Charges: Blue Earth man bit off ear of friend who tried to prevent drunk driving

A Blue Earth man is accused of biting off the ear of another man who was trying to prevent him from driving drunk.

Jesse Ray Frey, 37, was charged Monday in Faribault County Court with felony 1st-degree assault – great bodily harm, and gross misdemeanor DWI.

A criminal complaint says Frey and another man went to a bar together Friday night.  The victim told police he believed Frey was too intoxicated to drive, so he tried to remove Frey’s keys from the ignition.

A fight ensued, according to the complaint, and the victim put Frey in a headlock after Frey tried to hit him.  Frey then bit the top portion of the victim’s ear completely off, according to the complaint.  Investigators noted in the court documents that they saw the “mutilated and partially missing ear.”

Frey drove off in his vehicle following the assault, according to the complaint.  Police say his car was located on Highway 169 near the I-90 overpass with a damaged side mirror and leaking fluids.  Frey claimed he had hit a deer, but detectives say the damages to his vehicle and the debris from a shrub on his car were consistent with a car driving through a nearby roundabout.

Police say Frey smelled of alcohol and showed multiple signs of impairment.  He refused to take a portable breath test, according to the complaint.  He was arrested and taken into custody at the Faribault County Jail.