Just after 12:00 noon on Friday, August 6, 2010, Cook County Law Enforcement received a call from the driver of a motor home on Highway 61 reporting that a loaded logging truck heading northbound on Highway 61 near Cutface Creek was passing unsafely and had forced another vehicle off the roadway. When the truck was pulled over by Cook County Sheriff deputies at 8th Avenue in Grand Marais, the driver, Gerald Lyle Shepersky, 50, Two Harbors, claimed that he needed medical assistance for a bee sting reaction.
Cook County Ambulance and First Responders were paged. While waiting for medical personnel, Sheriff Deputies asked Shepersky for basic information, such as where he lived. He seemed uncertain, was unsteady on his feet, and was, according to the deputy’s report “hyper.” Shepersky told deputies he didn’t know where his identification was so they scanned the truck cab and found methamphetamines, meth pipes, marijuana, and marijuana paraphernalia.
Shepersky was transported to North Shore Hospital, however once they arrived, he refused treatment and left the hospital. As he was leaving, he was arrested for 5th degree possession of controlled substance and possession of paraphernalia.
The trucking company, A&J Ernest Logging of Isabella, was contacted to retrieve the truck. The owner told law enforcement that Shepersky had been hired three months ago and he hauled logs from a timber sale on the Sawbill Trail in Tofte to Hedstrom Lumber. The owner said he did not understand why Shepersky was driving on Highway 61. He said Shepersky would no longer be working for their company.
This is not Shepersky’s first driving arrest. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and open bottle in June 1991. DWI charges were subsequently dismissed and Shepersky was charged with speeding. However, he was charged again with driving while intoxicated in 1993 and 1999. He was placed on probation for the first offense and served a minimal amount of jail time for the second.
Shepersky has been released from jail under supervised release. He will appear in court on Wednesday, August 18.
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