Driver 'Agitated' Over 3rd OWI Arrest So Close to Home

A man with two drunken driving convictions on his record probably could have gotten away with a quick errand in the neighborhood had he not gone out of his way to draw so much attention to himself.

At 2:50 a.m. – an hour when few are on the road but many who are have been drinking – on May 8, a patrol officer at Wauwatosa Avenue and West Center Street heard extremely loud music pounding from a car at the BP gas station on the corner.

The officer pulled in and saw that nobody was in the car. He ran the plates and found they were suspended for unpaid parking tickets and expired since January, yet there was an improper 2014 registration sticker on the back plate.

The officer pulled out and parked north of the gas station to watch, and soon a man came out, got in the car and left going west on Center Street. The officer followed, briefly lost sight of the suspect's car, then located it in an alley in the 8400 block of Center.

Speaking to the driver, the officer immediately sensed a strong plume of alcohol, along with glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. He said the suspect was highly agitated about being stopped. He argued about the validity of his registration sticker and status of his license.

However, he admitted having had "quite a few" drinks, but asked to elaborate he became even more upset. He said he had just run out for cigarettes and was now right outside his house, so the officer ought to just let him go in.

Asked to perform field sobriety tests, he initially declined but then changed his mind and agreed to try. He failed to finish, though, after being unable to keep his balance.

He refused to give a voluntary blood sample, so police called a Milwaukee County Circuit judge – at 4 a.m. – who signed and faxed a warrant for a mandatory blood draw.

The suspect was convicted of OWI in 1995 and 2001. He was released with a mandatory court date on June 21.