IOWA CITY, Iowa — A staffer for former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s presidential exploratory committee has resigned after being charged with trespassing and public intoxication after trying to enter a suburban Des Moines home earlier this month, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Benjamin Limbaugh Foster submitted his resignation Saturday and it was accepted, Pawlenty consultant Eric Woolson told The Associated Press.

The committee had suspended the 24-year-old for two weeks without pay following his arrest early April 6. Woolson said Foster spent more time thinking about his actions and offered to resign after “recognizing the seriousness of the mistake.” Foster already had issued a statement apologizing to the family involved and the arresting officers for poor judgment.

Authorities say a family in Ankeny called 911 to report a prowler in their backyard at 3:11 a.m. A teenage girl who lives in the home said she woke up because her dog was barking, and then saw Foster on their back deck, according to a police report. Foster reached his arm inside a partially opened backdoor and smiled at the girl, who ran upstairs to tell her parents, the report said. Foster failed to get inside because of a door stopper, and the girl’s father grabbed his gun from a safe and held Foster at gunpoint until police arrived.