Legislator arrested on domestic abuse charges
(AP) - State Rep. Mark Olson has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic abuse, a Sherburne County sheriff's official said Monday.
Chief Deputy Scott Gudmundson said on Monday that Olson, R-Big Lake, would remain in the county jail until he makes his first court appearance, possibly Tuesday.
The arrest was made at a private school in Blaine at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, almost three hours after authorities were called to the Big Lake home Olson shares with his wife, Heidi. The couple has five children.
Blaine Police Chief Dave Johnson said two officers checked Calvin Christian School as a possible location for Olson. He was arrested without incident, handcuffed and transferred to Sherburne County authorities.
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Olson is being held on allegations of fifth-degree domestic assault. Gudmundson wouldn't release details of the incident. The St. Cloud Times first reported the arrest on its Web site.
"We would have to have probable cause to make an arrest," Gudmundson told The Associated Press.
Minnesota law defines fifth-degree assault as causing physical harm, trying to inflict such harm or causing someone to fear immediate physical harm or death.
Gudmundson said authorities haven't been called to the address before.
Neither Olson nor his wife immediately returned calls from the AP.
Olson, a 51-year-old carpenter, was elected to an eighth term last week to represent a district that includes Big Lake, Clear Lake, Zimmerman, Becker and part of Elk River.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
