5th-Offense Suspect Charged, Among Slew of Serious OWI Arrests

A Milwaukee man has been charged with his fifth count of operating while intoxicate after a display of dangerous driving early Monday morning on the streets of Wauwatosa.

Michael Ray Johnson, 59, was charged Thursday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with fifth-time operating while intoxicated, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison.

According to police reports:

At 2:17 a.m. Monday, Johnson was arrested after a traffic stop for extremely erratic driving.

A patrol officer was pulling up just in time to see Johnson take off with screeching tires from a flashing red light on Milwaukee Avenue at Wauwatosa Avenue. The officer followed, and said Johnson sped up to 45 to 50 mph in the 25 zone, and as he slowly caught up he recorded numerous infractions, including rolled stops and lane deviations.

When he was pulled over, Johnson began to apologize profusely for speeding, which appeared to be an attempt to distract his rather obvious intoxicated condition.

He agreed to perform sobriety tests but soon stopped and refused to go on. When asked to give a blood sample, he also refused, saying, "No, you are not going to stick a (explective) needle in my arm."

Police, under a new court ruling, had to obtain a warrant for a mandatory blood draw, and said that under the circumstances the suspect was cooperative when taken to the hospital.

Johnson was under a restriction not to drive with a blood alcohol concentration above .02 at the time of his latest arrest. The court has ordered that upon his release on $2,000 bail, Johnson was to be turned over to the supervision of Wisconsin Community Services under the Repeat Intoxicated Driver Program.

Johnson is now expected to maintain absolute sobriety, wear a SCRAM alcohol monitoring bracelet, and be subject to frequent drug and breathalyzer tests. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 3.

Man blows a .30 with a 6-year-old on board

At 5:03 p.m. Tuesday, a 47-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, second offense, with a minor child in the car, after a traffic stop in the 600 block of North 76th Street.

A caller had reported him as an erratic and possibly drunk driver westbound on Wisconsin Avenue from Hawley Road. A patrol officer got behind him and saw him repeatedly drift from the parking lane across the center line and back.

The driver had glassy eyes and smelled strongly of alcohol, and when asked to produce his driver’s license, instead took out a credit card, dropped it and fumbled with it on the floor.

He had his 6-year-old son in the back seat.

He began sobriety tests but lost his balance, sat down and said he could not finish.

He blew a .30 BAC, nearly four times the proscribed limit and for most people at or near alcohol toxicity. The result was a doubly enhanced offense of second OWI with a BAC greater than .15 and with a child younger than 16 in the car.

Driver causes crash at 3 times the alcohol

At 5:39 p.m. Tuesday, a 26-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, second offense, after a collision at Blue Mound Road and North 68th Street.

A patrol officer was flagged down by the drivers of the two cars involved. A Milwaukee woman told officers she’d been stopped at the light facing east on Blue Mound when she was rear-ended.

She gestured to the other driver to follow her into an alley to exchange information. When they spoke, she said, she could smell alcohol on him.

She was released and police interviewed the other driver, who, it was noted, not only smelled of drink but had glassy eyes and slurred speech. He had trouble maintaining his balance and failed sobriety tests.

He had been convicted of OWI in August 2009. He blew a .24 BAC, three times the proscribed limit.

'Fine to drive' doesn't fly on man's 3rd time

At 4:11 a.m. Wednesday, a 36-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, third offense, after a traffic stop in the 1100 block of Glenview Avenue. A patrol officer driving behind the man ran his plates and found his registration expired since March 2011.

The driver lit a cigarette before the officer reached his window, which the officer said partially masked a slight but still detectable odor of alcohol. Despite the ruse, the man calmly admitted drinking “five, six, seven beers” earlier, but he was sure he was fine to drive.

A record check turned up two prior OWI convictions and the information that the suspect was prohibited from driving with a blood alcohol concentration greater than .02 and was required to use an ignition interlock on any vehicle he drove. There was no such device present.

He could not maintain his balance and failed field sobriety tests. A breath test showed a .15 BAC, and a blood sample was also taken. He had been convicted of driving while intoxicated in Wauwatosa in March 2007 and in Adams County in December 2011.

Tosa driver arrested in Brookfield

And, from the Brookfield police log: At 8:29 p.m. April 18, a 59-year-old Wauwatosa man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, first offense, at West Capitol Drive and Lilly Road, after a caller reported him “swerving all over the road” and followed while police convergeed.

An officer intercepted the suspect driver at North 124th and Burleigh streets.

He smelled of alcohol and fumbled in wallet to find his driver's license. He admitted dringking a couple of beers, but didn't say how big they must have been.

He failed sobriety tests and blew a .18 BAC.