Burleigh County sheriff's deputies spent the last day of spring monitoring the "Desert" and arrested 13 people for misdemeanor offenses.

The popular recreation spot along the Missouri River south of Bismarck frequently marks the location for fights, overzealous drinking and other activities deemed less than legal by law enforcement. The Burleigh County Sheriff's Department has done several "special enforcement" operations at the Desert in recent years, aimed at getting people to keep their behaviors within the parameters of the law.

Lt. Nick Sevart said deputies made 13 arrests, almost all for alcohol-related misdemeanors, while at the Desert most of Saturday. They also issued numerous warnings and wrote tickets to people for traffic and registration offenses, related both to typical motor vehicles and the various all-terrain vehicles which fill the river-front area on warm days.

At 2:10 p.m., a 42-year-old Galesburg, Ill., man was arrested for driving under the influence after spinning "cookies" in front of two uniformed officers, pulling his ATV up next to the deputies, staring at them and asking, "What?" Sevart said. "Cookies" refers to people driving in tight, fast, often out-of-control circles.

Deputies also detained an illegal immigrant during the operation, he said. Border patrol agents arrived and took over that case.

Most of the people arrested bonded out without going to jail, Sevart said.

In an incident unrelated to the special enforcement, a 23-year-old Bismarck man was shot in the eye with a BB while camping at the Desert. The man went to Medcenter One emergency room after getting struck with the projectile, Sevart said.

He said the man reported he and a friend were walking through the woods around 4 a.m. Saturday when the BB struck him in the left eye. Sevart said the man did not know where the BB came from and had no idea who had fired the shot. The man reported having no problems with anyone in or around his campsite.

A report on the incident did not list the man's medical prognosis.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or