BREAKING: Grant County Sheriff Kevin Owen arrested for drunken driving

March 20, 2022

Mike Tanner

WATERTOWN, S.D.–Grant County Sheriff Kevin Owen was arrested for drunken driving this weekend.

Codington County Sheriff Brad Howell tells KWAT News that one of his deputies made the arrest just after 11 o’clock Friday night on South Dakota Highway 20, one mile east of South Shore near Round Lake.

Howell says the deputy noticed a private vehicle driving erratically, swerving and driving in and out of its lane of traffic.

Owen was arrested at the scene for First Offense DUI and making unsafe lane changes.

He was booked into the Codington County Detention Center, and later released on a personal recognizance bond.

The South Dakota Sheriff’s Association web page says Owen has been sheriff of Grant County since January 2011. Prior to becoming sheriff, he had 10 years of law enforcement experience with the sheriff’s office and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Owen has a Bachelor of Science Degree from SDSU in Sociology with minors in Psychology and Criminal Justice.

The only elected official in South Dakota with the authority to fire a sheriff is the governor.

Governor Noem’s spokesman, Ian Fury, says the governor is, “gathering information in this incident and has no comment at this time.”