Former Murray County Sheriff Pleads Guilty to Misconduct | News, Sports, Jobs

The former Murray County sheriff pleaded guilty to misdemeanor this week, according to Murray County District Court records. Court documents say Steven Telkamp failed to safely preserve a blood sample during a 2022 DWI investigation involving a Minnesota DNR conservation officer.

As part of a plea agreement, Telkamp will receive probation, serve 21 days in jail and perform community service, court documents say.

A criminal complaint said the former conservation officer was involved in a car accident in Murray County in April 2022. A blood sample was taken from the officer for analysis. Telkamp told a DNR officer that the blood sample kit had been sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but the BCA never received the sample kit, the complaint said.

According to court records, the conservation officer was later convicted of negligent driving in connection with the accident.

Telkamp resigned as Murray County Sheriff in 2022 and did not seek re-election.

On September 10, Telkamp filed a petition pleading guilty to misconduct of an officer. In the petition, Telkamp said he was pleading guilty because “I failed to properly store and safely preserve a blood sample” during the DWI investigation. This failure hindered the criminal investigation, the petition states.

The petition said Telkamp would receive a suspended sentence, serve 21 days in jail and perform 80 hours of community service.