Charges: Puddle of Mudd singer very drunk while fleeing at 100 mph in Minnesota

The in-and-out-of-trouble frontman for the rock band Puddle of Mudd fled capture at roughly 100 miles per hour while extremely drunk on a rural highway in southern Minnesota before he pulled over, authorities said Monday.

Wes Scantlin, 43, appeared Monday in Renville County District Court on charges of fleeing police in a motor vehicle, a felony, and two counts of drunken driving. He was released after posting bail.

Scantlin was caught about 4 a.m. Sunday by a sheriff's sergeant on Hwy. 212 between Bird Island and Hector, and a preliminary breath test at the scene measured his blood alcohol content at 0.31 percent, according to the charges. That's nearly four times the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.

His attorney had no comment. The singer lives in Los Angeles and was performing at the Halfway Jam in Royalton, about 100 miles from where he was stopped.

According to the charges:

Scantlin was heading east on Hwy. 212 in Bird Island, when the sheriff's sergeant saw his Lincoln sedan exceeding the 30 mph speed limit. The sergeant tried to catch up in the 60 mph zone just east of Bird Island, but Scantlin was touching 80 mph at that point.

As both vehicles neared Hector, Scantlin turned around and headed west on Hwy. 212. The two vehicles reached 100 mph before Scantlin stopped.

After speaking with an attorney, Scantlin declined to submit to any further testing for alcohol consumption.

Scantlin has had several run-ins with the law. After a two-year hiatus in which he was arrested multiple times on drug charges and for allegedly attacking his ex-wife, Scantlin re-emerged this year with an all-new lineup of his Kansas City-reared post-grunge band.

In March 2004, a Puddle of Mudd show at Minnesota State University, Mankato, was canceled after the school learned that Scantlin was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct following a Feb. 22 concert in Toledo, Ohio. He threw a bottle and spit at fans.

"He needs help before he hurts himself or someone else," said Scantlin's former mother-in-law, Linda Smith. "It's a shame."

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482