th of 2011.  The criminal complaint field against him says police saw Shelton drive through the intersection of 1st Avenue NW and 5th Street NW and fishtail his car.  Allamakee County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Wilkes stated in the complaint that there was a strong odor of alcohol in the car when Shelton was stopped and that Shelton failed the field sobriety tests.

Strand and Rowley concentrated their case on cross examining Wilkes and the other officer who arrested Shelton that night.  The officers claimed that breathalyzer results from Shelton were above a .08, when Shelton claimed that he never took a breathalyzer test.

Circuit Court Judge Margaret Lingreen presided over the trial, which lasted for two days.  When the Waukon jury returned with their verdict on the second day, they unanimously found Shelton not guilty.