Offers for DWI La-Z-Boy reach $40,000, one day to go

by Elizabeth Dunbar, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — There's one day left in an eBay auction for a motorized La-Z-Boy chair that was seized from a drunken driver in northern Minnesota, and the top bid has already surpassed $40,000.

Someone put in a $40,100 bid for the chair on Sunday afternoon. The winning bidder will have to pick up the chair at the Proctor Police Department, which seized the La-Z-Boy after a drunken driving arrest. Its owner pleaded guilty last month in an incident in which he crashed the motorized chair into a parked car.

According to the description the eBay site, the chair has front lights, a rear tag light, a radio and a cup holder. "This is a great parade vehicle or a terrific business draw," the description says.

Dennis LeRoy Anderson, 47, pleaded guilty last month to driving the chair while intoxicated in connection in August 2008. Anderson told police he left a bar on his chair after drinking eight or nine beers.

Bidding on the vehicle ends Tuesday morning. Money from the auction will go to the police, the state and the prosecuting attorney.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)