A search warrant shows Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson repeatedly denied to a sheriff’s deputy that he was driving his county car when it crashed Dec. 8 on an interstate near Alexandria, even claiming at one point that a cab driver was behind the wheel when it crashed.

Hutchinson has since pleaded guilty to driving drunk after leaving a state sheriffs’ conference on Dec. 8, and crashing the SUV.

Separately, a Medina police report indicates Hutchinson was not involved in a request that Medina police investigate an independent photojournalist who got photos of the sheriff’s totaled black Ford Explorer, and whether she’d trespassed or “planted” items in Hutchinson’s car.

The State Patrol was asked to assist the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at the crash site.