The former Murray County Sheriff pleaded guilty this week to misconduct charges, Murray County District Court records said. Court documents said Steven Telkamp failed to safely preserve a blood sample in 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 hours, court documents said.

A criminal complaint said the former conservation officer was involved in a single-vehicle crash in Murray County in April 2022. A sample of the officer’s blood was taken for analysis. Telkamp told a DNR official that the blood sample kit was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but the BCA never received the sample kit, the complaint alleged.

The conservation officer was later convicted of careless driving in connection with the crash, court records said.

Telkamp stepped down as Murray County sheriff in 2022, and did not seek re-election.

On Sept. 10, Telkamp filed a plea petition pleading guilty to charges of misconduct of a public officer. In the petition, Telkamp said he was pleading guilty because “I failed to properly maintain and safely preserve a blood sample” taken during the DWI investigation. That failure hindered the criminal investigation, the petition said.

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